After struggling to gain a foothold in the domain industry after launching their .biz TLD in 2001, NeuStar has launched a new marketing campaign “to increase competition in the marketplace and to raise awareness of the .biz brand,” said Tim Switzer, NeuStar vice president or registry services.
Despite being available in 15 different languages, most companies still prefer the dominant .com. According to recent surveys, the .biz TLD ranks eighth in registrations.
The new campaign includes a proposal for the Registry to begin offering one and two character .biz domain names. In response to the proposal, ICANN has opened a public comment period. The original proposal offered by NeuStar was to seek out domain registrants with plans to develop the one and two character domains. The Registry would auction off the domains if more than one qualified domain registrant applied. The proposal comes on the heels of the dotMobi Registrar receiving permission from ICANN to release one and two character .mobi domain names.
The Registrar cleared the first hurdle at ICANN after the organization found no significant security, stability, or competition issues in the short name proposal.