E-Commerce Web Sites Sign Up for RealNames

Palo Alto, CA-based Centraal Corp. said that its RealNames Web naming service has been adopted by barnesandnoble.com, Beyond.com, Egghead.com, InsWeb, Office Depot.com and eBay.

RealNames said the service is helping e- commerce merchants to lower their cost per customer acquisition, to increase their customer conversion rates, and to raise the average sales value per customer.

With a RealName, a company’s brand name is its RealName, and the RealName is the company’s Web address. Consumers type the name of the company in their browser instead of a URL, and are taken to the company’s Web site immediately. Branding is then consistent across all media, and customers can quickly locate the brands they’re seeking.

“RealNames has made it easier for consumers on the Web to use portal sites to find what they are looking for on eBay. For example, when a person types ‘eBay antiques’ into a search engine such as AltaVista, they can go straight to the antiques channel on eBay,” said Steve Westly, vice president of marketing and business development for eBay. “Their technology makes it even easier to get to eBay, and help consumers on the Web find what they are looking for.”

More than 20,000 RealNames have been subscribed to date, the company said.