Big Changes at NameMedia

NameMedia has made a big change in their parking strategy.  It appears that they have sold the GoldKey.com domain name and they are converting most domain owners to their formerly high-end SmartName service.   If you parked domains at GoldKey or ActiveAudience you have probably received an email asking you to change nameservers on your domains.  SmartName is known for innovative services such as their SmartName shops.  These instant ecommerce destination sites monetize through non-traditional services (such as Shops.com) and they also allow you to include your own AdSense ads on the pages. 

SmartName has also announced new content options for sites parked there.  They have a new blog-like content system that allows domain owners to create content-filled web sites on their domains in an automated manner. The sites pull in external news and blog feeds to create a unique web that may even rank in search engines. The sites are monetized by PPC ads, and like their shops, the domain owner cah add their own PPC ads.

Your old GoldKey or ActiveAudience logon should work with the new SmartName system.  There is a learning curve involved in their new system - but I am planning to start learning.

 

Brian Carr of NameMedia on Domain Monetization in late 2009 and Beyond

Brian Carr is Senior VP of Domain Publishing at NameMedia.  He shares his thoughts about NameMedia's domain publishing (parking)services and the future of domain monetization.  In this interview he talks about the new iPhone apps for GoldKey, ActiveAudience and GoldKey; and reveals that GoldKey and ActiveAudience domainers can get the SmartName Shopping.com feed that has formerly been available just to SmartName users.  (Just ask you account manager  turn on the Shopping.com landing pages.)  You can even send paid traffic to these pages and use your own AdSense ads.

NameMedia Upgrades their Parking Platforms

NameMedia announced today that they have upgraded several aspects of their parking platforms, and that additional improvements are planned.  The improvements apply across the board to their SmartName, ActiveAudience, and GoldKey services. 

When you first log-in to your account you will be greeted by a new dashboard that replaces the old control panel.  The interface seems friendlier and easier-to-use.  NameMedia claims the following improvements:

• Timeout Issues: We have improved the physical hardware, as well as modified database and application indices and code. All of these have resulted in a significant improvement in overall application performance.
• Data Discrepancy Issues: We've improved our in-house notification tools which will provide us with information on data discrepancies for prior days.
• Site Downtime: Successfully completed a data center move to improve the overall site stability.

I didn't even know that they had so many issues, but the site does seem more responsive. Unfortunately stats have been delayed a couple of days by Yahoo, so it's difficult to immediately measure the site's performance.

The make over includes some new templates on the front-end as well.  Here are some thumbnail  screenshots that they provided, but be aware that different color schemes and designs are also available. 

Yahoo Stats Delayed

Several parking services are reporting delays in stats from Yahoo for the period of 2/15-2/17.  This problem has delayed the semi-monthly report calculation for Parked (which pays twice a month).  NameMedia's Yahoo-based SmartName, ActiveAudience, and GoldKey report similar stats delays.