Yahoo! is hitting the individual and SMB domain name market hard. This week it lowered its domain pricing from $35.00 to $9.95, which it says will help make it easier for individuals and small businesses to expediently establish their online presence at a very low cost. Additionally, Yahoo! has significantly enhanced its current e-mail and web hosting products in regard to boosting bandwidth, storage and customer support.

Yahoo! is rolling out the new domain product and pricing at a time of unprecedented growth in the market. In Q1 2004, 4.7 million new domain names were registered, bringing the number of domains purchased to more than 50,000 per day.

Yahoo! is also launching a new domain-based e-mail product, Yahoo! Custom Mailbox, as a solution for individuals who want a personalized e-mail address (e.g. you@your-domain.com). For $34.95 per year, customers receive a domain name and e-mail address.

Specific package details are available at http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/.

As part of the product launch, Yahoo! also announced the "Yahoo! Domain Name Giveaway" sweepstakes program that encourages consumers and small businesses alike to register for a new domain name. Through an online promotion, 4,000 consumers who sign up for a new domain before September 15, 2004 will win a free year's registration for their domain. In addition, each consumer who registers for a domain will be entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to "strike gold" with a free trip for two to Las Vegas. No purchase is necessary to participate in the sweepstakes.