Domain Name Appraisal Information

There is basically nothing out there in the real world that is equal. Everything has its own distinctions, thus nothing is equal. This is also true with domain names. Not all domain names are designed equal as it is commonly noted. One of the main reasons that show this fact about the domain names is the truth that some of the choices for words in the English language have already been broken up as domains, thus some of the particular domain names worth higher to buyers than the others.

With such fact about the value of the domain names, one of the major processes that exist in the world comes to tackle this matter and that is the domain name appraisal. The domain name appraisal emerged out of the situation of buying and selling domain names. So what exactly is the domain name appraisal?

The domain name appraisal is the manner of weighing up a domain name and recognizing the worth of a certain domain name. This is somewhat like a real estate appraisal and other forms of appraisals. However, unlike the currencies in which a set worth can be recognized; in the domain name worth has no way to be standardized. So with such fact, it is important to know that the domain name appraisal just remains as an opinion. Many domain name experts have noted that due to such condition of the domain name appraisal, there is no way that the domain name’s worth can be conclusively proved.

Even though the domain name appraisal remains as a mere opinion, the domain name appraisal can still be very helpful. They not only give the domain name owners with an opinion but the domain name appraisal also gives certain signals to the owners of what they must charge when they decide to sell a domain name. As such, the domain name appraisal is then believed to add at least a tidbit justification to the domain name price.

In a domain name appraisal, a number of factors are mostly considered. These factors include the domain name’s length, keyword recognition, vividness and range of potential uses. It is also considered that most of the domain name appraisals today charge a certain domain name between 10 to 30 dollars, but with official discounts for bulk domain name appraisals. And to better serve the domain name consumers and holders, certain companies that conduct such service provide some software that will greatly appraise the domain names for the customers.

But still outside from such functions, the domain name appraisals are only means of determining the worth of a domain name. And if the domain name is appraised at a high value, it doesn’t mean that such domain name will sell quickly, it just holds that you picked a better name.

Domain Name - How To Pick One

Picking a domain name should be easy, right? Why, I’ll just use my business name. Not so fast, Sparky. A good bit of thought should be given to selecting a domain name.

A Cautionary Note

Picking a domain name is like getting married. You are going to have to stick with it till the bitter end. People that use your site will come to know it by the domain name. Repeat visitors will often simply type in the domain name to get to the site, better known as “type in traffic”. As an example, do you search for “Amazon” when you want to buy a book or do simply type in amazon.com? If Amazon were to change its domain name to Desert, there would be a lot of confusion. The same goes with your domain. Once you pick something, stick with it.

Your Choices

Well, the obvious choice is your business name, but it may not be the best. There are four significant issues to consider.

First, is there something about your business name that makes using it as a domain an unwise choice? This situation typically arises if you have a long business name or have plural words. “Halstatt’s Rip’n Marketing Campaigns, Inc.” is going to be a horrible domain name. Clients are going to find it difficult to type in such a domain name.

Double letter problems are a second issue that is entirely unique to the Internet. What if Sams Salon wants to use its business name as a domain? The “s” at the end of first word and beginning of the second can cause confusion. Is the domain name Samssalon.com or Samsalon.com? Confusing your users is a bad way to run a site.

The third issue concerns the nature of your site and search engine optimization. If you are shooting for a particular keyword phrase, you may be better off using that keyword phrase in your domain name. Google, for instance, looks at the domain name when evaluating a site. If the words in your domain name are spaced with dashes, many believe it will help in the ranking process. This is why you see so many xxx-xxxx-xxx.com domain names on the net. If your business focuses on a very specific area, strong consideration should be given to using relevant keywords in your domain name.

Finally, your domain name should end in “.com” and I don’t want to hear any argument or see any rolling of the eyes. The simple fact is that when people think of sites, they always type in .com. Yes, there are other extensions and .us, .net, .biz, etc., may seem unique, but it kills your traffic. Pavlov and his dog experiments had it right. People have been mentally conditioned to type in .com, so don’t select any other ending. If you do, a smart competitor will register the .com version of your name to get some free traffic. If you are really lucky, a porn site will do it!

Take a breath before you select a domain name. Like a spouse, it can be either a good or bad choice.

Cyber Land Rush

It's like a "Land Rush!"


As a real estate broker for years, I had always dreamed of having the perfect properties to sell ~ and at the right prices. I spent a small fortune attempting to attract sellers, acquiring licenses, recruiting competent agents, maintaining nice offices, and then ~ to bring in the buyers ~ on advertising.


After being forced to retire from real estate by MS (Multiple Sclerosis), I finally stumbled upon the easiest properties in the world to sell that I'd ever seen: "Domains" in "Cyberspace." Actually, a respected friend, who had never been in real estate, turned me on to it. Best of all, it didn't cost me anything to set up my new business.


Okay, after a week I invested $10.00, but I got a domain name property to sell if I ever decide to. Like a land rush, people all over the planet are scrambling to stake their claims on the cyber landscape. I get a picture of homesteaders, in covered wagons stirring up dust, rushing to stake their claims for 160 acres. Everyone it seems wants their own website and once their personal names are gone, they can come up with other great domains, properties which will only appreciate ~ just like real estate.


I guess, some of us have to have been in other businesses to appreciate how really good a business that offering website domains is. Like in any legitimate enterprise, a good business owner should do everything that is possible to see that their customers are satisfied with the product.  I can even let my buyers "Move in" for seven days Free to see if they like their new property. I could never do that in the real estate business.


No wonder that customers want to buy up some more "Cyberproperties." It's like a land rush except the homesteaders can stake their claims all over the world without leaving their computers. Click on the Hot Ride link provided in "Remarks" to find out more~without going to Russ' website. Your access code is russmiles.

Converting A Domain Name To Ip Address… It’s So Easy

We all know that as the number of people who cater to domain name and some of the domain name services increase, some transformations under the domain name industry were being made and thus brought certain bangs to the lives of most people everywhere else in the world. An evidence for such claim is the many people who are searching some possible means that will greatly aid them in getting their own domain names. In fact, many people today are engaged in selling, reselling and in buying domain names, and some of them are even finding solutions on how to convert the domain name to IP address.

Speaking on how to convert a domain name to IP address, I am sure that many of you are still not aware that this thing exists in the world of the internet. So to let you know something about how to convert a domain name to IP address, this article is particularly written.

When it comes to the ways in converting a domain name to IP address, it is interesting to know that the Domain Name System or DNS plays a very vital role in this area. It is in converting a domain name to IP address that the Domain Name System takes a great part. Well, it is greatly for the main fact that the DNS is such a powerful tool that is designed to contribute a large factor in converting a domain name to IP address. And as its main purpose or function, the DNS takes hold of everything when it comes to converting a domain name to IP address.

Since the DNS is converting a domain name to IP address, it is then a nice thing to know that the IP or the Internet Protocol address is a 32-bit integer. Along with that, it is interesting to know that if you wish to send a message you should then include the destination address. However, due to some transformations in the world of domain names and the internet, many people today preferred to assign machines pronounceable and easily remembered domain names. And for such operation, the DNS largely takes part.

Aside from converting a domain name to IP address, the DNS also grants independence from knowing the physical location of a host. And in terms of the host, it is noted that it can be moved to a different network while the users are still applying the same logical name.

In the process of converting a domain name to IP address, it is considered that the DNS is a distributed database by the TCP/IP applications to map a domain name to IP address. Aside from that, the DNS serves to provide email routing information. So by converting a domain name to IP address, the clients and the servers will be able to communicate with each other.

And so with the process of converting a domain name to IP address, the system will then be able to access the DNS through a resolver, which lets the resolver to get the domain name and return back the IP address or get the IP address and search for the domain name. For that matter, the process for converting a domain name to IP address involves the functioning of the TCP for opening a link or sending a datagram through the UDRP. It is then understandable that everything is really in control when converting a domain name to IP address.

Cira Domain Name Whois Privacy Standard Information

Have you heard about the new standard for domain name whois privacy that the Canadian Internet Registration Authority or the CIRA has recently announced? If not yet, then here it is.

Recently, numerous reports have noted that the Canadian Internet Registration Authority has proposes a new standard for the domain name whois privacy. In their proposal, it is considered that the new policy for domain name whois privacy will provide all the dot-ca domain name owners with an enhanced domain name whois privacy safeguards, bringing the domain name whois privacy policy in line with the currently enacted Canadian privacy laws.

Today, the new proposed domain name whois standard becomes the hottest subject of a general public consultation. And this domain name whois policy will see the CIRA to pursue in collecting complete information from dot-ca domain name owners, however, it will create only a little amount of the details that are available to the general public in its web-based domain name whois lookup directory.

Along with such introduction, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority itself have assumed that this new domain name whois standard will ensure greater privacy protection barriers under the dot-ca regime than are recently accessible with so many other internet domains just like the dot-com.  In some reports about this matter proposed by the CIRA, it is noted that the president of the CEO of CIRA had mentioned that this new standard for the domain name and whois privacy is all about protecting the people’s fundamental right to privacy in the virtual reality. Along with that statement, the president of the CEO of CIRA also mentioned that since the internet is a wonderful and transformative force, it is then right to take some great care to ensure that such dimension serves the people, and not the other way around.

With such main reason for introducing this new standard for the domain name whois privacy, the group further maintains that this policy then sets a new standard among the internet domains. And in particular, the new standard for domain name whois privacy states that for those who register a dot-ca domain name, it is only the domain name, registrar’s name, registration date, “last change” date, notice about adjustments in status of the domain name and server IP numbers/names will be accessible through whois. It further holds that the policy for organizations with dot-ca designations will not be changed, so the same date will continue to be accessible through whois. And lastly, the new policy holds that CIRA will pursue to ensure that all registration data is available to law enforcement agencies.

Choosing the Right Domain To Sell

Many people got lucky and sold their domain for unbelievable prices. Was that pure luck? Or was there something that we still don't know? Is there still domain-gold left in the already mined domain market, to lay our hands on? Lets see.

First of all what we will look in some of the main reasons which makes a domain priceless and sellable.

# Generic or Day to Day life words.

# Their extensions weather it is .com or .net. Its popularity. (Right now .com)

# Less characters. (Say 4 or 5 at most)

# Their pronunciation. (Don't say epdu or something else it is not pronounceable)

# The keyboard relationship. (It would be easier to type in "tyru" instead of "oqzk". Some companies who wants brandable names see this)

Now If we look into the very first point about generic or day to day life words most of them are taken. So how to find some other? Here is the tip. Just try and sit with a pen and paper when you are watching television. Write down the words that you think might be available as a domain name. You can do the same when you are reading some novel or newspaper. This trick surely pays I got many of my domains watching "Terminator" and "Home Alone" kind of movies.

Now the extension. If you have found out a great word which is already registered with .com extension. Then you can try other TLD's. But in this you run into some kind of risk. You can surely reg "fast.net" & "Love.net" but you can't bet your money on "babyboydomains.net" or "Simplyrockingnames.org". So just apply some thinking over here.

Talking about less characters If you find a 3 letter name then just pounce on it. It really has the market. But there are none available right now. So look for 4 or 5 character names. Apply all our rules that we saw before and even then if it passes through all that steps without a hitch then take it in.

Pronounceable or not is also a factor. If you know english language, which I think you will be knowing as you are reading this article then there are no problems. For those who are weak at english they can try http://www.thesaurus.com or any other dictionaries which are available online to look for that name.

Don't get discouraged if your word is not listed in it. You can surely ask some other guy on chat who is not interested in domains about this word. Otherwise the guy to whom you are asking may reg it before you and all your dreams might get shattered into pieces.

The last but not the least is the keyboard relationship. Some companies may look into it. If they are willing to spend their millions for this domain and other millions for marketing it and making it into a brand. You can try this. some words are just a flick on keyboard. As I said before "tyru" is easy to type in. while oqzk is a bit tougher. Just try it and see the difference.

Choosing The Right Domain Name For Your Business

When you're ready to take your business on the Internet it's imperative that you find the domain name that's perfect for your business. Sometimes this is done with relative ease, and at other times it can be quite difficult to find just the right name for your business. We're just going to go over a few different ideas that you can be keeping in your mind while you're doing your domain search.

The first thing that you should do is choose the registrar that you think that you're going to be using for your domain name registration. I've used many different domain name registrars including http://goDaddy.com, which I tend to think is the easiest to use. Making your domain search by making yourself a less a commonly used words in your business. For example, if you have an electrical supply business thank you should have words in your last such as electrical, supply, electrician, power, and so on. You'll then went to a use these words as a basis to find a domain name that's perfect for your business.

If you have a business that has a company name or a corporate name then you may just want to register your business with the business name and a dot com extention. This tends to work well on business cards and in other forms of off-line advertising. If you're planning on trying to get some traffic from the search engines you may want to go a little bit more specific with your keywords that relate to your business. You can then build your web site around these particular keywords and order to drive some free search engine traffic to your site.

There are also many different extensions that are available such as dog com, dot net, dot org and many others. The most common, and the one that you really should try to go for first, is a dot com of course. It's almost understood that when you tell someone a web site address that is going to end in dot com. If you buy a dot net or a dot org web site address you'll tend to find yourself explaining the fact that it's not a dot com more often than he probably would like to do so.

The plan on spending some time and really digging for the perfect domain name for your business. There are tens of thousands of domain names registered every day and it's getting harder and harder to find one that isn't already taken. If you keep running into this wall, don't get discouraged, there are still many, many domain names available better suited for any business. Last, but not least make sure that you use your imagination. If you find yourself stuck, asked a friend for some suggestions. Choosing a domain name is important for the future of your business, so take your time and find the best one that you can.

Choosing The Right Domain Name

Many people got lucky and sold their domain for unbelievable prices. Was that pure luck? Or was there something that we still don't know? Is there still domain-gold left in the already mined domain market, to lay our hands on? Lets see.

First of all what we will look in some of the main reasons which makes a domain priceless and sellable.

# Generic or Day to Day life words.

# Their extensions weather it is .com or .net. Its popularity. (Right now .com)

# Less characters. (Say 4 or 5 at most)

# Their pronunciation. (Don't say epdu or something else it is not pronounceable)

# The keyboard relationship. (It would be easier to type in "tyru" instead of "oqzk". Some companies who wants brandable names see this)

Now If we look into the very first point about generic or day to day life words most of them are taken. So how to find some other? Here is the tip. Just try and sit with a pen and paper when you are watching television. Write down the words that you think might be available as a domain name. You can do the same when you are reading some novel or newspaper. This trick surely pays I got many of my domains watching "Terminator" and "Home Alone" kind of movies.

Now the extension. If you have found out a great word which is already registered with .com extension. Then you can try other TLD's. But in this you run into some kind of risk. You can surely reg "fast.net" & "Love.net" but you can't bet your money on "babyboydomains.net" or "Simplyrockingnames.org". So just apply some thinking over here.

Talking about less characters If you find a 3 letter name then just pounce on it. It really has the market. But there are none available right now. So look for 4 or 5 character names. Apply all our rules that we saw before and even then if it passes through all that steps without a hitch then take it in.

Pronounceable or not is also a factor. If you know english language, which I think you will be knowing as you are reading this article then there are no problems. For those who are weak at english they can try http://www.thesaurus.com or any other dictionaries which are available online to look for that name.

Don't get discouraged if your word is not listed in it. You can surely ask some other guy on chat who is not interested in domains about this word. Otherwise the guy to whom you are asking may reg it before you and all your dreams might get shattered into pieces.

The last but not the least is the keyboard relationship. Some companies may look into it. If they are willing to spend their millions for this domain and other millions for marketing it and making it into a brand. You can try this. some words are just a flick on keyboard. As I said before "tyru" is easy to type in. while oqzk is a bit tougher. Just try it and see the difference.

Choosing Reliable Web Hosting Companies

Choosing a reliable web hosting company can become a daunting task if you are not sure of your expectations. There are some essentials to look for in a good web hosting company before making you’re your choice.  It is necessary to ask yourself the following questions before continuing to freeze on a web hosting provider.

1) How much money is involved in getting your site up and running? There are affordable and reliable hosting providers who can make your site function, usually in 24 hrs.. Website hosting may not be the only influential factor for your site expense though. Others might include: SEO, Marketing etc...

2) How much space will your website need? It’s important to make sure if your site requires large database storage or simple static site with the use of less space.

3) Bandwidth should also be a criteria.  If you run large files through your site every day, you may require more bandwidth. And for a static site, providing just the information about the company and contact details, you can go for lesser bandwidth.

4) Make sure, if your site requires any special software to run scripts correctly on your website. Check with the website hosting company before you make your choice.

5) Does your site require a database? It is wise to check with the hosting provider, if they can host a database and some providers host only certain types. If your website requires a database, check all the requirements with the web hosting provider.

Well, after you have asked yourself the questions above, visualize your site and its purposes.  Have a neat navigation chart with links from home page to all internal pages and so on. Write down the function of each link on the website. It is better to work on it twice even three times so that when it is actually set up on your system, you and your   hosting provider won't be surprised by any additional requirements which may arise that you have missed.

Its always wise to research multiple web hosting companies before you make your final decision. Go through their server software, technical requirements and hardware. Compare with other web hosting companies before you make up your mind.

Lastly, go through various forums pertaining to website hosting  providers, you will find an abundance of good information.

Choosing Effective Domain Name

Domain name makes an Internet address of your web site that is why it has to be easy to remember and to type, it has to be representative and correspond with your web site. In other words it has to be effective.
To make it to be this way I’ve prepared a couple of tips for you when choosing an effective domain name.

Make Your Domain Name Representative.

In order your domain name to be representative, make it to be accordant to your web site name. And make your site’s name also be your URL. As your web site visitors will remember it by its name. So when they decide to return to your site again don’t make them wonder what the URL to type in their browser to get to the site they need.

There is another problem when the web site’s name and its URL spelled differently. Imagine your web site’s or the company’s name is, for example “MySuperBusiness” but some other company has such URL. The visitor who remembers your web site by its name would naturally type mysuperwebsite.com in his/her browser and will get to your competitor’s web site. And it would make a loss for you.

There are thousands of domain names are registered every day and that could be a problem for you to get the one you want.

In case you are just starting out it would be more comfortable for you to register a domain name first and name your web site only after you did that. And if you have a promoted brand name and don’t want to change it only because the domain name that fits you is already taken by someone else you can check its owner through the “Whois” to see who owns it. And you can purchase it from its present owner.

Make Sure Your Domain Name is of Optimal Length.

In general domain names can be of any length up to 67 characters. There are a lot of disagreements about of what length the domain name is better to be.

A short domain name advantage is that it’s much easier to remember and it’s less compliant to typing mistakes.

A long domain name is usually easier to human memory instead of the one that was made short by all means. If it was, for example, replaced with its abbreviation it would be much easier to remember the complete meaningful name than the combination of letters and numbers that might have no sense.

So I guess it would be a perfect choice for you to use as short domain name as possible but only on condition of it remains meaningful.

Try not to use any symbols that carry no important information like slashes or hyphens. As it’s very easy to forget them when typing your URL.

 Choose the Right Domain Extension.

Choosing a domain name extension depends on what exactly your activity is. In case it is of local scales, like pizza delivery, you can take a country- specific domain name. You also get in a good position with such domain name as the people your activity is targeted to know that they are dealing with a local entity.

The most common types of domain extensions are .com, .net and .org. These domain extensions are for your use in case you are planning to benefit from the international activity.
There are some domain names that require from the registrant to represent a certain type of entity such as .edu, which is reserved for universities or high schools, .aero, .biz, museum and some others.

So as you can see it is vitally important for you to get your own domain name. And it would be better if it corresponds with your activity and the web site’s name. But the bottom line of the article is that you sure should purchase you own domain name.

More hosting articles you can also find here  Web Site Hosting Reviews-

Choosing A Website Domain Name The Right Way

Many people today are building their own websites for some reasons. Many build websites for a simple online brochure and some are for online stores. That is not bad though. Your website is one of the important factors in your business. So whether you are building it as a simple online brochure or an online store, naming it is somewhat like as important as naming your own child. So it is just a nice move to invest in naming it and to make it as a brand, and you will later on find out that it stays with you for a long long time.

When you decide for your website domain name, you should then note some of the necessary considerations for you to pick up a great website domain name. It is just important to know that a website domain name speaks a lot on the internet. So for your website domain name to be easily remembered by the visitors, you must then do something to make it happen.

In choosing a website domain name, it is interesting to know that a certain consideration for your company’s name is one of the best tips for getting a great website domain name. It is often considered that if you have a company, try to look for a website domain name that involves the name of your company. Aside from that, it is important that you think for some website topic keywords that you can include in your website domain name even for at least one keyword.

Furthermore, you should then be aware if the website domain name that you choose describes the content of your website. It is somewhat awkward to find some website domain names that do not fit to the website content, right? Other experts also put some emphasis on the awareness if your website content can be categorized in an internet directory like the http://DMOZ.org based upon the domain name. And you should then ask if your website domain name involves some words that spelled variously in different parts of the world, like the word color and colour. So for you to not put some level of confusion to the part of the visitors, you must then register both versions of such website domain name.

Since there are so many new websites today and the number of new website domain name registration increase every month, finding the right website domain name might be tough. Thus you must then keep a few website domain names in mind or even just a combination of words when you are still searching for a domain name. In fact, purchasing a domain name today may be expensive in case that you do not find any that is available.

The domain name extension is also that necessary in choosing the right website domain name. You should then be aware of the types of the domain name extensions or top level domain names and also its uses for you to pick up the right one.

With such given facts, maybe one of the wise moves in choosing a website domain name is to choose those website domain names that are not applied by any other company with another extension. It is in fact a common notion that no one will be able to register the other domain name extension with your website domain name when it becomes well-known.

Choosing A Perfect Domain Name

Registering a domain is an easy task, but most of the people are not aware of the process of registration. If you have chosen a domain name, then check it on the ‘whois’ to know, if anyone else has not registered it, and if it is available to you, then register the domain as soon as possible. Make sure that your domain name is a memorable one. Mostly the best domain names had been taken already by the dot.com sites.

Avoid the trademarked names, it is unethical and also the companies, who have spent plenty of time and money on creating and building their brands, are now trying to get their names back. The pending legislation would soon make it very hard to register the trademarked name of someone else.

A memorable domain name is the best one, because it sticks in the mind. A perfect business name is a nice choice. If you choose a phrase or sequence of the words that describes your product, is also a good one, for example, officestationery.com.

The domain names that arouse a visual image can also be used as these are easy to remember, like GreenValleyResort.com. Short names are much better than the longer names, but if adding the length makes is more memorable, then you can choose the longer one. You should make sure that your domain name is easy to pronounce, and soon you will hear people talking about your domain name many times a day, in conversation, on the phone, or in other radio ads. It is better to avoid the name that only works in print, and also needs to be spelled out when spoken aloud to be understood.

You should be wary of selecting a domain name that contains the homophones, for example – TwoStars.com, TooStars.com and 2Stars.com, all sound exactly alike, but these are three different websites. Do not use the shady characters, spaces are never allowed, and also the name can’t start or end with a dash. The length can up to 63 characters. You should make sure that you are dealing with a trustworthy and reliable domain registration service provider.

Choosing A Great UK Domain Name

The first, and most critical, step for registering your domain name is choosing the right one. The perfect domain name is memorable, unique, easy to spell, and will rank high in searches. Here's what to do.

1. Keep it simple. The shortest and most direct domain name is always the best. You'll have to get creative to find it, though, because almost every single word in English is gone. Most of the best domain names being registered today are a company name, a person's name, or two-word combinations. If you use a two-word combination, try to own it both with and without the dash: happydogs and happy-dogs.

2. Try to use a domain name with your keyword in it. If you have a dog-oriented business, the happydogs/happy-dogs domain names are perfect.

Why? Because when you use your keyword, the search engines take notice. A dog-oriented web site with the word "dog" in the URL is always assumed to be closer to what a searcher is looking for than one that doesn't have that word in it; because the search engines are in the business of giving searchers what they're looking for, they will rank that site higher.

3. Don't use creative spelling. Your customers aren't looking for a puzzle, they're looking for you and your product. You can use the number 1 in your title, but don't register the website Cre8ive; no one will ever find it, and it means nothing to the search engines.

4. Before you register, try to come up with at least a dozen different names; your top choices will almost certainly be taken, but it's much less frustrating to register names when you have plenty of alternatives ready to go.

5. If you have a business that does a lot of volume in the UK or that is targeted specifically at a UK consumer base, getting UK in your domain name is a great way to rank higher in the search engines. The primary extensions for United Kingdom websites are .com and .co.uk.

However, most of the best domain names with these extensions are taken. Avoid buying a .info or another alternate extension; few people look for these. You should also avoid the .org extension unless you're running a non-profit business. Acceptable alternatives to these extensions are the .uk.com and the .net extensions. If more than one of these extensions is available for your domain name, you should buy them all; domain names are not expensive, and you can point multiple ones at your web site. Buying multiple similar names ensures that you keep the competition away from your name, and that any search for your domain name will bring you up. Most large corporations use this trick; companies like Disney buy up every trademark they own.

6. When you register a domain name, as soon as the traffic starts picking up on it go ahead and renew it for multiple years. This is an investment. Even if you don't keep the site yourself, you can resell your valuable virtual real estate at a profit later. Renewing it for a long time can keep someone from sneaking in and registering your domain name if you miss the expiration, too.

7. Register with a company that has been around for a while and charges enough that you know they won't go bankrupt. This makes it much easier when you renew; instead of re-registering, all you have to do is let your registrar know that you want to renew. Shop around a bit, though, so you'll have a good idea of price ranges.

Choosing A Good Domain NameChoosing A Good Domain Name

With over 50 million registered domain names, it’s tough to find a good done that’s still available. Unfortunately the domain name industry is full of opportunistic “traders” who buy and sell domain names without any intention of even using it themselves. Because of this, the majority of the registered domain names don’t even have a website to go with it!

This can be quite frustrating as you seek out a domain name for yourself to build a website for. But at the end of the day in a first-come first-served world, we must try and find another way to find that great domain name.

There are several tools that can be very handy when it comes to looking for a domain name. I discuss these tools in another article. Here we will discuss what makes a good domain name.

To brand or not to brand?

Brading is a key element in traditional “offline” marketing. Having a unique, catchy name does wonders for any business. However when it comes to an online presence, you might just be better off with a domain name that is rich in keywords.

Search engines primarily work on keywords as you may know. You enter a search term or “keywords” and the search engine produces results based on their formulas and the websites they believe to be the best fit for your search.

Now, there are many Search Engine Optimisation techniques that can be used by anyone on any site. The same techniques could be applied to a lot of sites, so my question is what could possibly be the 1 thing that is unique and could separate one site from the other? Of course, domain names!

I prefer to have keywords in the domain names that I own because this is what could give me the edge over competitors. Of course it’s not so important if your website is a personal one and you are not looking to make any money from it. But if you are selling something or wanting to make money off your website, I would strongly recommend using keywords in your domain names. Just to prove it, go to Google.com and search for "domain name". You will see in the results that any occurrence of the words “domain” or “name” is actually in bold. So Google is definitely looking out for your search terms and highlighting them for you.

On the other hand, branding is still a strong concept online as well. If you find that catchy name (such as....hmmm Google?) and market it well, then you could be well on your way to word-of-mouth fame in no time!

If your business name is available, register it. You can always register keyword rich domain names to draw the traffic, and redirect them to your business name domain.

Hyphens or no hyphens?

Another common topic of discussion is whether to use hyphens in your domain names. I own mixtures of both hyphenated and non-hyphenated names. There is nothing wrong with hyphens. In fact, for search engines you are helping them by separating words that could be read differently. Here is one example: mikesmithstables.com

This domain could belong to a horse trainer “Mike Smith”, as a website for his racing stables, or it could also be read as “Mike Smith’s Tables”. So there is definitely nothing wrong with hyphenation, as it would actually help to distinguish where the words end in the above example. The only small problem you will run into is word of mouth advertising where people will have to call out the hyphens. But believe me, you want all your traffic to come from search engines because it’s free and the volumes are enormous.

What about using abbreviations?

If your preferred name was something like flowerstoyou.com but it was taken, but you see flowers2you.com is available, should you take it? There are several common abbreviations or variations of certain words that are almost commonly accepted, particularly in cyberspace. Thanks also SMS messaging, we are no used to the use of “2″ instead of “to”, “4″ instead of “for” etc. Whether you choose to use such variations in your domain name is totally up 2 u (ok I was trying to be funny..).

Don’t forget however that word of mouth advertising will always require the person making the recommendation to remind people of the substitute.

Choosing a Domain Name for Your Domain Hosting

Your domain hosting name is not something to be chosen lightly. Your domain hosting name is your front line in your branding campaign for your online business (or your offline business’s online presence). Careful consideration needs to go into choosing just the right domain hosting name to represent your business. The following are some key points to consider:

<b>The Right Extension for the Right Site </b>
Each type of site you want domain hosting for may serve a different market. Make sure the extension you use -- .com, .net, .org, .biz, etc. -- is the right extension for your market. If you are a business and there is no reason you cannot do it, get domain hosting for a .com. If you are a non-profit organization, consider .org. If you are building a personal website and are on a budget, consider .us or some of the other lesser-known extensions. When in doubt, however, go for .com. The part of a URL people most often first forget is the extension. And when they’re in doubt, .com’s what they type in: .biz and .net should only be considered if you’re completely attached to a particular domain hosting name and the .com variant isn’t available. But our best suggestion for that scenario is to vary the domain hosting name and get the .com extension.

<b>The Shorter the Better </b>
When picking domain hosting names for your website consider that people have to remember it to visit it. Not everyone is going to get to your website by clicking on a listing or an ad or a reciprocal link. Word of mouth leads increase when your domain hosting site’s name is short and sweet. And people make less spelling mistakes and typos when trying to type in your URL directly.

<b>Stay Away from What Doesn't Belong to You </b>
Big companies with trademarked names seem like tempting targets for domain hosting names that generate loads of free (albeit unintentional) traffic. Heck, you could even sell the domain hosting name back to them for a hefty sum. More than likely, however, you’ll just get sued. And chances are, if you’re reading this article, they have better lawyers than you.

<b>The More the Merrier </b>
Admittedly this catchy tag line is a little misleading. Considering registering a group of domain hosting names in order to cover yourself for the inevitably of interested visitors typing in the wrong URL is an excellent idea. Try, if possible, to get the .com <em>and </em>.net variant of your domain hosting name, or a variant with hyphens as well as the one without (always go for without hyphens first). But don’t buy more than you can afford or more than you need. Once you own the domain hosting names, whatever they are and of whatever number, you still have to get people to visit them.

<b>U R a *, but Your Domain Name Can’t Be </b>
You can use neither symbols nor spaces in your domain hosting name (our apologies to “the artist formerly known as Prince”). And URLs are not case sensitive. So don’t waste your time.

<b>Do it Now </b>
Have you ever heard the concept that if you have an idea then at least one other someone else somewhere else in the world is having or has had the same idea? Well that’s certainly the case with domain hosting names, which is why you need to make all due haste in nabbing your ideal domain hosting name. Otherwise, you may wind up compromising with an alternate far inferior.

Choosing A Domain Name For My Business

The domain name for your business is your online identity. You should be very careful about choosing a domain name that is memorable, scores quite well with search engine listings, has a trust factor attached to it, and commands a brand value. A domain name is quite important for your business correspondences and emails. A long one can cause problems in communication, especially if the domain name seems complex. Here are some tips in choosing a well-meaning domain name that captures the essence of your brand image or business:

1. Keyword oriented or a unique domain name? If your website is going to have a crucial role to play in your business, then it is important to have an adequately researched keyword incorporated within the brand name. Use the most searched-for term in search engine queries, within your domain name. Prior to launching your online business, you should do some research through website tools to find out which keywords register the most number of traffic during a month. For example, if you want to make a website based on advising people, you will find that the keyword help is normally typed in the search engine query window a lot more frequently than the word aid. If your domain name includes targeted keywords, than you will get higher rankings in the search engines like Google and Yahoo. You should bear in mind that, apart from having the targeted keyword in your domain name, you should also have keywords in other parts of your site as well.

2. Use a company name only if you are famous: That is right. If your company name overwhelms the basic product name, then by all means go for the company name as your domain name. For example, people normally use the term Xerox rather than photocopy and if you are Xerox, then you should go for Xerox as a domain name because of the sheer popularity of the brand name. This is usually not the case, so using a keyword-rich domain name is a better move for most people. To be on the right side of balancing your business well, you should buy a set of two domain names, one that represents your business/brand name, and another that represents keywords or key phrases.

3. Keep your domain name short: The shorter your domain name, the more memorable it is. If your domain name has an every-day lingo, the better it is! More often than not, you may find that a simple two-word domain name is already taken. The alternative in this case, is to put a hyphen (-) to your targeted keyword and then add the other word. SEO experts are of the belief that hyphenating two or more words makes a long domain name more search engine friendly. The flip side is that people do not tend to write words with hyphens naturally, and there is a chance that if someone has recommended your site to a friend, the friend may find himself going to a competitor’s site. So one has to understand and undergo a lot of study while choosing a domain name. After all, it is one prominent thing that can dictate the flow of your business. Also, you should avoid putting numbers like 4 instead of for in your domain name. It will only lead to confusion.

4. Dot.com only: If you intend to have a website for commercial or business reasons, then by all means go for a website which ends in extension .com. The domain name companies will market other options like .org, .us, .net, etc. However, by all means try stick to .com for better mass appeal.

5. Register similar domain names: If you believe that in the future you are going to have a huge amount of people visiting your website through word-of-mouth advertising, then you should consider registering similar domain names that direct to your main URL (e.g. www.datinginformation.com and www.datinginfo.com). There are cyber-squatters who register domain names in the hope that they will be selling them for a profit to someone who really needs that domain name. Before they do this, you should register the domain names if you think that such a possibility can occur.

6. Be patient: You should not choose a domain name in minutes merely just to get it done and over with. A hasty decision may cost you a lot. It is better to invest time in research and arrive at the right kind of domain name. You should also discuss the comprehensibility and usage of the domain name with friends, neighbors and well wishers to find how simple and commonplace it really is.

Choose A Domain Name That Floods Traffic To Your Website

Choosing a domain name is a very critical part of your website marketing strategy.

By choosing a domain name that targets the specific keywords for your website you'll flood your website with laser targeted traffic by enhancing click through response.

Pick a domain name that gives your prospects what they most desperately desire. By including the keywords in your domain name that are your customers desires, including them in your marketing messages and your website content you can't help but flood traffic to your website!

Wondering what your customer's desires are? If so, you'll need to determine what your really selling. Let's look at an example product here: home security alarm system.

Keep in mind few people know, nor do they care what the heck the product looks like or the features of the product such as size, color, weight, speed, or availability. The only thing they have an interest in is the "results" your product will achieve for them. It all boils down to what's-in-it-for-me?

Why would a prospect purchase a home alarm system? What's-in-it-for-them? If you think for just a moment you'll come up with the right answer.

Yes, it's to protect their jewelry or valuables while they are at work or when the house is empty.

You must stop thinking of yourself or the features of your product to determine what your customer's deepest desires are. By turning your product or service features into "benefits" or "results" you'll be able to hit their hot buttons and flood traffic to your website in the process.

The easiest way to turn features into benefits is to list all the features of your product or service on a piece of paper first. (a feature is a characteristic of a thing: size, color, weight, speed, availability) Then one by one turn each feature into a benefit for your customer. What's-in-it-for-me-- save money? youthfulness? friends? security? money? power? luxury? prestige? thinner body? obedient pet?

The traffic driving potential of keyword targeted domain names is awesome, provided that you research your target market and satisfy their "true" needs, desires and benefits. Once you have established this system for marketing, you'll be able to use your domain name to construct specific ad campaigns targeted to specific markets even if your website offers multiple products and services.

To take it a step further, you could formulate a domain name that works like a headline for a classified ad. When you break a headline down it should have several different parts. It should fan the flames of desire with a hint of information about solving a specific problem, satisfying a need, providing a benefit, or invoking curiosity with a call to action. Your domain name should contain as many of these "headline characteristics" as possible. Try and phrase the keywords into something relatively short, catchy and easy to remember.

Keep in mind "what's-in-it-for-me?" as to "what your really selling". The job of your domain name is to act like a headline to drive targeted traffic to your website by "scratching the itch of your customers." If you've found the right words to scratch that itch, then ONLY YOU can put it to use in your domain name. You'll find that not only will you do better on your search engine rankings you'll also attract a lot more attention with your pay per click ads or any type of advertising you use.

Choose a Market You’re Passionate About and Stay Focussed

Choosing the right market is instrumental to your online success. It’s much more difficult to create a new market than to enter an existing market that is already highly profitable for existing businesses. The good thing about online business is that you can start a new business in a new market without as much overhead and headache as in the real world. If there are many players in a market that’s also good because you can see what the best people in your market are doing. You can then offer more value, match and beat their offering and dominate the market. You can switch between a few markets before you find your niche. The only mistake we make is the one we didn’t learn from. Be tenacious and keep trying. Do something that you’re passionate about, you’ve heard it before but it really is true that you need to give freely before expecting any return. Choose that area that interests you and where you can really benefit other people. Some people may not have a passion and maybe making money is one of them. You can find a product that is useful in that area and promote that.

As for me, my passions are:

Connecting with other young guys
Playing sport, in particular cricket, rugby, soccer and tennis.
Nutrition, eating a balanced diet
Fitness and Health
Spiritual Growth – I’m a follower of Jesus
Making money
Building profitable websites

These are the areas that I’ll focus on in one way or the other. It’s so important to finish each project that you start. Often another idea will spring into your head before you’ve finished and you’ll be tempted to drop what you’re doing and move on, don’t. Finish what you started and write down the new idea. This way you can have your current project making money or at least have a chance of while the new idea takes shape. It’s important to have an ideas book where you write all of those million or billion dollar ideas down and choose the best ones to take action on. Choose the ones that excite you the most.