In a press release dated July 24, 2007, CADNA announced the launch of “its national campaign against Internet fraud.” The press release also publicized that “CADNA’s membership includes such leading brands as AIG, Dell, Eli Lilly, Hilton, HSBC, Marriott, Richemont, Verizon, Wyndham, and Yahoo!.”

More recently, when CADNA announced it’s support of the proposed Snowe legislation (S. 2661) called the Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act in a February 26, 2008 press release, they stated that its membership includes “American International Group, Inc.; Bacardi & Company Limited; Compagnie Financière Richemont SA; Dell Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; Hilton Hotels Corporation; HSBC Holdings plc; Marriott International, Inc.; Verizon Communications Inc.; and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation.”

Strangely enough, Yahoo! is no longer listed as a member of CADNA. Interesting. Did Yahoo! decide they were no longer interested in fighting Internet fraud? I am sure that’s not the case. Why then is Yahoo! no longer a member of CADNA (or at least a publicized member)?

When buying a keyword domain name, it is important to know how many people search daily for the keywords that make up the domain name. You might have the most targeted website for the keywords, rank number one in the search engines and have the best website design, but if nobody is searching for those keywords on a frequent basis, it will be difficult to earn a return on your investment.

Many people reference Google’s search results to cite how much information exists for certain keywords. While Google will show how many times the keyword is mentioned on the Internet, it fails to show how many people are actually searching for it. Using Google for this can be misleading, because there can be much more information about a topic than people searching for it.

The Overture search tool  was a good indicator of the number of searches that were performed monthly but Yahoo has eliminated that tool.  I’ve used Wordtracker and KeywordDiscovery before and both offer good indications of what keywords people search. If you own the domain name of these keywords, you have a strong search engine optimization advantage over everyone else. Once you upload relevant content and have someone optimize your site, you could see an increase in revenue.

According to today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal, another potential Yahoo suitor has entered into negotiations. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, owners of popular social networking site MySpace, has begun negotiating with Yahoo to combine these two Internet powers. The article mentions that News Corp. could receive a stake in excess of 20% of Yahoo.

In recent weeks, merger and acquisition talks involving Yahoo have included many suiters, including Microsoft (who made a $44.6 billion offer), Google, AOL, and possibly others. These talks have helped push up the value of Yahoo stock over the past couple of weeks. In my opinion, the acquisition talks are a sign of strength for the domain industry, as it shows other companies with Internet experience are bullish on Internet advertising and search. While this ultimately may not be the best for PPC income, I think it shows faith in our industry.

Today I noticed that Google appears to be using an auto-fill application in at least one of their foreign landing pages. When you perform a search on Google’s Korean portal, Google offers to help you fill in the remainder of your search for you. This also allows the user to see how many results are listed for each keyword.

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While some domain names have high paying keywords, frequently the traffic isn’t significant enough for this to make a major impact on the name’s value. When the name is parked, you may generate a decent amount of revenue from targeted type-in traffic. However, unless something out of your control happens, there really isn’t much of a way to increase traffic to the name with a parked page.

One way that may boost traffic, increase revenue, and consequently increase the value of your domain name is to build a stripped down website. This is a hybrid development project where you add limited (but relevant) content, which should help you with your search engine placement. As a result, more people will find your website, and they may be more likely to click on the Adsense links, generating additional revenue. The more you continue to update your site, the more likely it is that people will find you and return.

In my opinion, the key to this is developing these hybrid sites in areas that are of interest to you. This will encourage you to post more often than if it was a mundane topic or something you didn’t care about. The more passionate or knowledgeable you are about a topic, the more likely it is that people will find you. The job of Google, Yahoo and other search engines is to present their users with the most relevant website based on their search query. If you are able to provide this, you will be placed higher. Of course there are things that make this more complicated, but that is the general idea.

MostWantedDomains.com, a closely held company founded by domain industry veterans Michael and Judi Berkens, just launched launched their blog, TheDomains.com. One of the features they created is the “Domain Parking Stock Index,” a weighted average which tracks all public companies which either own large domain portfolio’s and/or make a significant income from parked domains or PPC revenue.

The initial DPSI index includes Google, Yahoo, Baidu.com, Dark Blue Sea, Marchex, and Banks.com. It will be interesting to see if the DPSI becomes a barometer for the health of the domain investment business.

I wish Mike and Judi all the best with their new blog, and I look forward to reading their insight.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the Yahoo Finance website uses an auto-fill tool when searching for stock quotes.  When you enter a “B” into the “Get Quotes” search bar, Yahoo automatically presents the following options to choose from:

• B Barnes Group Inc. NYSE
• BIDU Baidu.com, Inc. NASDAQ
• BAC Bank of America Corporation NYSE
• IBM International Business Machines Corp. NYSE
• BEAS BEA Systems Inc. NASDAQ
• BA Boeing Co. NYSE
• BRCM Broadcom Corp. NASDAQ
• BBY Best Buy Co. Inc. NYSE
• BX The Blackstone Group NYSE
• BP BP plc NYSE

I have no idea if any company is planning to do this, but what would happen if an Internet browser did the same thing for the browser bar?  Imagine entering “CN” into your browser and automatically being given the choices of CNET.com, CNN.com or another popular websites that begin with the letters CN. 

I really have no idea if this type of thing is in the works, but it could spell trouble for typo domain names, and could be a boon for generic .com names.

Yahoo recently announced the launch of Kickstart, a new social networking site.  I wanted to check it out, so I navigated to Kickstart.com, and I found a Network Solutions “Coming Soon” landing page.  Curious, I did a Whois search for Kickstart.com, and I learned that Yahoo doesn’t own this name.  It’s owned by a company called Toe-Food Chocolates, and has been owned by them since at least February of 2003.  Yahoo’s Kickstart website is actually located at kickstart.yahoo.com.  

Although this is in line with Yahoo’s other brands (http://finance.yahoo.com as an example), I think this is very shortsighted.  Perhaps Yahoo is looking in to acquiring this great generic name, but wouldn’t it have made more sense to acquire the name before launching the brand?  I can’t even imagine the amount of traffic that has been lost in the last few days. It would probably be better if Kickstart.com was a developed website so visitors would know to look elsewhere. Because of the landing page that is currently on the website, visitors may just assume the site hasn’t launched yet.

I received the Moniker TRAFFIC live auction list via email today. At first glance, it looks like there are many non-.com names in the list. Below is the list. I bolded the names I believe have very good reserve prices. This could be a record setting auction.

Live Auction Order:

1 TickerSymbols.info No Reserve
2 MotorPool.com No Reserve
3 ComicBookStore.com $5,001 - $10,000
4 ChineseCheckers.com $1 - $5,000
5 SpeakerOfTheHouse.com $1 - $5,000
6 PhotographyEquipment.com $1 - $5,000
7 StreetMaps.net $1 - $5,000
8 ArtDecoFurniture.com $1 - $5,000
9 Deposit.net $5,001 - $10,000
10 RepossessedCars.com $5,001 - $10,000
11 TuxedoRental.com $25,001 - $50,000
12 VoiceRecognitionSoftware.com $25,001 - $50,000
13 EmergencyLoan.com $5,001 - $10,000
14 MassachusettsRealEstate.com $100,001 - $250,000
15 DownloadMovies.net No Reserve
16 VirtualOfficeSpace.com $1 - $5,000
17 Poker.mobi $5,001 - $10,000
18 DiscountTours.com $5,001 - $10,000
19 Borrow.net $5,001 - $10,000
20 OfficeSupplyStores.com $10,001 - $25,000
21 DogBoarding.com $10,001 - $25,000
22 SchoolTeacher.com $25,001 - $50,000
23 TennisRackets.com $50,001 - $100,000
24 QuickPay.com $1 - $5,000
25 Podiatrists.com $100,001 - $250,000
26 Wifi.us $5,001 - $10,000
27 Cash.mobi $1 - $5,000
28 Debit.com $100,001 - $250,000
29 PrimeInterestRate.com $5,001 - $10,000
30 411Information.com $1 - $5,000
31 HomeBudget.com $5,001 - $10,000
32 CheckCashingService.com $5,001 - $10,000
33 News.mobi $1 - $5,000
34 HomeBasedBusinesses.com $10,001 - $25,000
35 Cholesterol.net $10,001 - $25,000
36 CateringService.com $10,001 - $25,000
37 Invest.net $25,001 - $50,000
38 AutoFinancing.com $25,001 - $50,000
39 BullDozers.com $50,001 - $100,000
40 House.net $100,001 - $250,000
41 CrosswordPuzzles.com $100,001 - $250,000
42 Investment.com $750,001 - $1MM
43 NewYorkCityMuseums.com $1 - $5,000
44 DiscountSoftware.net $5,001 - $10,000
45 CemeteryPlots.com $10,001 - $25,000
46 CysticFibrosis.org $10,001 - $25,000
47 EuropeanVacations.com $10,001 - $25,000
48 GlobalPositioningSystem.com $25,001 - $50,000
49 PensionPlan.com $50,001 - $100,000
50 SportsScores.com $50,001 - $100,000
51 WallStreet.com $1MM - $5MM
52 GolfClubs.net $10,001 - $25,000
53 BankAuctions.com $10,001 - $25,000
54 DiscountCruises.org $1 - $5,000
55 VirusProtectionSoftware.com $10,001 - $25,000
56 TeenChat.net $25,001 - $50,000
57 PaymentCalculator.com $25,001 - $50,000
58 Promotion.com $50,001 - $100,000
59 Taxes.com $1MM - $5MM
60 FastMortgages.com $50,001 - $100,000
61 Email.mobi $1 - $5,000
62 Buy.mobi $1 - $5,000
63 FinancialCounseling.com $1 - $5,000
64 IndustrialEngineering.com $5,001 - $10,000
65 Lotto.info $5,001 - $10,000
66 SportsAuction.com $10,001 - $25,000
67 WoodCabinets.com $10,001 - $25,000
68 Computer.com $1MM - $5MM
69 DigitalCertificates.com $10,001 - $25,000
70 DelawareInsurance.com $5,001 - $10,000
71 ProfessionalShoppers.com $1 - $5,000
72 ConcertTicketsOnline.com $1 - $5,000
73 FreeMovies.net $5,001 - $10,000
74 MedicalTranscriptionService.com $10,001 - $25,000
75 Aids.net $25,001 - $50,000
76 ChocolateCandy.com $25,001 - $50,000
77 AutomobileParts.com $25,001 - $50,000
78 Crow.com $25,001 - $50,000
79 DiscountPetSupply.com $5,001 - $10,000
80 Sciencefiction.com $250,001 - $500,000
81 PoolSticks.com $50,001 - $100,000
82 Tourettes.com $25,001 - $50,000
83 TennisPlayer.com $25,001 - $50,000
84 SnowmobileAccessories.com $10,001 - $25,000
85 StockQuotes.com $1MM - $5MM
86 OnlineInvestment.com $5,001 - $10,000
87 OrganicFarms.com $50,001 - $100,000
88 Ethanol.com $750,001 - $1MM
89 SchoolTrips.com $10,001 - $25,000
90 ForSale.org $10,001 - $25,000
91 PDA.mobi $1 - $5,000
92 Podcast.mobi $1 - $5,000
93 Elections.com $750,001 - $1MM
94 Corgis.com $5,001 - $10,000
95 CertifiedOrganic.com $5,001 - $10,000
96 Sicilian.com $10,001 - $25,000
97 CaribbeanVacations.com $25,001 - $50,000
98 Photographers.com $750,001 - $1MM
99 SouthPadreIslandRealEstate.com $1 - $5,000
100 PublicOpinionPolls.com $1 - $5,000
101 TollFreePhoneNumbers.com $5,001 - $10,000
102 CertifiedPublicAccountants.com $10,001 - $25,000
103 Ankle.com $25,001 - $50,000
104 Kuwait.com $500,001 - $750,000
105 FamilyCellPhonePlans.com $1 - $5,000
106 StMaartenRealEstate.com $25,001 - $50,000
107 SportsAgent.com $25,001 - $50,000
108 BloodTest.com $100,001 - $250,000
109 Shopping.mobi $1 - $5,000
110 Ringtones.mobi $1 - $5,000
111 Ghetto.com $50,001 - $100,000
112 ZIPCodes.mobi $1 - $5,000
113 IncomeTaxReturn.com $10,001 - $25,000
114 MoneyLenders.com $50,001 - $100,000
115 Deli.com $100,001 - $250,000
116 Copiers.com $250,001 - $500,000
117 BookClub.info No Reserve
118 Hospitals.us $5,001 - $10,000
119 SpaghettiSauce.com $10,001 - $25,000
120 LuxuryYacht.com $10,001 - $25,000
121 ReverseTelephoneDirectory.com $25,001 - $50,000
122 Communication.com $100,001 - $250,000
123 PrepaidCellPhoneCards.com No Reserve
124 ExerciseClass.com $1 - $5,000
125 Amusement.com $25,001 - $50,000
126 LowInterestLoans.com $25,001 - $50,000
127 Personals.net $100,001 - $250,000
128 MiniatureGolf.com $100,001 - $250,000
129 CableTelevision.net $1 - $5,000
130 ConsumerElectronics.com $100,001 - $250,000
131 HomeMortgageRates.com $10,001 - $25,000
132 StartingASmallBusiness.com $5,001 - $10,000
133 LottoResults.com $10,001 - $25,000
134 HomeStereo.com $10,001 - $25,000
135 SportingGoods.com $250,001 - $500,000
136 Cowboys.com $250,001 - $500,000
137 DraftBoard.com $1 - $5,000
138 Dentists.net $50,001 - $100,000
139 CarRaces.com $5,001 - $10,000
140 MortgageRates.org $10,001 - $25,000
141 Carburetors.com $25,001 - $50,000
142 Math.net $25,001 - $50,000
143 CigarBars.com $5,001 - $10,000
144 LeatherFurniture.com $100,001 - $250,000
145 RenoApartments.com No Reserve
146 FertilityDoctors.com $50,001 - $100,000
147 GlassBlock.com $50,001 - $100,000
148 TelephotoLens.com $1 - $5,000
149 ItalianMafia.com $5,001 - $10,000
150 VenusFlytrap.com $10,001 - $25,000
151 CardStores.com $5,001 - $10,000
152 Supplying.com $25,001 - $50,000
153 Scientists.com $25,001 - $50,000
154 Manufacture.com $50,001 - $100,000
155 Disease.com $750,001 - $1MM
156 ElectronicGreetingCards.com $25,001 - $50,000
157 FragileX.com $10,001 - $25,000
158 Bill.mobi $1 - $5,000
159 BusinessClassAirfares.com $1 - $5,000
160 AllergyMedications.com $5,001 - $10,000
161 AirlineTickets.org $5,001 - $10,000
162 MalpracticeAttorneys.com $1 - $5,000
163 RapVideos.com $1 - $5,000
164 LogHomeKits.com $10,001 - $25,000
165 Newlyweds.com $50,001 - $100,000
166 MortgagePoints.com $1 - $5,000
167 Bad.com $250,001 - $500,000
168 DocumentTranslation.com $1 - $5,000
169 Choppers.com $500,001 - $750,000
170 OilDrilling.com $10,001 - $25,000
171 Idols.com $10,001 - $25,000
172 Semen.com $50,001 - $100,000
173 Banners.com $250,001 - $500,000
174 BasketballOnline.com $1 - $5,000
175 Election2008.com $10,001 - $25,000
176 Software.info $5,001 - $10,000
177 ChristmasGiftBaskets.com $10,001 - $25,000
178 Scores.mobi $10,001 - $25,000
179 Estate.com $500,001 - $750,000
180 GirlBlog.com $1 - $5,000
181 PregnancyCenters.com $5,001 - $10,000
182 DesignStudios.com $5,001 - $10,000
183 TruckLoan.com $10,001 - $25,000
184 Sambuca.com $25,001 - $50,000
185 Diagnosis.com $250,001 - $500,000
186 BillyJean.com $1 - $5,000
187 YardSale.org $5,001 - $10,000
188 TakePart.com $10,001 - $25,000
189 Grapes.com $100,001 - $250,000
190 MartialArts.com $250,001 - $500,000
191 LastMinuteAirfare.net $1 - $5,000
192 Pesos.com $25,001 - $50,000
193 CustomRims.com $50,001 - $100,000
194 Races.com $50,001 - $100,000
195 Contraceptives.com $250,001 - $500,000
196 DrugRehabilitationProgram.com $5,001 - $10,000
197 IndividualSavingsAccount.com $5,001 - $10,000
198 Conventions.org $10,001 - $25,000
199 AircraftRental.com $10,001 - $25,000
200 Transplant.com $50,001 - $100,000
201 GasPrices.com $100,001 - $250,000
202 Mucho.com $5,001 - $10,000
203 ConstructionWorkers.com $10,001 - $25,000
204 Explosion.com $25,001 - $50,000
205 Toasts.com $50,001 - $100,000
206 Table.com $50,001 - $100,000
207 PrimaryEducation.com $5,001 - $10,000
208 TrueConfessions.com $10,001 - $25,000
209 Americans.org $25,001 - $50,000
210 Eel.com $100,001 - $250,000
211 ePayments.com $100,001 - $250,000
212 Wednesday.org $5,001 - $10,000
213 Demo.net $10,001 - $25,000
214 FreeSearches.com $1 - $5,000
215 USTrademarks.com $5,001 - $10,000
216 EmergenCyclinics.com $10,001 - $25,000
217 EmploymentReferences.com $1 - $5,000
218 EnergyCompanies.com $1 - $5,000
219 Businesses.org $10,001 - $25,000
220 MaineLobsters.com $25,001 - $50,000
221 HY.com $100,001 - $250,000
222 HomeLoanRates.com $1 - $5,000
223 CriminalLawyers.com $10,001 - $25,000
224 WIR.com $100,001 - $250,000
225 Public.com $100,001 - $250,000
226 Cab.mobi $10,001 - $25,000
227 ClassicCarShows.com $5,001 - $10,000
228 Emmanuel.com $10,001 - $25,000
229 BathingSuit.com $50,001 - $100,000
230 Closings.com $25,001 - $50,000
231 Technology.org $50,001 - $100,000
232 FederalGovernment.net $1 - $5,000
233 UnitedStatesImmigrationAndNaturalization.com $5,001 - $10,000
234 Relative.com $25,001 - $50,000
235 Locally.com $25,001 - $50,000
236 DiscountAirfares.net $5,001 - $10,000
237 ArtistManagement.com $5,001 - $10,000
238 Dock.com $50,001 - $100,000
239 HateCrimes.com $25,001 - $50,000
240 ShowMe.com $25,001 - $50,000
241 BestCDRates.com $25,001 - $50,000
242 Blood.net $10,001 - $25,000
243 EducationGrants.com $10,001 - $25,000
244 SATTests.com $10,001 - $25,000
245 Audit.net $10,001 - $25,000
246 Perch.com $5,001 - $10,000
247 CommentBox.com $5,001 - $10,000
248 Electromagnets.com $5,001 - $10,000
249 PressReleases.com $1MM - $5MM