Get to Know #InternetOfficial Contest Judge and SMB Expert Anita Campbell

• By • Getting Online

It’s time to celebrate the Internet’s most recognized domain name – .com – and its 30th anniversary! Verisign recently launched the #InternetOfficial contest, where contestants can enter by registering an original, memorable and keyword-rich .com name through a participating registrar and then visiting either VerisignInternetOfficial.com to complete and submit the contest entry form for that newly registered .com domain name, all during the contest entry period.* Then, a panel of top industry influencers and celebrity judges, including Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends Anita Campbell, will help determine the five best .com domain names entered into the contest each month during the contest’s three-month entry period, as well as the winner of the $30,000 grand prize.

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Meet our #InternetOfficial Contest Judge and Domain Expert Michael Berkens

• By • Getting Online

We kicked off the #InternetOfficial contest on Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of .com and fuel up to 15 lucky entrepreneurs’ dreams to start their own business on a .com domain name. Now that you are well aware of how to enter the contest, we wanted to introduce you to the panel of judges who will be helping to choose up to five monthly winners (for a total of 15) and the final, grand prize winner over the course of the contest.

Meet domain expert Michael H. Berkens! Michael is one of the most well-known and prominent investors and bloggers in the domain industry. He was awarded Domainer of the Year in 2009 and is a member of the Domain Hall of Fame. Michael has been quoted on the domain industry in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today and Bloomberg, TheRegister.co.uk as well as many other technology, domain and legal publications. His evaluation and development expertise has also been tapped in several of the highest profile domain sales and auction events in recent years.

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Make Your Idea Internet Official Today!

• By • Getting Online

Have a great idea? As any aspiring entrepreneur knows, great business ideas can occur anywhere, anytime. With 91 percent of consumers looking online for local goods and services, turn your idea into a reality and make it “Internet Official” with a .com or .net domain name!

We recently launched four videos as part of our “Internet Official” campaign. From “flirting” with an idea to “getting hit” with an idea, these videos showcase the “light bulb” moment that every entrepreneur has experienced when brainstorming a business idea.

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Make Your Idea Internet Official: Your .com Is Waiting

• By • Getting Online

As you think about bringing your business online, look no further than .com, one of the most universally recognized domains on the internet. While .com is highly desirable for the businesses and individuals around the globe, did you know there are still millions upon millions of great .com domain names available for registration? Let’s take a look at the latest facts around .com availability, based on an analysis of .com domain name registrations as of July 2014:

  • 23 million times a day, a .com domain name availability check is successful [1]
  • Over 95 percent of five-character .com combinations are available
  • More than 99 percent of six-character .com combinations are available
Even though there is an abundance of .com domain names available for registration, many experts recommend registering descriptive and keyword-rich names because they attract higher click-through rates on search engine results pages.

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