Methods for determining preferred domain positioning on a registration website

1. A method, comprising:

A) receiving a bid from a registry seeking a preferred placement on a domain registration website for a domain administered by said registry;

B) generating, by at least one server computer communicatively coupled to a network, a quality score for said domain, wherein said quality score comprises a volume of domain registrations, wherein said volume of domain registrations comprises a number of domains registered by a domain registrar, a number of domains registered by a domain registrar within a 30-day period, a number of domain registration years, or a number of domain registration years registered by a domain registrar within a 30-day period;

C) determining, by at least one of said at least one server computer, said preferred placement based upon said bid and said quality score; and

D) displaying, by said at least one server computer, said domain on said domain registration website in said preferred placement.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said domain comprises a top-level domain.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said domain comprises a generic top-level domain.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein said domain comprises country code top-level domain.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said domain comprises a second-level domain comprising a root name concatenated to a top-level domain administered by said registry.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said second-level domain comprises a premium domain.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein said second-level domain comprises a suggested domain.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said bid comprises an offer to pay a remuneration for said preferred placement.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein said remuneration comprises money to be paid on a cost-per-click, cost-per-impression, cost-per-acquisition, flat fee, or recurring fee basis.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said bid comprises an electronic communication received by said at least one server.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said bid is received via an application programming interface running on said at least one server and being accessible to said registry via said network.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said bid comprises a written document.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said bid comprises an oral communication.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein said registry comprises a domain registry, a domain registrar, or a domain reseller.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein said registry provides both domain registry and domain registrar services.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a location on said domain registration website more likely to attract the attention of a user of said domain registration website than an other location.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a preferred placement within a vertical arrangement of a plurality of domains.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a preferred placement within a horizontal arrangement of domains.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a preferred placement within a drop-down box.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a top of a list of a plurality of domains.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a higher placement within a list of a plurality of domains than the placement of at least one other of said plurality of domains.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein said domain registration website is operated by a domain registry, a domain registrar, or a domain reseller.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein said quality score indicates a relative value of said domain when compared to a plurality of other domains.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein said quality score is a function of a price, a performance, or a market share of said domain.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining step C) further comprises:

i) calculating a weighted bid index for said domain, wherein said weighted bid index is a function of said bid and said quality score; and

ii) selecting said preferred placement based upon said weighted bid index.

26. The method of claim 25 , wherein said weighted bid index is calculated according to the following formula: said weighted bid index=(a volume of domain registrations registered by a domain registrar within a 30-day period)*(a financial value of said bid+a predetermined financial credit).

27. The method of claim 1 , wherein said bid is received via an application programming interface running on said at least one server and being accessible to said registry via said network.

28. The method of claim 1 , wherein said bid comprises a written document.

29. The method of claim 1 , wherein said bid comprises an oral communication.

30. A method, comprising: displaying, by at least one server computer communicatively coupled to a network, a domain administered by a registry in a preferred placement on a domain registration website, said preferred placement being based upon a bid from a registry seeking said preferred placement and a quality score for said domain, wherein said quality score comprises a volume of domain registrations, wherein said volume of domain registrations comprises a number of domains registered by a domain registrar, a number of domains registered by a domain registrar within a 30-day period, a number of domain registration years, or a number of domain registration years registered by a domain registrar within a 30-day period.

31. The method of claim 30 , wherein said domain comprises a top-level domain.

32. The method of claim 31 , wherein said domain comprises a generic top-level domain.

33. The method of claim 31 , wherein said domain comprises country code top-level domain.

34. The method of claim 30 , wherein said domain comprises a second-level domain comprising a root name concatenated to a top-level domain administered by said registry.

35. The method of claim 34 , wherein said second-level domain comprises a premium domain.

36. The method of claim 34 , wherein said second-level domain comprises a suggested domain.

37. The method of claim 30 , wherein said bid comprises an offer to pay a remuneration for said preferred placement.

38. The method of claim 37 , wherein said remuneration comprises money to be paid on a cost-per-click, cost-per-impression, cost-per-acquisition, flat fee, or recurring fee basis.

39. The method of claim 30 , wherein said bid comprises an electronic communication received by said at least one server.

40. The method of claim 30 , wherein said registry comprises a domain registry, a domain registrar, or a domain reseller.

41. The method of claim 30 , wherein said registry provides both domain registry and domain registrar services.

42. The method of claim 30 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a location on said domain registration website more likely to attract the attention of a user of said domain registration website than an other location.

43. The method of claim 30 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a preferred placement within a vertical arrangement of a plurality of domains.

44. The method of claim 30 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a preferred placement within a horizontal arrangement of domains.

45. The method of claim 30 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a preferred placement within a drop-down box.

46. The method of claim 30 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a top of a list of a plurality of domains.

47. The method of claim 30 , wherein said preferred placement comprises a higher placement within a list of a plurality of domains than the placement of at least one other of said plurality of domains.

48. The method of claim 30 , wherein said domain registration website is operated by a domain registry, a domain registrar, or a domain reseller.

49. The method of claim 30 , wherein said quality score indicates a relative value of said domain when compared to a plurality of other domains.

50. The method of claim 30 , wherein said quality score is a function of a price, a performance, or a market share of said domain.

51. The method of claim 30 , wherein said displaying step further comprises:

i) calculating a weighted bid index for said domain, wherein said weighted bid index is a function of said bid and said quality score; and

ii) selecting said preferred placement based upon said weighted bid index.

52. The method of claim 51 , wherein said weighted bid index is calculated according to the following formula: said weighted bid index=(a volume of domain registrations registered by a domain registrar within a 30-day period)*(a financial value of said bid+a predetermined financial credit).

53. A method, comprising:

A) receiving a bid from a registry seeking a preferred placement on a domain registration website for a domain administered by said registry;

B) generating, by at least one server computer communicatively coupled to a network, a quality score for said domain;

C) determining, by at least one of said at least one server computer, said preferred placement based upon said bid and said quality score by:

i) calculating a weighted bid index for said domain according to the following formula: said weighted bid index=(a volume of domain registrations registered by a domain registrar within a predetermined period)*(a financial value of said bid+a predetermined financial credit); and

ii) selecting said preferred placement based upon said weighted bid index; and

D) displaying, by said at least one server computer, said domain on said domain registration website in said preferred placement.

54. A method, comprising: displaying, by at least one server computer communicatively coupled to a network, a domain administered by a registry in a preferred placement on a domain registration website, said preferred placement being based upon a bid from a registry seeking said preferred placement and a quality score for said domain, wherein said displaying step further comprises: (i) calculating a weighted bid index for said domain according to the following formula: said weighted bid index=(a volume of domain registrations registered by a domain registrar within a predetermined period)*(a financial value of said bid+a predetermined financial credit); and (ii) selecting said preferred placement based upon said weighted bid index.