Insights on Website Tracking and Understanding Domain Names

Posted by Paul Christ July 24, 2009

Labels: Marketing Research, Internet Marketing, Privacy and Social Issues

Highlighted Marketing Stories:

The Web Knows What You Want (BusinessWeek) - This story offers excellent insight into methods online retailers use to predict what customers may want. While some readers may instantly tie such activities to privacy concerns, as noted below, these methods seem limited to only user activity on a retailer's own site and not tracking customers from one site to another.

But unlike the most controversial advertising technology, which tracks Web surfers' wanderings from site to site, many of these "preference prediction" methods limit their scrutiny to behavior on a retailer's own Web page. Much of the analysis looks simply at the patterns of clicks, purchases, and other variables, without including personal information about the shopper.

Are online shoppers becoming more aware of how they are being tracked by the sites they visit or are most still not very in tune with how their online behavior is monitored?

The Domain Name Business (BusinessWeek) - Internet site names can hold tremendous value for the owners of the names and can cost a lot for someone who wants a name but does not own it. This story addresses these things and more.

Online property typically increases in value over time, particularly generic or descriptive domains that have the enduring, evergreen quality that drives traffic. Similar to traditional real estate, if you invest in the right virtual property, and hold on to it for a while, you will likely see a solid ROI.

For anyone starting a business I always suggest they look for the availability of the domain name first before establishing their business name. Do you agree?