Your domain is your website address, a.k.a. URL or universal resource locator.
What domain name you choose is an important part of your overall marketing plan. It should be relevant to your business and easy to remember. Keep in mind that your domain name is your internet identity, so choose wisely.
A domain name is much easier to remember then a bunch of numbers or letters, think of it as the text name that relates to your IP address. When your domain is typed into a browser the name server associates it with an IP address and your website is displayed by the browser.
So what domain name should you pick?
Some things to take into consideration are:
1. Is it easy to remember? Can someone type it in from memory?
2. It should be easy to spell and should not contain more then 3 words.
3. If possible, use keywords in your domain. Your domain name should relate to your business.
4. Do not use numbers or hyphens.
5. Stick with a dot com extension if possible.
Keep it simple.
A well planned domain name is the first step to a successful marketing campaign. Three basic steps that you can take to make sure your domain is marketable are:
Step 1: Make a list of words that relate to your business. Then remove any words that are longer then 10 characters. You can also use phrases if they are short and easy to remember. There should be no spaces in the phrases. Once you have your list check to see if your possible domains are available.
Step 2: Go to any domain registrar and search for the domains on your list to see if they are available. GoDaddy is an excellent place to begin. A list of alternatives will appear for those domains that are not available. Go through all the names on your list and once done you will then have a list of possible domains for your business.
TIP: For business websites try and find relevant domain names with an extension of .com only. This extension is well known and is considered the default extension that people use if they do not know the correct one. Try not to overdue it and buy every known extension for your domain. When you are just beginning remember that domain fees are yearly so consider the lifelong cost of a good domain. For most of us one domain is enough.
Step 3: Once you know which names are available go to GoDaddy and register the domain names of your choosing.
TIP: Do not pay for hosting of your domains if you already have a website set up! Forward them.
Here is the cheapest ($10/year) and easiest way to set up forwarding of a domain name:
- Go to GoDaddy and register a domain name of your choosing. This is an easy step-by-step process. Just make sure you do not sign up for any extras that they offer you. The final price should be about $10.19.
- Once you have registered the domain (you will receive an email with your information), sign in to your GoDaddy account and go to My Domain Names under the Domains tab.
- Next click Domain Forwarding and then click on your domain name.
- Select Enable and then enter the URL of your existing website in the box. Click OK.
That is it! Very easy to do and now you can use your own domain for all your advertising!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Investing in Domain Names - Real Estate of the Future?
For most of us it is well known that property investment is a great way to make money. But property investment takes a large amount of money and a considerable amount of paper work and time. As the world moves more and more into the digital era online business is fast becoming a powerful force in the global market.
Investing in domain names is an alternative kind of real estate investment. Virtual real estate. For example pcservice dot com recently sold for US$20000, that is for the name only, no website!
To make money from domains you need to know two important factors. What sort of names to buy and where, and how to sell the domains.
Some recent domain name sale prices:
wwi.com US$22,500
heist.net US$5,850
karaokeparty.com US$5,800
shortfilm.org US$1,688
It is worth studying the above list carefully, although it is not comprehensive it does give a snapshot of what to expect at auction. Several important things can be learnt from the above list. Firstly, dot com (.com) names are by far the most valuable for any given word / phrase. Dot coms are followed in value terms by dot net (.net) and closely behind by dot org (.org). Dot com names are relatively hard to find these days, but there are some great new alternatives to invest in. With the emergence of internet on phone handsets a new top level domain (TLD) name extension was created, that is dot mobi (.mobi). As this is a relatively new extension there are still some great names available. Another slightly more expensive but worthy new top level extension is dot tv (.tv). Lastly but not least is the new and much talked about dot asia (.asia) top level extension.
Look around spend some time on a registration site to see what is available. Check common top level domains and international domain name extensions for the names you are searching.
In some cases people have been known to buy a dnames and resell them relatively quickly at a small profit. However it seems the best money to be made from domain name investment is, as with property, long term investment. If you are prepared to invest some money into domain names and hold them for several years then you may well find they have become very valuable. Domain names are selling faster today than they ever have in the past and a boom in domain name value is expected within the next few years. After all if you had the foresight several years ago to purchase the domain name blackjack dot com or newzealand dot com, you would be half a million dollar today.
Investing in domain names is an alternative kind of real estate investment. Virtual real estate. For example pcservice dot com recently sold for US$20000, that is for the name only, no website!
To make money from domains you need to know two important factors. What sort of names to buy and where, and how to sell the domains.
Some recent domain name sale prices:
wwi.com US$22,500
heist.net US$5,850
karaokeparty.com US$5,800
shortfilm.org US$1,688
It is worth studying the above list carefully, although it is not comprehensive it does give a snapshot of what to expect at auction. Several important things can be learnt from the above list. Firstly, dot com (.com) names are by far the most valuable for any given word / phrase. Dot coms are followed in value terms by dot net (.net) and closely behind by dot org (.org). Dot com names are relatively hard to find these days, but there are some great new alternatives to invest in. With the emergence of internet on phone handsets a new top level domain (TLD) name extension was created, that is dot mobi (.mobi). As this is a relatively new extension there are still some great names available. Another slightly more expensive but worthy new top level extension is dot tv (.tv). Lastly but not least is the new and much talked about dot asia (.asia) top level extension.
Look around spend some time on a registration site to see what is available. Check common top level domains and international domain name extensions for the names you are searching.
In some cases people have been known to buy a dnames and resell them relatively quickly at a small profit. However it seems the best money to be made from domain name investment is, as with property, long term investment. If you are prepared to invest some money into domain names and hold them for several years then you may well find they have become very valuable. Domain names are selling faster today than they ever have in the past and a boom in domain name value is expected within the next few years. After all if you had the foresight several years ago to purchase the domain name blackjack dot com or newzealand dot com, you would be half a million dollar today.
Some Basics Related to Domain Name Registration That You Must Know
Finding an effective domain name can be a bit tricky if you decide to do it entirely on your own. In fact it is much easier to hire one of the best domain name providers in order to simplify the process of domain registration.
These providers provide you with an array of word combinations to choose from. They will even give you many options regarding the extensions such as .net, .com, .info, .org, etc. All of these extensions are capable of getting indexed and spidered by the major search engines. One of the most vital aspects of domain registration Australia is the choice of exact keywords that can be effectively used in the domain name. The domain name needs to be crafted using the main phrase or keyword that can optimize your business website. Another important thing to remember is that people often tend to remember a shorter name as compared to a long name.
There are several providers that offer services like domain name and web hosting but choosing an apt provider depends entirely on the budget and requirements of your website. It is always better to have a different domain name provider instead of your web host. Basically the reason behind this fact is that some issues can crop up in case you decide to change your web host. Moving the domain at that time can be a massive headache.
Domain registration Australia, when procured from one of the reputable and trustworthy domain name providers can cost approximately from $1 to $10. The cost basically depends on the extension as well as the time period for which you sign up.
Domain name and web hosting are two basic requirements of a successful online business. One of the most challenging things while doing business online is the non-availability of face to face conversation with your customers or clients. Domain registration Australia provides a certain authenticity to your trade and helps in building a trust. Gradually, the traffic to your website elevates and your business website finds a higher rank in the search listings.
Domain registration reflects a certain sense of professionalism in your business. An email such as abcd@yourdomain.com is certainly very impressive and has casts a positive impact on your clients and customers. Domain name registration is not that difficult as you might think it to be. The potential customers are more interested in being associated with the websites that have domain registration Australia as compared to those which do not have a domain name. Those who plan to be successful in their online business must have a domain name registration for their websites.
These providers provide you with an array of word combinations to choose from. They will even give you many options regarding the extensions such as .net, .com, .info, .org, etc. All of these extensions are capable of getting indexed and spidered by the major search engines. One of the most vital aspects of domain registration Australia is the choice of exact keywords that can be effectively used in the domain name. The domain name needs to be crafted using the main phrase or keyword that can optimize your business website. Another important thing to remember is that people often tend to remember a shorter name as compared to a long name.
There are several providers that offer services like domain name and web hosting but choosing an apt provider depends entirely on the budget and requirements of your website. It is always better to have a different domain name provider instead of your web host. Basically the reason behind this fact is that some issues can crop up in case you decide to change your web host. Moving the domain at that time can be a massive headache.
Domain registration Australia, when procured from one of the reputable and trustworthy domain name providers can cost approximately from $1 to $10. The cost basically depends on the extension as well as the time period for which you sign up.
Domain name and web hosting are two basic requirements of a successful online business. One of the most challenging things while doing business online is the non-availability of face to face conversation with your customers or clients. Domain registration Australia provides a certain authenticity to your trade and helps in building a trust. Gradually, the traffic to your website elevates and your business website finds a higher rank in the search listings.
Domain registration reflects a certain sense of professionalism in your business. An email such as abcd@yourdomain.com is certainly very impressive and has casts a positive impact on your clients and customers. Domain name registration is not that difficult as you might think it to be. The potential customers are more interested in being associated with the websites that have domain registration Australia as compared to those which do not have a domain name. Those who plan to be successful in their online business must have a domain name registration for their websites.
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