Businesses are realizing the growing trend of direct navigation û typing a category plus “.com” directly into their browsers. For example, Creditcheck.com was recently sold for $3 million and Sex.com for $12 million.
A survey by Opinion Research Corporation for LeaseThis.com showed that Internet users are utilizing direct navigation much more than has been previously reported, with 64 percent of Internet users stating they bypass search engines and type keywords into their browsers with the hope of being directed to the right URL.
Previous industry reports have indicated that only one in six Internet searchers û approximately 17 percent û use direct navigation over search engines, demonstrating the rapid growth of this trend.
The study also found that 26 percent of users say they bypass search engines at least once a day. In addition, 38 percent of users surveyed say they bypass search engines weekly or monthly.
Further, 53 percent of those surveyed say that they would always or sometimes bypass search engines if they could access what they are looking for on the Internet by typing the category name into their browser.
“In general, [these results imply] that owning the category is important and increasingly integral to the success of a business,” said Jonathan Boswell, CEO of LeaseThis.com, Los Angeles. “A short, memorable URL that is descriptive of the brand is vital to business. In the context of LeaseThis.com, the results show that search marketers have access to these brands and are strategic in gaining ROI.”
