Registrar of Internet Names Is Entering a New Domain - Los Angeles Times
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Technology and the Internet

Registrar of Internet Names Is Entering a New Domain

By KAREN KAPLAN
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Now that its monopoly on registering the most popular Internet domain names is over, Network Solutions is branching into a new line of business: Web search engines.

Using its extensive database of registrations ending in .com, .net and .org, NSI today will launch its “dot-com directory†at https://www.dotcomdirectory.com. The search engine will specialize in finding online businesses and allow users to search for companies based on their names, Web site addresses, business category or geographic locations.

In the six years it has been registering domain names, Network Solutions has amassed a database of 5 million Web addresses. Now the Herndon, Va., company has partnered with Omaha-based InfoUSA to get access to InfoUSA’s database of 11 million businesses, and Austin, Texas-based Hoover’s will supply NSI with company and industry data. Other partners include VeriSign, Inktomi, GTE SuperPages and DoubleClick.

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Network Solutions aims to make money on the directory by selling banner ads and by persuading companies to take out yellow-page-style ads that link to their listings. But the biggest contribution to NSI’s bottom line will be new domain name registrations from small and medium-sized businesses that want to be listed in the dot-com directory, said Doug Wolford, senior vice president of sales and marketing.

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Karen Kaplan

Karen Kaplan covers science and medical research for the Los Angeles Times. She has been a member of the science team since 2005, including 13 years as an editor. Her first decade at The Times was spent covering technology in the Business section as both a reporter and editor. She grew up in San Diego and is a graduate of MIT and Columbia University.

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