In this week’s industry news wrap up: ICANN opens up more domain names; startup Ringleadr offers users the ability to create deals; mobile app Shazam extends into TV; Google click counts in search (for real?).
ICANN Opens Up More Domain Names
The international authority in charge of top-level domain names has approved the expansion of domain names. That means that in the near future, companies will be able to create a domain for their brand or a generic name (reprisemedia.agency). Since we are running out of IP addresses, maybe we’re starting to run out of domain names as well!
What our team thinks:
- This might create more confusion for customers looking for a specific brand.
- Impacts search because a lot more users will be relying on search engines to locate the pages for brands and companies instead of trying more intuitive URLs.
- Will there be a bidding war associated with generic terms? It will also increase a company’s Quality Score for a given term, for example, a computer manufacturer that buys .computer versus that manufacturer’s competitors who host their sites on .coms.
Ringleadr Allows Customers to Create Their Own Deals
How many of you spend more time deleting daily deals from your inbox then actually purchasing them? The problem with these daily deal offerings is that they aren’t always relevant to the interests of their subscribers. This new company is encouraging users to create their own deals with their favorite businesses, allowing businesses to see what their customers are seeking and be able to approve of these deals. The only problem is: how many users will actually create feasible deals that the business can maintain?
What our team thinks:
- It increases loyalty with businesses. Allows businesses to gain traction in the customer base they are seeking out rather than catering to one-time customers.
- The group-deal model affects smaller businesses more than larger businesses because larger businesses have brand recognition.
- Could potentially be a PR nightmare for big companies who could get bad press from not catering to customers’ deal preferences and requests.
Shazam Expands to TV
Shazam is expanding into the television business by allowing users to ‘shazam’ shows or ads to unlock bonus material or exclusive content. Unlike the traditional use of Shazam ,where users are discovering song/artist information, this expands Shazam’s functionality and increases user engagement. What if the user gets too distracted with the ‘shazam’ content and misses highlights of the program?
What our team thinks:
- It will be interesting to see how scalable this is – will it differ from QR codes in that users will get redirected to exclusive content, or will it just redirect users to a page they could have accessed on their own?
- It will work for TV, but we’re unsure about 30-second commercial spots. Unless you have your mobile device readily accessible and the Shazam app up and running, 30 seconds won’t be enough time to get the app up and get the content from the ad.
Google Click Count in Search
Similar to how Google started testing displaying the amount of clicks an advertiser has in paid ads, they are also displaying the number of “+1s” next to organic listings. This is currently live for certain sites like Google.com and Mashable.com. Do you think having more +1s will sway a user’s decision when clicking on listings?
What our team thinks:
- It will definitely affect how users view ads and whether they click on them or not.
- Advertisers can use it against their competitors in terms of creating copy that will get more clicks.
Tags: domain names, google click counts, group deals, icann, ringleadr, shazam app
