Domain Names

Archive for April, 2011

From being the company URL, domain names are today part of the corporate online brand with an IP value worth thousands of Euros. I have earlier recommended 5 steps to improve your domain name management. In the following there is an explicit explanation of the 1st step. To see all 5 steps go to our website in the News section: 5 tips to streamline your domain portfolio.

Step 1: Obtain an overview of domains registered by you – and domains where you should be the rightful owner.

Company domains can be registered by several persons in the company through different registrars. If an employee leaves, it is common that domains are lost when up for renewal. I experience very often that contact persons when leaving a company forgets to inform the other employees about domain names hosted with us and it is only discovered when contacting the company.

Anyway, to find out which domains are registered by your company I would recommend you to see an ear.

Here you can test for specific WHOIS details or part of a domain name. It can be quite a detective work, but I recommend you to search for company name, part of domain name and contact persons in the company and a clearer picture will show.

It is possible that your trademarks are used in domains registered by 3rd parties such as your local business partners and domain pirates. Make sure that you become the rightful registrant. You should contact your business partners to hand over the domains. Domain pirate cases should be evaluated from case to case.

Domain names for sale is the first hunting ground for anyone seeking to build a new website. The cornerstone of an online company, the domain name must be catchy, easily remembered and simple to type.

The easiest way to search for domain names for sale is by visiting one of the many domain listings, domain portals or forums that are currently circulating the web.  These are a collection of free sites or for sale domain names that enlighten you to the options at your disposal.

Domain listings are always a great resource as they project the available name, contact details of the owner (if it is already owned) and quote a price for the sale.  This immediately gives you all the information you need to start make inroads into the transaction.  They can also stimulate your thinking when searching for domain names for sale.  Often you will have entered the process with one inflexible name that you desire.  However upon encountering a hefty price or a resilient owner, it has become obvious that this is not going to be feasible and you will have to look for alternatives.  The advantage of a domain listing sites, is that they will promote similar domain names to the one you are looking for giving you additional options.

The cost of domain names for sale can be varied. One-word domain names, which are likely to be highly typed into search engines or have a dual meaning, will be accompanied by a large price tag.  The easiest comparison is to personalised number plates on vehicles.  A plate reading ‘DOMAIN‘, will be extremely valuable as it has no imperfections and spells out the world in its entirety. 

It is also important that you choose the right domain names for sale, avoiding cash cows and implausible ideas.  You need to be selective with your battles; aiming to overhaul a site that is turning over a good deal of profit is unlikely to work.  Go into the purchase with an open mind and don’t become disheartened if the name you are searching for is unavailable.

The only problem with rooting for domain names for sale is that with the increased correlation between site hits and profitability, many Internet entrepreneurs are buying up as many memorable domain names as they can.  This means that apt site names are disappearing quickly and you are going to have to part with a fair deal of money to get the one you’re after.  The best advice we can give, is to get in there quick!

If you don’t want to drain your brain coming up with a domain name, you can purchase one that’s been used. There are websites that simply expired and their domain are put up for sale. You can also find good names from websites that are about to expire. You will just have to contact the owner and send them a good deal. Remember that there is another method of buying a domain. Instead of direct buying, you’ll have to bid for them. This is also a good strategy if your website has an identical name with one of the expiring websites.

The availability of good domain names should not preclude you from creating a new one. Of course, it may take some time and it may even tire your brains a bit. Don’t worry, though. The world contains millions of things, your domain name will surely come.

To create a name, think of your niche first. If you are an online seller of paper goods, think of something related to paper like “parchment”, “papyrus” or even “scroll”. Go beyond the general and look at the specifics. You can adopt factors for the domain names like making the word “paper” sound vintage (like papyrus) or a contrasting pair of words (like black&white). Adding prepositions and adjectives could also work. Try comparing “paper shop” to “its-our-paper” or “white-paper-sheets”. Which one sounds more unique and appealing?

What you can do is to have a quick brainstorming session. Think of three words related to your niche and jot down combination’s of those words. When you’re done with your list, narrow it down by choosing those that sound good. Have someone to hear you out and judge the your suggested names. Then test the remaining suggested domains in the internet to see if they are already taken. By the end of the day, you already thought of a domain name.

It is important to establish a unique domain name to have a good chance of getting a good rank. SEO strategies include putting keywords in the website content and your domain name should be one of those keywords. A common domain name used as keyword may mean promoting other websites with similar domains and not yours. If you are troubled with coming up with a name, be resourceful or ask around. You can jumble letters, use a foreign language or any arrangement you want. As I said before, the world has millions of things. Combining just a few of them will truly work.

Choosing domain names is very important if you want maximum your visitor ratio raised.

Why?

Because the words you place into your domain name will “act” as keywords to help your website be more visible in the search engines.

Especially the first keyword you place in your domain.

You see, I have a few websites that are often found just by the domain name. Something that I’ve noticed is that some people actually search for the information they’re after by typing into the search engines: [http://www.anxiety] for example.

If your website is about anxiety, then this could very well be worth at least 30 extra visitors per month to your website!

One of these 30 visitors could be the one that buys your product! Or several extra sign ups to your newsletter.

I’ve just ran a quick search through the Msn.Com website for the keyword “dogs” and just about every front page website for the keyword “dogs” has the word “dogs” in their domain name.

Because most shorter domain names are already taken these days, I usually try to place at least 2 to 3 keywords that describe what my website is about and what people would search for.

Of course this isn’t always necessary, especially if you can grab yourself a lot of high quality link backs to your website… But if you’re starting out, every single visitor you can get counts!

Online entrepreneurs have successfully made use of the Internet to make their online businesses flourish. In cyberspace, professionalism becomes an issue because as everyone knows, it is very easy to trick people into claims of having a legitimate business. Thus, if you would like to attract people to your business you have to take all means to be reliable and professional. The best way to achieve this is to buy a domain name.

There are two basic uses of domain names. The first is to have a website and email account set-up with the name of your business. The second one that is swiftly gaining popularity is only an email account set-up. There are several companies offering domain names for sale but some of them charge really high fees so if you are still starting out, you wouldn’t really have that much money to begin with. However, this shouldn’t be a problem since there are companies offering cheap domain names.

You have to choose well when working with a company that offers cheap domain names because you might end up with a fly-by-night company. There are some steps that you must take to effectively choose a domain company where you can buy cheap domain names. Firstly, check how long the domain registration company has been in business. If they claim to have been doing domain registration for the past 20 years, you should rethink working with them because the Internet was only opened to public about 12 years ago. Whether or not you work with a relatively new company or a trusted one, it really depends on your capacity to pay for their services.

You should also check if the domain registration company will allow you to control everything associated with your domain name since a lot of them will not allow you to make changes yourself. Make sure that you do get a control panel where you can change IPS tags and Name Servers as well as other basic modifications.

Further, you have to check if the domain registration company will charge a fee when you transfer your domain away. This fee is called a release fee and is very unnecessary. Great companies offering cheap domain names will not hold your domain name ransom and will not be asking you to pay one type of fee after another. Also verify if you get an email account with your domain name. But you might be surprised to find out that most companies treat email accounts as an added extra which can be availed of with a minimal fee.

Lastly, check if they are accredited with ICANN. ICANN accreditation is very rigid and expensive so you are assured that they will not mess your website up. If they are indeed accredited with ICANN, then they are worth your money and will be very helpful for your business.

Following these steps will allow you to find a reliable and trusted domain registration company where you can buy cheap domain names essential for the success of your business.

Just about everyone has their own domain name or domain names nowadays, even if they don’t have an online business. With that said, there are still millions of people who don’t, and in many cases, it’s simply because they are under the impression that there’s a hugely complicated process involved. In reality however, this couldn’t be any further from the truth. So, in this short article, I’m going to try and explain the process in such as way so that anyone who reads it will be able to go straight online and register their very own domain name.

Okay, before I get started, I must also point out that it’s possible to get free domains as well, so even if you’re really short of cash, you still don’t need to get left behind. With all that out of the way, let’s go ahead and look at the only three steps you’ll need to follow.

Step 1 – Choosing a name

Believe it or not, but choosing domain names is the most difficult part of the process, and this is for a number of reasons. First of all, with there being literally millions and millions of websites out there, most of the names you first decide on will more than likely already have been taken, particularly if you want one which ends with the.com extension. How important this is to you will depend largely on whether you need domain names for business or for pleasure. If for business, the.com names are generally accepted to be the best. On the other hand, if you don’t intend starting an online business, you should ideally consider one of the other extensions because not only will you have more chance of getting the domain names you want, but they also tend to cost less.

Step 2 – Choose a registrar

Once you’ve drawn up a list of the various domain names you’d be happy with, you then need to go through the registration process. To do this, you simply visit one of the many domain name companies out there such as GoDaddy for example. At this point you’ll be required to key in the name you want and the system will check availability. If the name you’ve requested is available, you’ll be prompted to complete the registration, which will also include paying for the name. When domain names aren’t available, the system will generate several alternative names to choose from, but of course you’re under no obligation to take one of the suggested names. During the registration process, you’ll also be presented with a number of choices, but the best advice anyone can give you here would be to simply follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 3 – Choose a hosting company

If this is your first time registering domain names, you might want to consider having your domain hosted by the same company you’ve used to register your name or names. For example, if you’ve obtained your domain names through GoDaddy, you should maybe use them for web hosting as well. While many will argue that there are several things, which should be taken into consideration, you can always change hosts at a later date when you have a better understanding of how everything works.

The three steps discussed above are the bare basics, and are only intended to assist complete beginners in getting started. If you have your mind set on starting an online business, then there is essentially quite a bit more to think about, such as the use of keywords, but that’s something I’ll address in future articles.

Lastly, if you’ve never registered domain names and you feel you’d like to test the waters before jumping in; free domain names are a great way to familiarize yourself with the process. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with free names, but they’re not recommended for business purposes, simply because they send out the wrong message to customers.

Millions of sites are exclusively providing domain names on the internet. Don’t be surprised because the excess availability has shockingly created a big mess for the new comers in the field. Domain lookup becomes a tough job for them, as their domain name search is quite poor for certain businesses and blogs. This information will highlight some of the best ways for domain research and registration in order to maintain the exclusivity of your business and blog needs.

It’s not really that hard to find a domain if you follow certain useful steps:

1. Come up with a suitable name and don’t beat about the bush as determining a domain name is yet another big problem for most businesses. You should refer to the different available domains online to get an idea about selecting the best domain name for your blog or business. Make sure it reflects your business persona. You may need to keep in mind the keywords you intend to use for your website or business blog. These keywords are vital when selecting a domain name and can make a big difference in the traffic coming to your site.

2. Brainstorm for the best business or blog names, if you really want to create brand awareness. It’s good to think of at least five best names so that you have a choice in case your domain name is already taken.

3. Friends, colleagues or associates, anyone can sort out things for you to register a domain name. All you have to do is ask your friends and associates who have purchased a website at cheap rates. Ask the locations of those domain hosting service providers and sellers and just make a call. You can usually get a lot of information from just one call.

4. Why not internet? Get help from the internet to sort out references for the top suitable domain retailer. Obviously, the internet will help you find a lot of stuff to suit your general needs.

5. Try Google for ICANN registrar and ultimately you will be directed towards the website of this nonprofit organization that is solely dedicated to the security and stability of the internet. This assessment can locate several accredited domain retailers.

6. How about a quick visit of different domain selling websites? It’s recommended to visit at least five best domain selling websites to gain a good understanding of how to buy a domain name. This will certainly help you to the maximum extent in terms of competitive costs and will let you know which provider is offering best services at lowest rates.

7. You will need a domain host for internet surfers to visit your website. There are a few companies online that offer free site hosting, but remember that availing these services, your domain name will appear after theirs. For instance, HostingFirm.com/YourBusinessorBlogName. This is not a very suitable or professional option for business websites and can mar the image of your business. This is not what you want.

8. Choose wisely while registering a domain name. A quick internet search will give you many useful links for learning about the latest market trends in terms of domains. The best option, in this case, is to do it yourself instead of trusting someone else to do it for you. Do your research and homework on your own. This way you can easily assess your needs accordingly. Now the choice is strictly yours about what you really want to get.

9. It is wise to research the reputation of a company because it definitely affects your domain. The final stage after domain lookup or domain name search is the domain registration. So, you are strongly suggested to choose a well-reputed company for the registration of your domain. If you do not do so, you may lose the charm and charisma of your portal. You can find out the most reliable ones by doing a search on the internet, asking your social network in real life or maybe even on twitter and Facebook. Choose a domain name provider who you think will best suit all your business and blog needs.

10. Choosing the platform for your website is another important aspect of setting up a business website. You could choose to have a website custom designed by professional designers if you want a more serious look. On the other hand, for blogs that will be updated almost daily, the WordPress platform has been gaining increasing popularity. Setting up a business website with WordPress is very simple and easy. You will have to ask your hosing provider to install the WordPress setup for you if you cannot do it yourself.

If you care about promoting your business, website or blog then following these simple steps will lead you to get the best domain name registered. What else do you need? Please consider sharing this post with your friends using the buttons below.

Buying and Selling Domain Names as a Way to Make Money Online

A domain name is just another name for a website name e.g. EzineArticles.com is a domain name. It is possible to make money (a lot of money if you are successful) by buying and selling such names. They are a commodity just like anything else that you can buy and sell. The aim when trading domain names of course is just like the stock market – buy low and sell high. To buy a domain name will cost you around $10 if it is a dotcom name and it has never been registered before. How much you can sell it for is up to your skills as a salesman and how good a name it is.

In the week to Aug. 2 2009 for example – server.com sold for $770,000 and iguide.com sold for $100,000 – these are just two of the best sales, there were many more which you can see at DNJournal. It is unlikely that these two names were bought for $10, as names are often bought and sold several times, but at some point in the past someone will have registered them for $10.

You can either therefore register a new name for $10 from places like Godaddy or you can buy names that are already on the aftermarket at places like Sedo – zitbusters.com for example is one such name that was registered for $10 and has not yet been sold. 

Stick to dotcoms. Dotcom domain names are by far the best investments, so it is best to stick with them, at least in the beginning, rather than trying some of the more exotic extensions such as .net or .tv.

All the one-word dotcoms have been bought already (except in the case of new technoogies that no-one has invented yet and made-up names). So it is best to seek out good two-word dotcoms – three word names are not worth nearly so much.

To sell a domain name you will either need to contact people directly via e-mail, or list your names for sale at places like Sedo or Afternic, but it is not as easy as it may seem and does require a fair amount of thankless work.

The rewards for the successful domain name traders can be very good indeed – some portfolios of names have sold for hundreds of millions of dollars in the past.

The highest domain name sale in 2008 was Fund.com at $9.99 million. The highest price achieved in 2009 so far has been for toys.com which achieved the price of for $5.1 million 

The big names in the domain name industry are Frank Schelling, Rick Schwartz, Rick Latona, Kevin Ham. 

A word of warning – steer clear of anything that is connected with a trademark all you will get is grief when they sue you.

Conclusion : buying and selling domain names offers a lot of potential as a money earner, and has made quite a few people into millionaires, but it does take a fair amount of time and effort. 

Good domain names can be difficult to find if you do not have the right information. Just by doing a simple search online, you can see many websites that did not have the correct information when choosing a name. However, there are many more websites that you will never see in search results because of the domain that was picked by the websites owner.

Choosing the right domain names can make things much easier in the long run for your websites when trying to rank in the search engines and get free traffic from searches. Below I will give you the first 4 tips for choosing a URL that will help ensure you have a highly visible website, for years to come.

# 1. Try to avoid crazy or ridiculous names, miss-spelled words, and offensive phrases. Aim to choose a name that is simple and easy for your customers to remember for return visits. Clever names can be a great idea from your perspective however, always think of the visitors’ point of view.

# 2. Good domain names are ones that are exact match phrases of the keywords you are trying target in your website. The first thing you should do is a keyword search to find the exact phrases your potential customers are typing into the search engines. A keyword rich domain can be very profitable if you decide to sell it in the future.

# 3. Domain keyword order is important. Words that are more important should go before those less important. For example, if your target keyword is “paychecks”, then “paychecksonline.com” would be more effective than “onlinepaychecks.com”.

# 4. Use correct English and the phrase should make sense. The name you choose should be grammatically correct. When your domain is reviewed by a human editor, “getpaychecksonline.com” sounds better and more credible than “paychecksgetonline.com”.

If you are looking for a domain name – a website URL name, as it were – you probably already know that it can be incredibly difficult to find a “.com” domain. Especially when it comes to short domain names, those in the one or two word category, most of them are long gone. They’ve either been purchased by other companies or by someone hoping that someone else who is willing to pay a pretty penny for it will want to buy it.

So then people started expanding to “.org” and “.net.” While these domains are not as coveted as “.coms,” they are well recognized and respected. And yet, as “.com” addresses become rarer, these domain endings as well have become more and more difficult to get. As you continue to look around, you may start seeing different domain endings you have never seen before, like PayBox.me or Freedom.ws. What are these domains, and what do they mean?

Usually, like PayBox.me and Freedom.ws, the ending simply is referring to a different country, in this case Montenegro and Western Samoa, respectively. Finding these domain endings is often an easy way people try to get the specific and often shorter domain name that they are looking for.

But there are lots of questions regarding these unfamiliar domain endings. Will people see your URL and assume that your website is associated with some sort of scam? It depends. Many countries, such as Britain and Australia, run websites that are well known internationally, so their domain endings are becoming more and more common, therefore more people trust them instinctively.

However, these URL endings are often just as difficult to come by as “.com.” The much smaller and lesser known countries like Montenegro or Western Samoa have the availability they do, simply because they are unknown.

So, are they worthwhile? Well it depends on what your website is being used for. For example, if your website isn’t trying to attract new customers or clients, but is rather being used as an informational site for existing customers and clients, than it’s probably fine. Your customers will already know and trust your business, therefore they will know and trust your website.

But if you are trying to use your website primarily to find new business, then you will probably want to stay away from these unknown URL endings. It is preferable to you to have the trust that comes from using a “.com” ending than it will be to have the perfect domain name. These days, people are used to hyphenated or lengthy domain names. It’s just become part of the internet culture.