Internet Marketing Tips - Domain Names That Can Get You in Trouble

Picking domain names is a very important part of your marketing activities. The proper domain name can give much credibility to your site. It's almost critical that the name itself matches the product or service that you're promoting. However, sometimes picking a name can lead to a lot of trouble. This article is going to touch on how this is so. Hopefully, after reading this, you'll have a pretty good idea of what to avoid when picking a name for your website.

Probably the most obvious problem and the most dangerous is picking a name that matches one of a popular product or service. There are trademark laws that make it so that it is quite possible that by using a name of a well established company that they can contact you and demand that you take your site down. From what I have seen personally, you will have little recourse but to comply. These companies have a lot more money than you do in order to fight these things. So in the long run, you lose.

So, it is best that you make sure that you choose a name that isn't going to step on anybody's toes. Imagine getting a site started, making some money from it and then suddenly you're served with an order to remove your site. Avoid the problem altogether by picking a name that nobody else has a claim to.

Another problem, and one that is not quite so obvious, is picking a name that has letters in it that when isolated, spell words that are, how should I say, less than acceptable as far as the censors go. In many cases, these domain names can even trip spam filters that will keep your emails from being delivered, if you're into email marketing, and land you on the black list as a spam site. I won't give explicit examples in this article, so use your imagination.

So, when picking a name, go through it carefully and make sure that there aren't any words within the words that could end up getting you in trouble.

By following these two simple tips, you should have no problem picking a domain name that you'll be able to keep for a very long time to come.

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Steven Wagenheim

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8 Great Tips on Choosing the Best Domain Name

For search engine (SEO) purposes, there has been a temptation of buying a domain name that is stuffed with keywords. For example, if you do a Google search for Xbox 360, you will find close to a million sites with similar domain names all with the name Xbox stuff inside. Some of these names are catchy and will stick in the minds of people, but some are so lame that no one can remember them.
To help you choose the right domain, here are 8 great tips to get you started.


* 1 Your domain name should be short. My first domain name was as long as my business card. Not only was it hard to remember, but there was a great chance that it would be misspelled when people would try to type my domain in their browser.

* 2 Your domain name should be simple. Stay away from domain names with hyphens and underscores. If people try to type in your domain from memory, they may forget that there was an underscore or a hyphen in your name.

* 3 It should be suggestive of your business category. I think this is pretty self explanatory. If you are a web design company, you don't want a domain that is totally irrelevant like blueroses.com.

* 4 It should be unique. Don't be a copy cat. Uniqueness helps people remember you.

* 5 It should be easy to interpret and pronounce. I remember having a domain name that when I were to talk to people over the phone, they would ask over and over, "What is the name of your business again?" You don't want that.

* 6 It should be personalized

* 7 It should not be difficult to spell. Go with a domain name that even the people with the worst spelling can spell.

* 8 It should not be difficult to remember. I have two sites that I think have really great domain names. They are WebPuffs.com and Supplement.Bistro.com. They are names that people remember.

I hope this short guide will help you on your next domain name purchase. I always recommend Godaddy for domain purchases. Their domains are competitively priced.

Jon Lewis is an online marketer. He is the author of the blog webpuffs.com. A site where you can find free resources and learn more about how to start an internet business .

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When Can Online Businesses Be Considered As Safe Investment Options?

Lets start with some facts and figures to understand the importance of making ourselves aware of the internet revelations. Google.com has 55,000,000 pageviews in a month and is valued at 1.65 Billion Dollars as of Dec 2008. Similarily Yahoo, MSN, Ebay and many other web service providers are in the billion dollar club. Recently Youtube and Raaga.com like sites have proved that even audio and video sharing sites can touch millions of dollars as their advertising revenue.

So what does it all boil down to?


The Best time in the history of mankind is right now and one has to make most of it either willingly or otherwise. Information exchange rate is at an all time high. According to recent studies, The information doubling rate can be measured by the number of inventions in a given period of time by human beings, like Humans invented 38,100 items in 30,000 years, and till renaissance in 1500 BC the number of inventions doubled up to 79035, surprisingly by the beginning of 20th century the doubling rate was acheived between 1910 to 1960 with with 678,900,000,000 variables. Right now the information is doubling every 18 months and By 2015 We will be crossing the vertex of All the information that has been generated till now in the universe.

So back from the Sci-fi, to reality Only Internet is the logical base to our future and all social activities will change the platforms and modes of communications from manual to automatic.
.coms, nets, org, etc will be the prime piece of real estate, Invest in a domain name Now and thank your stars in the future for gaining this information. A 4L( letters).com domain is at sale for 500,000$ at sitepoint.marketplace .com but some promising 8L domains are still at sale for 70-80$. Visit http://www.monthlysalary.ws or click here.

Monthlysalary.ws provides the biggest opportunity of a lifetime with free PPC advertising options and readymade website with absolutely No cost.
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Identity Using Your Domain Name

Let us look at three ways you can use your domain name as a crucial identity factor to differentiate your business on the internet.

When selecting a domain name it is important to use your common sense. This is because your domain name, or URL, can have a large impact upon online and offline marketing of your website. Domain names that are long or difficult to spell can make people ignore your website. Short domain names remain in the memory of your visitors much better.

When selecting a domain name, ensure that you choose one that will assist you in your marketing niche and strategy. As stated before, you can use your business name and your URL. If your business name is not available then select one that comes very close to what you are doing. Purchasing a business name domain name is not the only way to go; a keyword domain name will suffice.

If you select to use a .net extension, it will be better to wait until after you have found a domain name that is available which is well suited to your type of business. Listed below are some simple steps to follow to assist you in identifying your name brand to the internet community.

Structure your Brand Name. It is always advised to place your domain name and email address on your business cards, letterheads, and all printed materials. You could even place your domain name and email address on your phone recording and the side of your car.

Keep is short & memorable, never select an URL that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet and secure a .com URL. It is strongly recommended to purchase a .com domain name rather than a .net, .info, .biz or anything else. If the domain name that you would like is not available in .com, then continue to search until you find an appropriate name that is not already taken. Even though there is absolutely nothing wrong with the other extensionsPsychology Articles, having a .com extension makes it sound as though you have been on the net for some time. It is crucial that you remember that your domain name is an extension of your business and your brand of product or service. For this reason it is important that you make the very best selection for the success of your website.


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Where You Should Register Your Domain Name

If you own a website, you would understand the cost and effort required to make everything just perfect. No one wants to invest a lot into a web site and just turn it over to anyone. You need to make sure the domain registrar you choose is professional and can do the job right. Any company you choose should be able to provide you with excellent customer service and quickly resolve any problems that may arise.

If you own a website, you would understand the cost and effort required to make everything just perfect. No one wants to invest a lot into a web site and just turn it over to anyone. You need to make sure the domain registrar you choose is professional and can do the job right. Any company you choose should be able to provide you with excellent customer service and quickly resolve any problems that may arise.

However, that is not the case with all registrar companies. Some take your money and are never heard from again. This can be devastating, especially if you paid a premium price for your domain name.

Some people have even been known to lose their domain name just like that after some time. This can be devastating if your business depends on a website to function. As such, one of the first things you need to do when establishing an online business is to register a good domain name with the right registrar.

How to Select the Right Domain Name Registrar Company

1. Check the domain name company’s website. It should always offer contact information that is easy to find and provides the company’s legal name, phone number and address.

2. Check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the company has had any negative reports or complaints from clients.

3. Check the Customer Support facilities of the domain name registrar. Ideally, it should have a 1-800 number, an online ticketing system, a chat system and at the very least an email system for clients. In fact, you can test these customer services first before signing up. For instance, why not send an email and pose a question regarding services and see how fast they respond?

4. Check the extent of services. Nowadays, offering just domain name registration services is not enough. Many of these companies offer web hosting, easy website builders, the ability to add Google AdSense, dedicated IP options, adding blogs, and many more! Depending on what you want your site to be, it’s important that you take a look at these extra services so that you don’t end up dealing with 5 different companies when you can deal with only one, right?

5. Check out online forums. Since domain name registration is big business, prowl online forums or even websites that specifically rank domain name companies so that you get a head start in your research on any registrar.

Other Domain Name Registration Tips

If you already registered your domain name with a company but don’t want them to do your hosting for you, that’s easy. Often, domain name registrars will assist you in configuring the system so that hosting is pointed to another server. As such, never feel that you’re tied to a specific domain registrar for other services.

Also, you may want to use an existing domain name that’s currently for sale. A good domain registrar will offer brokering services. In this scenario, they registrar will approach the current owner of the domain name and indicate that someone is interested in buying the said name from them. A price MAY be set by the current owner and the domain registrar will then mention this to you.
Choosing the best domain registrar for your website can seem like a daunting task. However, with so much at stakeFree Articles, you have to ensure your website’s safety so do do your homework!

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6 Qualities of a Good Domain Name

Like it or not, the domain name you choose will have a major impact on your online business. Here are 6 qualities to help you choose the best name possible.

Choosing a good domain name is crucial to the success or failure of your business. You may wonder how something so small and slight could have an impact on your business, but the best way to compare this is to think about how important location is to an offline business? If you do not have a good location, you are likely not going to get many visitors. The same holds true for a good domain name as well. Here, you will discover the six qualities that a good domain name must have to ensure maximum success.

1.) MemorableA good domain name must be memorable. Yes, we have the option of bookmarking a site that we enjoy; however, the hard truth is that many people do not take advantage of bookmarking. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that your domain name is one that is easy to remember and makes an impact.It should be easy, memorable, and straight forward. Avoid complexity and it is usually a good idea to avoid initials in most cases. The only exception to this rule would be if the letters represented the website name or business and was still easy to remember.
2.) Short and SweetTwenty characters is the maximum that you should use for a good domain name, ten is even better. A long and complicated domain name is not going to help you. Your best bet is to keep it short and sweet. A great domain name is less than ten characters; a good domain name is less than twenty characters. A bad domain name goes over twenty characters.
3.) Be Choosy On Your ExtensionThere are several domain extensions available to you such as .com, .net, .org, .tv, .info, .gov and so on. However, some of these work better than others and are more memorable at the same time. It is important to understand that some extensions also have restrictions such as .gov is reserved specifically for government websites. The .com domain name extension is the best by far, because it is the most widely used.The .net extension is the second best, but be prepared most people will type .com before they will .net if they cannot remember which extension you use. The type of extension you use might also have a bearing on the type of website. Some people have come to expect certain things when a particular extension. For example, .org is typically used by not-for-profit organization and educational websites. The .info extensions are generally used for informational websites.
4.) Spelling Means EverythingHaving a difficult to spell domain name could cause you some trouble. Again, many do not even make use of bookmarks; therefore, if your domain name is hard to spell, they may end up at a competitor's website. A good domain name contains only words that are easy to pronounce, have a good combination of words or letters that are used in every day language, and does not contain foreign words that may be difficult to non-native speakers.
5.) Tells a StoryA good domain name should be descriptive and tell a story. In other words, when your visitors, customers, or potential customers see your domain name they should instantly be able to tell what they are going to find. For instance, if it is your business, a business name is good.
6.) Avoid Fancy SymbolsIt is never a good idea to use numbers or hyphens within your domain name. Even if your domain name is memorable, many people will not pay attention to the symbolsFree Articles, which could lead them to someone else's website.

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Increase Your website Traffic With Expired Domains And Redirection

There are literally thousands of domain names that expire every day. Most of these domain names will already have an established traffic base, backlinks, and search engine listings. With so many domain names expiring every day it can become difficult to locate the domain names that you need. Fortunately there are services available that you can sign for that will help you to locate the perfect domain names.

Almost everyone knows about the benefits that commerce has gained with the Internet. Not only are there advantages for sellers, but buyers are benefited by the ease of shopping and the wide variety of information that is available. With the use of the Internet anyone can offer products or services for sale to millions of prospective customers and clients. The beauty of online marketing is that you can do it for very little cost when compared to a physical store. Also your website will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week even while you are away from your computer. For the most part your online business runs itself.

This knowledge has encouraged many people to start their own website and work from home. However, a problem that all these webmasters must face is how to drive traffic to their site. You can build a well thought out and convincing website, but if you don't get visitors you cannot make any money.

There are numerous methods that can be used to develop traffic for a website. Many of these techniques can be very time consuming and expensive. There is good news for those of you who would like to get a significant increase in your traffic at very little cost. This method involves expired domain names and the use of redirection. Using this method of website promotion you simply purchase expired domain names that match the theme of a website, or websites, that you currently promote and use redirects to send the traffic to your existing URLs.

When a new domain name is registered the purchaser pays for the registration in one year intervals - usually one year at a time. Throughout that first year, or even several years, the webmaster will promote the website and build backlinks and develop traffic flow. Sometimes, when the registration period is up the webmaster will fail to pay for the renewal. There can be many different reasons for this, but generally they just lose interest or get involved in other projects. The important thing to know is that once the domain name expires it will now be available for others to register.

There are literally thousands of domain names that expire every day. Most of these domain names will already have an established traffic base, backlinksArticle Submission, and search engine listings. With so many domain names expiring every day it can become difficult to locate the domain names that you need. Fortunately there are services available that you can sign for that will help you to locate the perfect domain names. You may search their database of domains available and even sign up for email alerts that keep you informed you know about pending domain name expirations.

If you want to take full advantage of the great benefits that can be realized with the use of expired domain names you will need to research the domains available and learn how to tell which ones are the most valuable for you.

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Commercial Web Hosting - Business Considerations

There are many reasons why choosing the right web host pack can be beneficial for your business. Most importantly, if you don't purchase a package that offers you all the things you need to run a business online, you won't be able to attract and retain a faithful client base. For example, one way an online business can benefit from the right web host pack is through the use of domain names. Some web hosts offer free domain names and for the blossoming online business, the right name is often very important.

Remember that domain names are unique - no two web sites can have the same name (or the same address). If you have an idea for a great name for your domain and that name has not already been taken, you can register your name even before you are ready to set up your website. This process is called "parking" the domain name and it ensures that the name will be available when you are ready to start your website. Many web hosting providers include domain names as part of the web host pack. Taking advantage of such an offer is one way an online business can benefit from the right web host pack.

Security is another feature offered by web hosting companies and another example of how an online business can benefit from the right web host pack. In today's climate, computer hackers, viruses and worms are simply a matter of fact. If an online business cannot assure customers that it's safe to enter personal information on the company's website, there's likely to be few people who are willing to take the chance. Especially when it comes to financial information - credit card numbers and bank account information - security is vital. People who routinely shop online are usually careful to note the privacy policies and security systems in place before they order. While providing your own security is feasible, having a web host pack that includes a solid security system will help ensure that your company information and your clients' information is secure. After all, how hard would it be to regain trust if you had a major security breach?

Finding a web host that has a pack tailored to your needs is important. While it's probably going to be easy to find a company that offers web hosting that exceeds your current needs, it might not be feasible for you to take on that extra expense (especially during the business's infancy). For example, you might need only a single e-mail account, but with a large amount of disk space. The web host packs with enough disk space also have unlimited e-mail accounts. If you can find a company that will tailor a plan to your needs, that company might discount the monthly fee as long as you don't need additional e-mail accounts. If you do find a plan like this, remember to allow yourself room to grow in the future. Looking for tailored plans is just another way an online business can benefit from the right web host pack.

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Web hosting Services and Domain Names

Choosing an appropriate domain name is very important. First and foremost, when it comes to domain names, try to stay away from the silly, stupid, ridiculous or clever. Keep your domain name simple and make it something your customers can remember if they lose the link to your business website.

Take note that, while your domain name on Geocities or AOL may seem like the least expensive way to go, it may also get you dropped from certain search engines. Some search engines ignore domain addresses that reside on these ‘free servers’ or on the ‘cheap’ servers.

Even if your site is recognized and considered by search engines, a professional domain name that uses your primary company name or associated words is likely to get more attention and be considered as a stable business by your prospective customers.

Purchasing domain names are not that expensive which cost about $100 and there are many companies that can register the name for you, provided it is available and has not already been used by another company.

Using one of your keywords in your domain name can increase your score on some search engines. For example, solderingirons.com could be more effective as Electric-soldering-irons.com, if that domain name was available.

You might also choose to establish more than one domain name using keywords and then link your ‘doorway’ domain sites to your primary site. But you will have to pay for each of the domain name and also the monthly hosting fees. It all depends on the type and size of your business and your competition.

Keep in mind that some search engines disregard ‘doorway’ sites. So put at least a page of content on the doorway site with some useful information and then link it to your primary site. But don’t design it as an empty page. The other reason being, you can have one, three, five, or even more email addresses that all contain your business name, and give your business a professional feel. When customers get emails from dominicstone@solderingirons.com they feel as if they are dealing with a stableFind Article, professional business operation.

No need for customers to understand how you manage all your email boxes on your domain. They just need to feel your business is dependable and reputable.

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Why You Need A Domain Name

On the World Wide Web your domain name is your own unique identity. No two parties can ever hold the same domain name simultaneously; therefore your Internet identity is totally unique. If you have a business site on the Internet your domain name is your own online brand and in a sense you can use your domain name as your online business card. With your own domain name your web site, and e-mail addresses for example will have that professional look, being unique to your business. Many people often miss the importance of having and then keeping their domain name until they lose it. Once this happens they soon realize that they have lost their whole online identity.

How does a domain name work?
To understand why you need a domain name you first need to know how a domain name works.

A domain name is an addressing construct, used for finding and identifying computers on the Internet. Computers use Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses, which are a series of numbers used to identify each other on the Internet; however, many people find it hard to remember IP Addresses. Because of this, domain names were developed so that easily remembered names and phrases could be used to identify entities in the Internet instead of using an IP Address.

For example, the domain name M6.net identifies the company M6.net. When a user types the domain name M6.net in their browser or sends an email to M6.net, the Domain Name System (DNS) will translate the domain name into IP numbers. These are then used by the Internet to connect the user to M6.net’s web presence.

What should I use as a domain name?
You can use a word or phrase as a domain name. When thinking of a domain name, think of catchy words or phrases that are easy to remember and that will bring more traffic to your site. Try to use a domain name that is relevant to your web site. If your web site is a business site, it is a good idea to use the companies name as the domain name or if your site is a personal site try to think of a domain name that is related to the topic of your web site.

Also try to keep your domain name as short as possible, around 5 to 20 characters is fine. The shorter the domain name the easier it will be to remember.

One thing to keep in mind is assumed spelling issues; if you think up a ‘clever’ domain name such as 1luv4u.com – One Love For You (dating service), people may type in oneloveforyou.com believing this is the domain name; or oneluv4u.com, or 1love4you.com etc. This leads to brand problems. In this case the “oneloveforyou.com” name would be best. Another unfortunate example: Flo Office Supplies – flooffice.com?

How do I acquire a domain name?
There are two main ways you can get a domain name. You can either register your domain name yourself or you can get your web host or ISP (Internet Service Provider) to register it for you.

To register a domain name yourself you will need to choose a Registrar. A Registrar is an ICANN accredited domain registration company. There are hundreds of Registrars on the Internet nowadays. The market is becoming increasingly competitive; which means that you can purchase domains names for a low yearly fee.

Most web hosting companies will offer domain registration services to their clients. When you register a domain name through a web host they will register your domain name for you through their own approved registrar. An advantage to having your web host register your domain name for you is that, they have probably done this process many times before; they have all the necessary information ready at hand. This process will save you time and, as long as you give the ‘correct’ domain name desired, there will be no unfamiliar dealings with Registrars.

Why should I keep my domain name registered?
If you loose your domain name you can loose your whole online identity.

Because you can only register a domain name for a year or so, you will need to make sure that you renew it before the expiry date. Once your domain name expires you will no longer own that domain name. Your Registrar will then own it and be able to sell your domain name to the highest bidder. To make sure you don’t loose your domain name you will need to make sure you renew your domain name at least two weeks before it expires.

Also make sure that your information is registered properly, especially if you didn’t register your domain name yourself. Ensure that your information is displayed as the registrant, administrative and billing contacts; most importantly make sure that the email addresses for these contacts are ACTIVE. When you receive any information about your domain name, such as renewals, price changes, etc… an email will be sent to this email address. If you can’t receive any mail from the email addresses listed under the domain names contact then you are at risk of not receiving important notifications about your domain names, which could result in loosing your domain name.

People often miss the importance of having their own unique domain name for their web sites. A domain name represents you, your company and your online presence; as does a ‘business card’. If you don’t have your own domain name you won’t be able to promote your own online identity and web site on the World Wide Web.

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7 Strategies to Choosing an Effective Domain Name

Your domain name is the beginning of the establishment of your presence online, The process of picking the "right" domain name takes some time and thought so that the domain name serves you well into the future. Here are 7 strategies you can use to pck an effective domain name:
A friend of mine calls me the "Domain Queen", since at one time I owned around 50 domains. I've let many of them go (I own only 22 now) as my business has changed and developed, or I've just simply lost interest in the project. I'm often asked how I go about picking effective domain names, so as the "Domain Queen", I'll share my thought process with you.

1.What's the purpose of the domain name? Are you planning on using this name as the main website for your company, as a one page sales letter site, or squeeze page site? If the domain name will be your primary company website, try and find the closest version to your company name that you can. If you're just starting out, choose your business name and domain name with care. When I started my virtual assistant practice, I chose the name SOHO Business Solutions, as I thought everyone knew that SOHO stood for Small Office, Home Office. I think I've run into 2 people in my 7 years in business who knew what that acronym stood for. If I had it to do over again for this business, I would choose a business name and domain name with virtual assistant in the title, like InternetMarketingVirtualAssistant.com, a name I just recently purchased.

If the purpose of a domain is for a one-page sales letter site or a squeeze page, think ahead as to how you might promote this site. Because content is king in today's internet marketing world, there's little chance that either of these types of sites would be picked up by the search engines on key words. Therefore, your best promotion strategy is PPC, or "pay per click", where you're buying keywords for placement in search engines. If you're buying keywords from Google, for example, the paid listings appear at the top of a search in a blue box, or down the right-hand side of your screen. You want to be sure that the info displayed there is compelling enough to get someone to click and visit your site. So, for example, I've created a squeeze page, GetMoreClientsOnline.com, which has a compelling solution to a common problem that my clients have, as a side door gateway to my OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com coaching website.

2. Brainstorm a list of ideas of the problem you're trying to solve or the solution that you have. A domain name that clearly indicates what you do, or a problem that you solve, or a solution that you have to a problem will give a visitor a fairly clear picture of what s/he'll find on your website. What I typically do is go to my domain registrar, www.

UltraNetDomains.com, and just start plugging in the names I'm brainstorming until I come up with 3 or 4 that are available. If the domain name that you type in isn't available, the service will come up with 10 or so alternates for you to consider. I found this alternate listing quite helpful recently in picking the name of an article directory site that I want to create.

3. For SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes, it helps to have your keywords in your domain name. Marla Regan, who's a professional organizer, has put two keywords in her domain name, OrganizedTime.com. Retirement Coach Lin Schreiber has her keyword niche in her domain, RevolutionizeRetirement.com. Consultant John Reddish has the desired outcome keywords in his domain, GetResults.com. I own a domain that I haven't yet developed for house sitters, BecomeAHouseSitter.com. Before buying your domain, make a list of keywords that someone might use to find you online. This list could include your industry, your target market or niche, a problem your target market has, or a solution that you can offer.

4. Shorter is better, if it's to be your primary domain. I haven't always followed my own rules here, as I tend to have business names that are quite lengthy. If the domain name is going to be your primary domain where your primary email address will be housed, you want your domain name to be as short, catchy, and memorable as possible. After a few times of spelling out your lengthy email address, you'll come to appreciate the beauty of a short domain name. Your domain name can contain up to 67 letters and numbers, although I would encourage you not to have one of this length, and can contain no special characters other than hyphens.

5. Purchase your your given name as a domain name. I typically tell my clients not to try and brand their given name as their business name, as that takes many years, much money, and lots of hard work to have the name recognition of Oprah, for example. However, it still pays to purchase your given name as a domain name, as well as any common misspellings of your name. Many people think my name is Donna Gunther, with an "h" in the last name, but I've been unable to register that common misspelling of my name, as a photographer in Venice, CA, has owned in since 2000. Once you've purchased your name as a domain, you can redirect it to your primary website. This means that when someone types in a domain, they land at the website to which you pointed that domain. So, currently DonnaGunter.com redirects to OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com because I don't want to use my name as a website, although that might change in the future.

6. Buy the .COM version of the name if it is available. When people hear a domain name, they "hear" .COM whether it's .NET or .BIZ or .ORG or whatever. So, it pays to find a domain name that you like that is part of the .COM family. If you just can't get the name you want, try a hyphenated version of the .

COM name. For example, when I was seeking a domain name for my Self-Employment Coaching Gym, I really wanted SelfEmploymentSuccess.com, but it wasn't available. However, Self-Employment-Success.com was available, so I grabbed that. Many SEO specialists state that search engines like hyphenated names, and many online business owners use hyphenated keywords in their domain names to be more attractive to search engines. I don't have a clear answer as to the validity of this theory, so I just advocate going this route before having to resort to the .NET or .BIZ of the name you desire. Some domain name holders may be willing to sell you the domain name that you want. You can find out who owns a domain name by checking the WhoIs Registry at Internic, http://www.internic.net/whois.html. For info about country codes (two-letter) top-level domains (.UK or .CA, for example) visit http://www.uwhois.com/cgi/domains.cgi?User=NoAds7. Consider owning other versions of your primary domain name. If you are registering the .COM version of a domain for your business, you may also want to secure variations of the name, alternate spellings, common misspellings, and the .

NET and .ORG versions of your domain and repoint them to your main site to keep them out of the hands of your competitors. You can also go broke very quickly by purchasing all of these variations, so exercise some restraint in your purchases and don't go crazy with purchasing every single variation of your domain name. For my coaching company site, I own both the OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com and OnlineBusinessCoachingCompany.com and decided that was good enough.

Your domain name is the beginning of the establishment of your presence online, Take some time and put some thought into the process so that the domain name serves you well in the years to comePsychology Articles, and is an effective tool for helping you get more clients online.

Source: ArticlesFactory.com

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5 Tips For The Perfect Domain Name

What is a domain name?
A domain name is the location of your website on the Internet. Your domain
name will be what you become known by online so it's important to get it right.

Each website on the Internet is labelled with something called an IP address which is the actual address of the website online. A typical IP address looks like this: 159.134.27.64. Remembering a string of numbers like that is difficult so a domain name translates all those numbers into something like www.amazon.com. This is far easier to remember.

#1 Dot what?
Each domain has what's called an extension. The most well known of these extensions is .com. This, however, is not the only type of domain extension available. There is also:

.net
If you can't find your preferred .com domain name you could always choose the same domain with a .net extension. It might not have the same ring as a .com but is still as just useful as a .com.

.org
These domain extensions were orginally designed for educational and more formal websites. Anybody can register a .org however so you have more options for domain selection.

.info
A more recent introduction to the domain name game are .info domains. Many of the valuable .info domains were bought up overnight but there's still a huge range of good .info domains available. With a little creativity you could really make a .info work for you e.g. www.moviereview.info.

Bear in mind that most web surfers tend to remember .com more easily than anything else.

#2 Branding vs Business Name
There is an age old debate on the whether or not you should establish a brand name online or use a domain that more actually reflects your real business. Let's look at Amazon as an example. Amazon sells books online. Most people setting up a business would have chosen say www.booksonline.com instead of www.amazon.com. Amazon has since established itself as a brand name of global recognition - proving the value of building a brand name.

You'll need to choose between the two. Brand name or your own business name. Consider how your domain sounds, how it might look on a business card and how well it relates to your business.

There's no one right answer to this question. You need to choose what makes most sense for you, your website and your business in general.

#3 Hyphenated or Not?
This is another area of debate. Should your domain be one single word or should the words be separated by hyphens? There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. Single word domain names can be easier to explain, use on header paper and lend themselves to brand names very well.
Single word domains are in very, very short supply.

Hyphenated domains names can be slighltly more difficult to explain, may not look as well on headed paper and possibly harder to establish as a brand name. There's no shortage of multiple word domains.

The single biggest advantage a hyphenated domain has is that searche engines can "read" the domain more easily. For example in a domain like www.foreignholidaysonline.com the search engine can only read the first word "foreign" and that's it. It can't tell anything else about the website domain name.

If you hyphenated that to www.foreign-holidays-online.com the search engine can read "foreign", "holidays" and "online" as separate words and therefore knows that this website is about foreign holidays.

A well chosen hyphenated domain name can be just as effective as a single word domain name.

#4 Your Domain Registrar
These are the people you pay to register the domain for you. There are dozens if not hundreds of these companies out there so which one do you choose? This takes some research but things worth checking are:

* Do you retain sole ownership of the domain or do the registrar keep some level of control over it?
* Search Google for any horror stories relating to the registrar
* Does the registrar allow you to transfer the domain to another registrar?
* Is there an online control panel for domain administration?
* How easy is it to change the domain Name Servers?

Shop around for domain registrars. What you really want to find is a previously satisfied customer to ask questions before you buy.

#5 Cheap Domain Names
You can save a lot of money on the domain names you purchase. A typical .com domain costs about $15 to register from most registrars. However you can get the same domain for as little as $7.95 from other, very reliable, companies.

Oddly enough some of the cheaper domain registrars are more reliableFree Articles, have fewer horror stories and offer equally good customer service as their more expensive competitors.

Are there any disadvantages in using a discount domain registrar? Will it affect your website in any way? The answer to both is a definite No.

If you'd like more information on choosing and setting up your domain name then visit http://www.affiliate-advocate.com for our Domain Guide.

Source:ArticlesFactory.com

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Some Tips of Establishing a Website

Unfortunately, this process does indeed seem confusing, given the variety of companies selling their services and the inconsistency of pricing from vendor to vendor. But establishing a web presence can be simplified if you follow these four steps.

Choose a name that best represents your business or organization. For more detail go to: www.instant-website-security.com While a short, concise name is generally preferred, sometimes a longer name may be remembered by potential users and thus be a better choice but it clearly describes the site and is easy for the user to remember.

Net and .biz extensions as most other extensions will not be remembered by your users. Even if you are not quite ready to Develop a website, you should purchase the Domain Name you want if it is available since the cost is low and the name may not be available in the future.

The cost to develop a webpage is affected by the amount of content, the complexity of the site and the web designer you hire. Because of these wide ranging variables, it is very difficult to estimate what might be considered reasonable design costs. However, a simple site that is essentially an online flier can be created for as little as $500, while a more complex e-commerce site can easily cost thousands. Don't be afraid to ask several companies for pricing estimates before making a decision.

In Addition, keep in mind that cost is only one of the many variables that should be considered. Shop around for a designer with whom you are comfortable. If you are unsure whether a website will help your business, and your budget is limited, start with a simple site consisting of several pages. This will limit your investment while letting you get a feel for how this site will enhance your business. For more detail go to: www.instant-squeeze-page-mastery.com You can always expand your website with additional pages.

Do not allow yourself to be pushed into starting with an elaborate site if you are not comfortable with this. Remember, a website should enhance your business and improve the bottom line like any other investment.

In addition to cost considerations, choose a host that has a reliable track record. Most hosts will provide data on the "Down Time" and you should beware of using any host that is unable or unwilling to share this information with you.

Maintenance fees will vary depending on the number and type of changes you make to the site. Before hiring a web designer, be sure the maintenance fees are detailed up front. some designers charge a low cost design fee, but pad their maintenance fees. Once again a simple online brochure that does not require many changes and should have limited on-going maintenance. Consider having the designer review Your site quarterly or semi-annually to be sure the site maintains the appearance initially created.

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Making Money with Domain Names

After everyone has been losing money in the stock market, even Wall Street Brokers have been pushing harder, buying and selling domain names. This is the hottest commodity going! Don't get me wrong, Wall Street has been involved with domain aftermarket sales for years now; however they are more focused on this trade with the instability of the stock market recently.

Do you ever watch how to flip this house or any of the other flipping houses TV shows?

These TV shows give you step by step directions on how to flip a house within four to twelve weeks or so with sweat equity. The initial investment is huge!

On average they brag how they made 1/3 of what they have invested. Do not get me wrong, this sounds like good money, especially if you have the money to layout for the initial investment and are willing to put in the hours to make the improvements.

However with the current economy, most people find it hard to make it week to week let alone to be able to qualify for a loan to try and flip a house, buy materials, pay contractors...

I buy keyword domains for under $8 per year. Rather than sit on them I flip them by offering a lower price than I could receive on them if I held onto the domains. The average sale is just under $140. Now that does not seem like much, however if I sell 100 domain names this way each month, that equates to around 14 thousand dollars a month!

Now do not get me wrong, locating good keyword domains is not an easy task. One such example is HeavyDutyJack.com which I listed. Google search tool lets me know that there are approximatley 4,400 searches a month at their site alone at an average cost per click of just under $1. This is what interests potential buyers! They can have the rights to this domain name and point it to their existing website or website directory.

It is much easier to flip a domain at a lower price than to try and sell for top dollar. To give you an example, it took approximately two weeks to sell BestBuySunglasses.com for just fewer than four thousand dollars recently. On the other hand I sold ScratchOffLotteryTickets.com in less than five hours of registering it for $129. That is over 16 times my original investment in a matter of hours!

For more information on domains and to be one of the first to see what new domains I add to the aftermarket domain cart, sign up for Weekly Domain List!

by Bruce Galle

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How Much Money Are You Making From Parking Your Domain?

Domain parking has become big profit business these days. The one problem most are unaware of is the fact that when you park a domain with your registrar, usually you do not partake in the profit sharing the registrar is enjoying.

There are numerous free parking services you can use that will pay you a percentage of the click through profits from your parked domain names. So how do you know which ones are better than others?

I spent five months moving one hundred of my domains from one parking service to another every 30 days. The results literally left me scratching my head. What I found was that not all services were accurately crediting my account for the number of monthly visitors; hence I was not receiving all the click throughs, which meant less money in my pocket.

How can I be so sure? I have one domain name, AutoPro.net which has consistently had 2,800 to 3,700 visitors a month for the past several years. The number of visitors displayed by each domain parking service ranged from 1,400 to 3,500. Also the payout was less at the ones inaccurately tracking traffic to my domain names.

The one I found to be most accurate also had a unique feature. Like most domain parking, there is an optional search box on the parked page. However this one actually tracked the search terms those visitors entered and then broke the searches down into four areas. North America, Europe, Asia and Others.

I found this really helpful when trying to figure out keywords for a particular domain I had parked for a while. After all, these search phrases are exactly what visitors to that specific domain were searching for online.

If you are parking any domain names, I would highly recommend Name Drive free domain parking. Especially if you are leaving your domain names parked at the registrar you are using and are not benefiting from your domains.

Now when setting up your domain parking at Name Drive, I found a little known secret that I did confirm with insiders within the company. Almost always, the Classic 2 template will outperform all the other template options!

by Bruce Galle

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The Secret to Finding a Good Domain Name

Domain List

There are many different types of domain lists available to you. There are daily list which are like day old stale bread. These are domains that were deleted yesterday! Another type of domain list is one which is a weekly list. Now these are anywhere from a day to a week old. Next we have the domain list that is sold as the latest deleted domains which are domains listed on search engines such as Google as recently had been deleted. These are up to 30 days old.

The servers at Network Solutions never sleep. They are constantly deleting domains throughout the day, 365 days a year. Domain name experts such as myself, know how to get access to these hourly updates all day long!

Every day, there are approximately 50,000 deleted domains, many which are useless. However, within this huge list are a number of highly targeted and valuable domain names. Now going through fifty thousand domains or so each day would take all of one's time, leaving no time to market your business, spend time with your family . . .

Keyword Domains

This is where I came up with the 100 top sought after keywords. Now instead of 50,000 or so domains, I have filtered my results to approximately 1,000 to 2,000, highly targeted available domains per day. These keywords include blog, credit, book, diet, frame, marketing, organic, software, travel, weight, woman and world to name just a few.

So how valuable are these highly sought after domains? Just recently I sold a domain through Best Buy Keyword I picked up for less than $9.00 and sold it at a wholesale price of $399.00. Another I picked up from this list, again for under $9.00 and sold less than five hours later for $129.00.

You need not sell domains as I do, but rather locate domains to start or enhance your existing business. For instance, some of these domain names can be pointed to your existing website to bring additional type in traffic to your site. Others can be used to build a mini site which can be picked up by major search engines, giving you additional free listings under highly targeted keywords for your business, hence more targeted traffic to your website.
Getting Access to a Domain List

So how does one obtain a list of highly targeted, valuable domains which have been deleted not only today, but also within the past few hours?

Normally, this type of domain list would cost you a small fortune.

Order Your Domain is one of the original domain registration services dating back to 1999. We have always prized our business not only by offering the lowest prices but also with the best free web development tools assisting others in locating valuable domain names.

Lately I decided to play around to make it easier for myself as viewing lists of domains, anywhere from a 50 to 400 in a text file was hard on the eyes when you receive fifty or so such files a day.The outcome lead to another tool by Order Your Domain, which is called Fresh Domain List. Only those who sign up for the free membership have access to the latest domain list. Anyone else can only view prior list, giving our members first shot at the recently deleted domains.

No matter what you decide to do, owning highly sought after domains can generate additional income for you and your business.

by Bruce Galle

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