March 14, 2005 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — According to research and analysis firm Netcraft (netcraft.com), Internet portal and Web hosting provider Yahoo! (yahoo.com) had extended its $4.98 domain offer, the fourth time since the promotion was launched on December 10, 2004. The third extension of the promotion was made last month.
r
r
Domain name pricing continues to drop as Web hosts use the reduced prices as loss leaders to attract hosting customers. According to Netcraft, 1&1 Internet, EV1Servers, Hostway, Interland, Web.com and AIT are all offering domain names for less than $8 per year. Netfirms continues to lead the way, offering a $4.95 domain.
r
r
Just over a week ago, Network Solutions, the industry’s longest standing domain registrar, unveiled its own domain promotion, offering a free one-year domain registration to customers of its new Web hosting packages.
r
r
While retail domain name prices drop, says Netcraft, the secondary domain market continues to be lucrative, with Local.com recently selling for $700,000. Local.com was purchased by Interchange Corporation, a search engine services provider.
