Do Good Search Engines make Domain Names less relevant?

**Nexus** · 08-17-2003, 06:28 PM

Well, here's a thought... I have the Google toolbar installed in Internet explorer ( http://toolbar.google.com/ ). If I were to completely TURN OFF the normal URL ADDRESS toolbar on Internet Explorer (easily done through right-clicking on the toolbar, and unchecking it), and just use my Google bar instead how "bad" or "good" is that?

A little TRICK for people to try:
If you type http://www.yaddayadda.com into the Google toolbar, and it will browse to that URL. Ok, here's an even better trick. You can hold down your ALT key on your keyboard and either CLICK "Search Web" or hit ENTER (while holding ALT down) and browse the web using JUST keywords.

"DNForum" + Alt + Enter --> www.dnforum.com

I didn't actually GO to a cumbersome search engine webpage (with gaggles of results) at all, yet here I am. Were I unsure, I'd have glady gone to the list of results though... it is another one click away (or even a button press). What's more, if the keywords plant me on a subdirectory of a website, I can use Google's "up level" button to go to the "next level up" inside the website. Next to the "Search Web" button is the "Search Site" button, so suddenly, I'm searching DNforum with barely an effort.

More examples:
"Yahoo" + Alt + Enter --> www.yahoo.com
"MSN" + Alt + Enter --> www.msn.com
"Cartoon Network" + Alt + Enter --> www.cartoonnetwork.com
"Lion King" + Alt + Enter --> www.lionking.org (great site)
"young and the restless" + Alt + Enter --> www.cbs.com/daytime/yr/
"American Idol" + Alt + Enter --> www.idolonfox.com
"smoking gun" + Alt + Enter --> http://www.thesmokinggun.com
"the smoking gun" + Alt + Enter --> www.thesmokinggun.com
"hasbro gi joe" + ALT + Enter = www.hasbro.com/gijoe/
"disney lion king" + ALT + Enter = disney.go.com/disneytheatrical/thelionking/
"sony spiderman" + ALT + Enter = www.spiderman.sonypictures.com/

Seems like a very easy, handy thing. Whats more... look at all the other thing this nifty magic box lets me do:

Map: If you enter a street address, a link to Yahoo Maps and to MapBlast will be presented.
Calculator: Enter an equation and Google will give you the answer
Caller ID: Enter anything that looks like a phone number to have a name and address displayed. Same is true for something that looks like an address (include a name and zip code)
Spell Checks: will spell check your query and search for it.
Stock Quotes: will lookup the search query in a stock index.

Awefully convenient... I dunno...

"AMZN" + Alt + Enter --> http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=amzn
"MSFT" + Alt + Enter --> http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=msft
"52/12" + Enter --> 52 / 12 = 4.33333333

Is a GOOGLE powered web browser the next "big thing" to humanize the Internet browsing experience? Will domain names slowly lose the spotlight to "key words"? Some interesting questions.

Perhaps in the future, Google will even let us browse by voice...
SEE HERE: http://labs1.google.com/gvs.html

Or, you can try Google keywords "google voice search". ;)

I feel the following represents the evolution of importance of these two technologies to business:

Domain Name Branding -->
> PAST: Low Priority
> RECENTLY: VITAL
> NOW: Very Important
> SOON: Important
> FUTURE: Somewhat Important
> DISTANT FUTURE: Low Priority

Search Engine Ranking/Optimization -->
> PAST: Low Priority/No Priority
> RECENTLY: Somewhat Important
> NOW: Very Important
> SOON: VITAL
> FUTURE: ESSENTIAL
> DISTANT FUTURE: DOMINANT PARADIGM

We've all marveled through Overture at the alarming amount of people who regularly type domain names into search engines to get to a website. I think that's a significant marker.

Microsoft took back control from Real Names, so that unqualified URL's shoot off to MSN's search engine. People who install the Yahoo toolbar have their unqualified URL text sent off to Yahoo's search engine. --There's a little war going on there.

AOL's popular and attractive capability for its partners is the assignment of an AOL keyword. "Go to AOL KEYWORD: Finance" it might say. I haven't checked, but I have a feeling that unqualified URL's in the AOL's client web browser might double for AOL Keywords as well.

I'm thinking that "unqualified" may become more and more stringent and require HTTP:// in front to browse the web, otherwise, you're actually getting search engine results.

I understand that today the general notion for netizens is that URL if ya got it, and SEARCH if ya don't. Just as Apple's IPOD vastly simplified my need to play digital music on the go... I think "simpler" is the more "human" and "popular" path in all things. So, I'm thinking out of the two options, there remains one option too many and that time will eventually bear that out.

I think pressure will increase on Search Engines over what shows up under certain keywords. I'm sure Google hears no end of it. On a serious note... especially when it comes to trademarks and such, I wonder if Google will begin selling this "I'm Feeling Lucky" to corporations (the instant browse feature)... allowing the "first result", to be determined by the sponsor of those AdWords (and true search result pages, simply delineating the difference between the paid ads and the true query results).

Hm. Simultaneously a nest of vipers and a potential cash cow.

What do you folks think? Insanity?

~ Nexus

**options** · 08-21-2003, 03:11 PM

Don't forget the magic "i" button which, among other shortcuts, also allows translations of Italian, French, Spanish, German or Portuguese sites, with prety good results.
Really nice.

**Nexus** · 08-21-2003, 07:51 PM

Yeah, you gotta love sheer utility and simplicity all in one place.

~ Nexus

**Anthony Ng** · 08-21-2003, 08:13 PM

Originally posted by Nexus
We've all marveled through Overture at the alarming amount of people who regularly type domain names into search engines to get to a website.

Anyone knows how this all begins? I mean typing domain names into search boxes instead of the address bar. I just met with a client of mine this morning who did EXACTLY that!

**ps123** · 08-21-2003, 09:15 PM

Nexus talked about domain name branding. What is branding? It is something created by ads. Like askjeeves did for its search engine a few years ago. Leave the ads for askjeeves alone for a moment then askjeeves is nothing as a brand. It has been said here multiple times on this forum that you can pick any domain and convert it into a brand by spending a packet on it.

I think pressure will increase on Search Engines over what shows up under certain keywords. I'm sure Google hears no end of it. On a serious note... especially when it comes to trademarks and such, I wonder if Google will begin selling this "I'm Feeling Lucky" to corporations (the instant browse feature)... allowing the "first result", to be determined by the sponsor of those AdWords (and true search result pages, simply delineating the difference between the paid ads and the true query results).

Not only the first results on adwords but all results on adwords are sold by google as of now. Anyone (including the corporate giants) are free to buy those spots. provided they are willing to spend the money. Check overture for keyword Viagra and you will find that Pfizer is buying #1 or 2 slot for that keyword for $6-$7 per click.

**Nexus** · 08-21-2003, 09:34 PM

Originally posted by ps123
Not only the first results on adwords but all results on adwords are sold by google as of now.

Of course... I was referring to what Google truly views as the "first result" when you use the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button off of the main page. Currently right now, they're very clear that advertisements are placements and NOT search results.

Originally posted by ps123
Anyone (including the corporate giants) are free to buy those spots. provided they are willing to spend the money. Check overture for keyword Viagra and you will find that Pfizer is buying #1 or 2 slot for that keyword for $6-$7 per click.

Even those spots are getting scrutinized more and more. --Like in this news article:

But more and more trademark owners are examining how paid listings affect their intellectual property, in part because rivals often bid for competitive terms, poaching traffic from their sites. In Netflix's case, marketing affiliates are doing work in paid search that it could do itself, without paying affiliate fees of between $9 and $30 for new subscribers. Many companies are grappling with the same problem.
[--SNIP--]
Both Overture and Google allow marketers to bid for keywords that may be trademarks or linked to trademarks. For example, a marketer whose products are linked to the keyword "shoes" may appear in search terms related to "Nike shoes," as part of their programs. The question is, what obligation do the search engines have to police those listings with their technology, Rohrs said.
"We're on the precipice of interesting trademark law," he said. "Don't expect it to be decided within six months, expect this to drag out over years."

http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...es/5065901.htm

When people in droves turn to search engine keywords instead of just going to Nike.com or even eBay.com, and when they know the name of the business, like NetFlix, and still use it as a search term instead of typing in the domain name... suddenly it becomes an incredibly alarming affair for corporations and small businesses, who have built up public mindshare, and still may not be able to have the public reach them first.

A very creepy/slippery precedent begins to be set. How will the first popular generic trademarked words get handled when SEARCH-BROWSING is the paradigm? How about "Marvel"... it already has a few popular corporations in different sectors using it (comics, car products). DC Comics could grab any one looking for "Marvel" with a nice placement. Then there are things like "Pledge", "Comet", "Eureka"... these are strong brands, albeit out of the dictionary, but there are armies of less stronger brands that become more and more murky.

Trying to lord over search engine keywords is a crazier game than Amazon.com's recent win over the domain owner of AmazonBook.com/net.

~ Nexus

**dtobias** · 08-21-2003, 10:24 PM

From the referers in my access logs, I can tell that I regularly get hits from users who type some domain name into a search engine and wind up on a page in my site that mentions that name (usually to criticize it as stupid, as on my Hall of Shame page). I usually think "There's another user who's trying to get to that other site, and is too stupid to know the difference between a browser's URL bar and a search engine!"

**Anthony Ng** · 08-24-2003, 09:42 AM

[/Thread MOVED by Moderator from "Gold Cafe" to "Search Engines/Traffic Building/PPC" upon request]

**OTP_TEAM** · 08-25-2003, 06:20 PM

Many clients of mine seem to use msn, to search for the domain name instead of supplying the domain name in the address bar. It makes it difficult when trying to troubleshoot over the phone, especially when they tell you the resolution resolves to the MSN page....

It's certainly happens, daily to say the least.