Business.com does the kind of things publishers are trying to do more of: Drive readers to spend money with merchants who will pay a bounty for the traffic.Their interest shows how, well into the Internet age, media companies are still eager for properties that can deliver online revenue and growth. Business.com, Santa Monica, Calif., has 2007 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about $15 million, the people familiar with the matter said, with its online traffic growing by 50% in the first quarter of 2007, compared with the year earlier
They have pushed this workhorse of a domain name hard since the domain name sale was announced. The only fault I found with the domain sale was the failure to better exploit all the free publicity by having a more robust business directory database online when the sale was announced.
In the "business of business" realm Dow Jones is king of hill. Adding Business.com to their brand would certainly add significant fortifications to their brand castle.
There are few acts so sanguine, in the age of web-based marketing, as adding an industrial strength, generic domain to one's brand fortress. The generic-domain-as-brand strategy adds clarity, durability and a solid web defense to historical brands. We've seen Loans.com and Books.com exploited by major brand holders for this very reason. This is another sign of marketing departments awakening to the new reality.
"Dow Jones" is synonymous with business. Business.com is business.
[edited by: Webwork at 1:20 pm (utc) on June 22, 2007]
They certainly made a good investment buying the domain name for $7.5 million.
