Domain Names

Archive for February, 2011

In the development of an ecommerce site it is conceivable that there is a roll out plan for your features and product lines. More than likely your initial foray into ecommerce is a microcosm of where you want to be sometime in the future.

When you are selecting domain names for your site it may make sense to consider the future of your site. Is it conceivable that the site will be spit in the future to concentrate on a specific product line or products that meet a specific need?

If, in the planning stages of your site, you have determined there may be a multiplication of webs sites you may want to purchase a suitable domain name now. The cost for the domain in minimal and may provide the assurance you need the site name will be available for you when you are ready to implement the next phase of your marketing plan.

If you do decide to go with a unique domain name you should consider purchasing the domain name with your actual business name in it.

Most people are so used to the phone book where the business can be located through the use of following the business name alphabetically. Don’t be surprised if there are those that simply guess that your domain name is simply the name of the company. For these consumers it can be a little frustrating to open up the browser, type in the name and come up empty.

With brick and mortar stores you try to find the best available property with an address that is familiar to your customers. If the site doesn’t work well, most businesses will move to a more visible location. This is the same scenario at work with domain names. A good domain name brings traffic – a bad domain name keeps people away. Work at keeping your domain short, on target and easy to remember.

More than 24 domain extensions are available. Obviously .com and .net are to the two primary extensions, however other extensions were added to provide the opportunity for flexibility in domain name choices.

Once you are ready to launch your new website be sure to distribute a press release both online and in print publications announcing the debut of your site. This is a key in online marketing. You decide what you will sell, you plan your strategy, you implement the design and then you do the hard work of marketing the site through every reputable means possible.

There are a lot of methods in making money online. One of them is through Domain Names. These are the url address you type in your internet browsers. Making money online is really flexible as the opportunity were really unlimited.

There are several ways how to earn money through domain names. Below are the best method for your reference.

Domain Flipping

Flipping domains are just like traditional buy and sell system. You buy domains which acts like a product then sell it to the online market at a higher cost. The main purpose is to buy domains mainly for profit and not for website building. URL names costs around $8 to $20. The idea is to sell these domains as soon as possible to earn profit. There are buyers that may buy your domains for double the price sometimes three folds depending on the domain popularity that you had purchased.

Best sites where you can sell your URL addresses are eBay and Sedo.

Domain Parking

While flipping involves online selling, parking involves advertising. You can earn money through parking your domain names into domain parking websites. Parking service sites will set up a page for your domain in which you can choose your own template. You can also choose what kind of niche advertisement will appear on your page and you may also choose either CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per impressions) kinds of advertisement earnings. I recommend choosing CPC for you to earn money per ads clicked.

Popular parking sites are namedrive.com and parked.com.

Now that you know how to earn online via domain names, you can now try one of these to earn money. You can either do flipping or parking method. You may invest on your preferred method and it will surely make income for you.

Looking for a domain name when you are starting up your online business can be a challenge, even though it seems like a small detail. The right name is important because without a good name, your company will not be properly represented. The best thing to do is find something relevant and catchy.

If you look below, you will notice some of the mistakes that other companies have made, and by avoiding them, you can increase your chances of a positive experience.

Don’t give your site a long name that takes a while to type out. Believe it or not, most users do not enjoy typing in long names when they are going to a site. This seems insignificant, but it really does keep people away.

Additionally, if you have a long name for your website, you increase the chances that people trying to access it will type in the wrong name and be directed elsewhere, which is the last thing that either you or your potential customers want.

Domain names can be confusing, and that is a big no-no. Just like a bad vanity plate makes absolutely no sense when you read it, so does a bad web address. Simply put, your name should be pretty easy and straightforward to remember.

Three things to keep in mind when selecting your domain name are to make it clever, clear and concise. You will be better served by a name that people will remember, is easy to type, and reflects your company in a positive manner.

One other big mistake that is common is the use of dashes in the domain name. These can be annoying, lead to typing errors, and they just do not reflect a business well. Try and limit your name to something that just has words.

One more note on dashes. They are better served in sites that do online business only. This is because most people will be clicking links directly to the site. However, for someone who has to enter the name into their browser, it will be very easy for them to put the dash in the wrong place and get sent somewhere completely different than your company.

There are many people willing to create a website for you, but not all people will do, though you are willing to pay them money. Then there is a way to create your own web site by yourself. If so, you may work through the night. In fact, there are many technologies and software for your use.

However, before you create a website, you have to give it a name. Many people find that they will face the so-called “analysis paralysis” problem. They tried to think and want to land on a resounding domain name for their own sites. But when they go to register this domain name, they will be disappointed to find that: The domain name has been registered.

So how to choose your domain name then?

Consider the following points:

1. What is your main business?

2. who are your customers?

3. What is your characteristics selling point? In other words, what do you have which others do not have to attract your customers?

4. What is your name? The last point seems a bit weird.

After considering the first three points, you should come up with a list of alternative names. Log on domain name registration agency to see which of several names fit for you. Domain name price will not fluctuate too much. But on this point, it is worthwhile you to think about.

It is justified that. Com domain name extension prices are in the higher price range. Because when people know the full name of your domain, they will often give priority to enter. Com domain name extension, and. Com domain name extension sounds more professional. Some domain name extensions are cheap, low cost. However, before the purchase of these domain extensions, you should think of whether your clients can easily remember the domain name extension. Almost all of the domain name registration service providers will provide you with a free secondary domain name or E-mail address. If you find the company which cannot provide you with these basic additional services, then you can say to him: Thank you. I do not need your services. Then you find those companies able to provide these free services.

There is a domain name which you should register it out, that is “your name.com”. Why is that? Because you promote out yourself as a domain name trademark of market,you not only let people know who you are, what you are doing, but also let them know you are very strict in the business, and proud of it. Just think, will you place your name in a worthless thing? Of course you will not. So when one considers that your name appears on the domain, they will think: “Oh! Dennis name is written on the above. It appears this thing / service is quality assured!” As long as this thing is high quality, then your name also means high-quality.

What you should gain from your hosting provider?

One thing you must know that when your website come forth problems whom you can contact with. Therefore, the best choice is for that you can contact the web hosting provider all the night and day. Do not be the provider whom has not any message three days after you reflect a problem to them. If you want to know whether the operating conditions of your buying virtual host system are good, the best way is to ask your customers. When you have time, you can go to the forum to raise a number of related issues, or search for some articles to read.

Create your site.

As I said earlier, many people will create a website for you. So, what you have to do is to provide the details parts and some assumption for them. Let them do the technical work. Professional website design will cost you about a few hundred US dollars or ranging from a few thousand dollars.

If you control a little computer knowledge, you can happily according to your need to design your own websites. If you think that you could not do, then my first suggestion is that you should go looking for some help, support or guidance. If you are new to web design, then a lot of things in web design make you feel extremely distressed. Forum is a good way to seek help. Of course, you can also find other suitable places to ask for helpful.

When you want to create a website, you need these elements:

Domain Name – clear, concise, easy to remember the name. Do not select the domain names that people easily misspelled.

Web Hosting – providing good customer support is very necessary. You have to check the operational status of the virtual hosts and bandwidth.

HTML editor software – Html is a very complicated language. If you do not understand it or not studied it at all, then you need an Html editor. There are many free versions online.

Ftp software – you can upload the website from the local desktop to the server through the software. All FTP software features are similar. But if you are first-time, then you can choose a more software-based Ftp to find the part you need.

Headers, footers, graphics – all of the sites require some kind of graphics. You can buy online library package and according to your own favorite edit it, or you can spend 60-80 dollars to buy some basic graphics services.

The above principle is the basic principles. At the same time, you also need to consider issues of electronic commerce, download protection, and other elements associated with the functions of your site.

Domain names are a method for allowing internet users to navigate the web sites easily. They are names used to stand in for numeric IP addresses to make web surfing simpler in that the user can apply the name that their looking for rather than having to search for or memorize numbers. Also known as host names for computers.

Consider domain names as the internet’s little piece of real estate. Some of the top level Domain names are dot-com, dot-net, dot-org, etc. The name directly to the left of these top domain names is considered your second-level domain names. Directly to the left of the second-level name is a third-level domain name which is commonly known to designate the host server. These levels can go on up to fourth, fifth and so on.

Domain definitions

When the World Wide Web began the intent of using dot-com, dot-org was intended to go with its specific definition. Dot-com was to stand in for commercial, dot-org was for organization and so on. The second level domain name was to identify a particular entity or business while the third level often times specified the country the host server was in. However, due to the popularity of the dot-com designation many non commercial sites would strive to get addresses under the dot-com trademark.

Abuses

Cyber squatting is a term referring to a company or entity trying to redirect traffic towards their site by using similar names to well known companies. Laws were enacted to protect these companies but then it led to what’s called reverse domain hijacking by companies suing other companies for using similar generic names claiming it was their own trademark when actually other companies may have a legitimate grounds to their names.

As the internet grows bigger there has been a need to set up corporations whose primary responsibilities are to maintain and regulate the internet traffic and uses.

History

Domain names were first implemented in 1985 and originally there were only six of them. Today due to the huge demand and traffic on the World Wide Web, there are upwards of twenty different domain names all of which were intended to represent the type of organization to make it easier for people to search for particular topics.

Exotic domain names

Since domain names have been around for such a long while most of the good names have been taken. More and more people have had to resort to more complicated names and as a result may lose out on some business since the simpler the name the easier it is for people to remember. Some hackers have created unique domain names by taking a name and putting dots and @ signs strategically to resemble existing third level domain names.

Obtaining domain names

Domain names are usually sold by people called domineers for a price. They can even been leased to users for a period of time. There are some companies that offer low-cost or even free domain registrations, however there is a requirement of hosting on their sites with their advertising in the user’s content. This allows the provider the ability to make money off of someone else’s website.

Buying domain names and selling them is a very popular way to make money online. The process of buying and selling domain names is commonly called domain flipping. Domain flipping is like the real estate of the online world and just like you would be careful about buying a damaged house, you should also be careful about buying bad domain names.

Avoid names that have too many dashes in them. For example, dashes-in-my-domain.com is not as profitable as dashesinmydomain.com. Search engines see websites with lots of dashes as being less authoritative compared to names with no dashes.

Long domain names are another one to avoid. Longestdomainnameofall.com will be hard for people to remember easily, so these are not as profitable. Short.com would be a better choice because visitors would remember it easily.

Most importantly, do not be what is called a “typo squatter”. These guys buy up domains that sound similar, or are common misspellings of trademarked names. Not only is it an awful process, but it is also illegal and could get you jail time. One particular guy who was doing this had racked up a list of over five thousand domains which were variations on copyrighted terms. The worst part was, he was re-directing visitors to pornographic sites. He was sentenced to two and a half years in jail and had to pay huge fines.

If you are serious about starting your own domain flipping empire, websites such as dnflipping.com can help you get started and teach you the formula to use when buying domain names. The three rules above are a great starting point, but there are many other possible mistakes.

Domain names are referred to as your address on the web. Usually, it consists of three parts – the common “www” or World Wide Web, the name of your organization, and the domain suffix. Domain names can be free of charge and is plausible for someone who would wants to setup a website with a personal touch to it. But do keep in mind that having a domain name only gives you rights to use that domain name, not an instant website. A website also has files and contents that one would need to build and upload using a server where it will run on. This is also referred to as the host.

Hosts or web host providers are crucial key players in setting up domains. They are the keepers, managers, and organizers of all your website files, content, pictures, and videos. It is your own virtual database and this is where the website will be getting everything that it needs to display.

A free domain name without a host however, is a no-no. If one does manage to get a free domain name without a host, most likely it will show nothing but a blank page or a loading error message since it doesn’t have any content to display. It works like your computer – if you want to use a certain program, you can only do so after you have installed it in your PC.

In this case, one must avail of the web host services himself. There are organizations that also offer this kind of service for a cost. Some, if not all, domain name providers also offer web hosting services. It may also come as a package deal and the price will be dependent on the type of service you would like to acquire.

Just bought a domain? Found a cheaper domain registrar? Want better service from a Web hosting provider? Well, these are just some of the reasons why a person would want to transfer domain name ownership. This article gives you a step-by-step guide as well as a few useful pointers about making the change.

This process of transferring domain name ownership is a simple action involving the current domain name registrar and the new domain name registrar. You can also choose to transfer domains over different accounts, under the same registrar. Some common domain registrars are GoDaddy, Netfirms and Register.com. Many domain registrars, like GoDaddy, also offer Web hosting services.

Although each registrar may have a slightly different process of doing things, the basics are the same. The process of transferring domain name ownership is fast, simple and requires almost zero technical knowledge, as the details of the transfer are handled by the new registrar.

Step-by-Step Process

Removal of Locks: The current owner of the domain name has to first remove any ‘domain locks’, in their registrar account, to enable the new owner to send a transfer request.
Transfer Request by the New Owner: Most registrars will have a simple online form to ‘transfer domain‘. New owners will need to login to their registrar user account, access the transfer form, and enter information like the email address of the current domain owner (which can be got through WhoIs). Once you send the transfer request, the domain registrar of the current owner sends them a notification.
Acceptance of Transfer by Present Owner: When the current owner of the domain name receives the email notification for the transfer, they can either accept or reject it. If they confirm it, the authenticity of the request for domain transfer is validated. If they ignore it, the request will expire, after a given period.
Denial of Transfer: In some cases, the old registrar may deny the transfer. This usually happens when the domain name has expired and a renewal fee is due. To get over this hurdle, the old domain owner will have to pay the renewal fee to their registrar, before the domain transfer process can be re-initiated by the new owner.
Transfer in Progress: When the email is accepted, the transfer is effectively in progress. This process can take a few days, depending on the domain registrars involved. Once the transfer is approved, the new owner holds full rights to the domain name.

Useful Pointers

It is easier and cheaper (sometimes free) to transfer domains from one account to another, under the same registrar. Later, the buyer can transfer it to another registrar, if desired.
Some domain registrars may charge high fees to transfer ownership while others may actually refuse to transfer ownership. Read the fine print, or you may regret your decision later.
Some domain registrars include the cost of domain renewal with the cost of transfer. This can sometimes be cheaper than renewing your domain, especially if you have a costly existing registrar.
When a domain name is first registered, the owner will have to wait around 60 days, before they can transfer the domain name to another registrar.
If a domain happens to be involved in a legal matter or if the owner is facing bankruptcy, then the domain name transfer will not be completed.

Buying a domain name is just the first step to creating an online Web presence for your company. There is much more to be done, like creating an online business strategy, designing a Website and Web marketing. The Internet is expanding; make sure you use it to grow your profits too!

Domainers are online entrepreneurs who invest in domain names. It is a general knowledge that selling domains is one profitable business that can last even a lifetime. Domainers buy domains and sell it in due time. But of course, successful domainers could attest to the reality that you don’t simply shop for any domains that you like and expect to resell it at a higher price in the future. You have to be a wise domain name investor if you plan this to be in this business for a long time. For some people, this kind of business may sound simple; you have to know that there are important factors that you have to put into consideration when you buy domain names.

If you aim for a long term and rewarding domain name investment, then you have to do this business the right way. And the right way to do it is by evaluating which names are worth buying and have the better potential of being sold at a good price in the future. When you buy domain names, you have to be a little bit more particular with the extension. I am referring to those .com, .org, or .net. The list can just go on and on since there are just too many extensions these days. Be that as it may, it is still very evident that .com extension is the most popular and widely used.

Thus, when you buy domain names, go for .com names. This will definitely give you a better edge than selling domains with any other extensions. However, in countries such as the United Kingdom, the .co.uk extension is actually more popular than the .com extension. In such case, you may have to adjust your choices especially if you are based in the United Kingdom or intend to market in that area. Like any other business, sometimes you will really have to bend some rules or make your standards a little bit flexible. As an online marketer, you have to be open to the fact that you have to make yourself adaptable to change at all times.

Anyway, further to getting the right extension, you must also ensure that the name that you will buy is easy to recall. You know too well that internet users and even website owners prefer those names that are easy to remember. For online entrepreneurs buying a domain name, it is important that their website address does not only represent their kind of business but also make it easier for their business to be promoted online. Majority of internet users don’t like to memorize long website addresses. Thus, when internet marketers buy domain names, they also make sure that what they buy are easy to recall domains.

This is a good point that you must keep in mind so you don’t end up with a bunch of domains that no one will buy. When you practice making wise decision-makings when you buy domain names, you will surely last long in this business. This is a lucrative industry just like real-estate is offline.

Domain names are a big business in the world. People can make millions off the sale of just one popular domain name; however, buyers and sellers should beware. The buying and selling of domain names are a business transaction and should be treated as such particularly with regard to trademark infringements and business structures.

Aviva Directory recently published 10 laws regarding domain names that every person interested in this business should be aware of.

The first law is domain sniffing. This occurs when a person is about to purchase a domain name, but someone jumps on the purchase right before you do. It’s arguable as to whether or not this actually occurs, but is believed to exist. When you are just looking through the registrar, there is no law that gives you claim to purchase that domain name. It is possible your privacy was violated. In that case you do have something to work with.

Second are trademark issues. This occurs when a purchaser buys trademarked names and then sits on them until they think they can make a bucket of money. There was a law passed called the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act that benefited companies who can prove the name is their trademark and therefore, may have rights to the domain name. The company does have to prove they own the trademark and that it was not only registered but used in bad faith.

Third, using a legal entity. When you own a domain, it is in your best interest to set up a separate legal entity, so that if there are any questions as to whether you own it, or have violated a trademark, rather than someone suing you and going after all your assets, they can only go after the entity you have set up for your domain name. Talk to an attorney about which type of entity to set up as there are many.

Fourth, deciding which state to set up your company. If you are ever sued, there are some states that have laws that are more in favor of companies. You can set up your company anywhere; you just need a mailing address.

Fifth, protect yourself. Don’t set up your business as a dba. You are more protected if you have a separate entity in place that includes officers.

Sixth, domaining involves serious cash, if you are smart about it. You have to spend money to make money and you usually lose money at first, and the IRS sees that loss and it will be labeled as a hobby rather than a business. If you lose money more than two out of five years it can be considered a hobby. If you are in the domain business, treat it like a business so you can deduct your expenses. If it becomes a hobby on your taxes, it may hurt you in the long run for paying more taxes.

Seventh, donate your domain name to a charity so you can receive a full tax deduction. No one knows exactly how this works and tax laws are still being worked out. Talk to your accountant to be clear on how to deduct your profits.

Eight, hire employees or hire independent contractors. They are classified depending on how much control you have over the person. Minimal control will classify them as an independent contractor. More control means they are an employee. The IRS can make that determination for you if you aren’t careful.

Nine, make sure you register accurately. ICANN has a registration on exactly who owns the domain name and maintains those records.

Finally, tenth, deduction and depreciation. It’s a controversial issue and most people are better off deducting in order to pay less tax. Refer to IRS Publication 946 for depreciation categories.

This should not be used as legal advice. Talk to an attorney or accountant for more information regarding domain laws.