(Reuters) - Internet services firm VeriSign reported a 3.8% rise in third-quarter revenue on Thursday, beating analyst expectations, driven by growing demand for domain name registration as businesses expand their online presence.

An increasing number of businesses are strengthening their digital footprint by renewing and acquiring new, easy-to-remember domain names to attract a wider online customer base, benefiting domain name registry service providers like VeriSign.

VeriSign's primary business involves managing the domain-name registries for two of the internet's most valuable domains, .com and .net. The company also operates two of the 13 global internet root servers.

The company reported revenue of $390.6 million for the third-quarter, up from $376.3 million a year ago. Analysts on average expected revenue of $390.2 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The Reston, Virginia-based company posted a profit of $2.07 per share for the quarter ended Sept.30, higher than the $1.83 per share it reported in the same period last year.

VeriSign processed 9.3 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net in the third quarter, compared to 9.9 million a year ago.

(Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)