Network Solutions Targets Businesses with Looksmart

Domain name registrar Network Solutions Wednesday entered into a strategic
alliance with Web directory Looksmart, with the intent of targeting their
products and services to businesses.

Under terms of the agreement, businesses will be able to access Network
Solutions’ services, including domain name registration, from Looksmart’s
Web services area. Network
Solutions’ customers will be able to download Looksmart’s suite of
site-maker tools from a co-branded Web site accessible from Network
Solutions’ dot com
toolkit resource center.

An advertising and direct marketing campaign will be launched to raise
awareness about the companies’ one-stop shopping capabilities. No financial
terms were disclosed.

The agreement is part of Looksmart’s distribution strategy branding through
syndication and licensing agreements with other Web sites and properties,
partnerships with ISPs and viral marketing. The company said it has plans
for an initial public offering.

“Looksmart is a young, aggressive company that is very well known by key
industry players,” said Doug
Wolford, Network Solutions’ senior vice president, marketing and sales.
“Its partnerships with leading
Internet sites will help extend Network Solutions’ services beyond our
current reach.”

Network Solutions has held a monopoly on domain name registration in the
United States and abroad, and is working to bulk up its other services when
the market opens to other registrars in the near future.