There’s a saying in real estate – they say are the three most important things, location, location and location. Well, in a new internet business field, it is domain names, domain names and domain names. Yes, a domain name is so important.
In the early days of the Internet, domain names have been fairly easy. There were so many good names are still available, but as more and more companies migrate to the Internet, the best names were taken. As time passed, to register a search for good domain names have become increasingly difficult.
Why a domain name is so important? First, a domain name can help the traffic to your website. If you do not get traffic, then you can not even need a website. There is no doubt about it if you want to make money, you need traffic.
A domain name can help you get the traffic in a few ways. Especially if your domain name catchy and easy to remember, that to help people find your site and return for future visits. There is also a good idea if you have your domain name some references to the type of business you have. For example, if you would to a website that helps people to have their student loan consolidation, it’s a good idea, a domain name that some or all of these words have to be included. They could well “do studentloans. Com” or “studentloanconsolidation. Com” or something similar. You can even use a hyphen in the domain name, such as “Student-loan consolidation. Com”, etc.
The point here is that domain names should be descriptive in your company. Finally, if you look for a new dentist, you are likely to visit “BigBubbaMotorcycles. Com” or “GreatDentists. Com? If Big Bubba is a dentist, he’s probably not too many new dental patients through its website to get.
Let’s talk about the hyphens, domain names before we continue. Contrary to what many people think that hyphens to hurt in your domain name is not listed on your search engine. Most search engines treat the hyphens as a space, so the hyphens make it a little easier for them to separate the words.
Hyphens About the only disadvantage of using is that when people type in your URL, they may forget, set in the dashes and instead of a competitors website. I personally do not think that is too much of a problem since most people find websites through search engines, they will jump on a link to your website instead of typing them in by hand.
Again, it is really important to incorporate keywords about your business in your domain name for a good search engine ranking. Although some areas, such as ebay. com or Google. com does not get much traffic, it is not, because every keyword in your domain name. What is an “ebay” mean?
You will notice that most of the high-traffic Web sites with short, independent domain name to its enormous amount of traffic come through paid advertising campaigns. They use radio and TV spots, high volume e-mail advertising and other such methods that might be too expensive for a small company just getting started.
A good way to find your domain name, a list of keywords that are strongly associated with your company to develop. You can write as many keywords as you think, as long as they are on your topic. Once you have your list, you can help one of the many free online tools for choosing the right domain name for your new website.
The domain name registrar at www. GoDaddy. com has a search feature where you can check availability of domain names and the results even show you other closely related domain names that are available. Another practical suggestion tool is at www. domain fellow. com either one of these online tools can help a good domain names that are still available to register.
Here’s a good tip for you if you try a domain name that your keywords has in itself – if you can not find a domain name that your keyword has and is still to be found, you should consider, with sub-domain name instead.
What is a sub-domain name? A sub-domain name is a prefix to a normal domain name. Suppose that you are in the retail computer store and you want computers to sell on your site. This is a fairly competitive business, so you probably have a hard time coming with a good domain name not already taken.
An alternative would be a kind of generic term for a domain names list and then use a subdomain for your computer business. For example, say that you register the domain name “lowestprice. Com” This is quite common, would not you agree? Now that you know that a domain name registered, you can all of the subdomains you want, limited only by your imagination and the size of your web hosting account to create.
Reminder that you are in the computer industry, you could now your website to the sub-domain “computers. Lowestprice. Com” with the same approach, you could almost any business and have sub-domains, proceed as “insurance. Lowestprice . com “and so on. See how it works?
Another good thing about sub domains is that they no registration required. You pay only for the main domain name to register. The use of sub-domain name, you can simply embed your keywords and it does not cost you more money. And the search engines treat each subdomain as a completely separate unit, so your search engine ranking for a sub-domain does not depend on you have a high ranking for your main domain name.
Once you have your new domain name, you must register it. I recommend GoDaddy. com to register. Their prices are reasonable and their service is great. However, there are many, many companies, the domain name registration service free, so pick what you like.
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Tag: Names
Image taken on 2008-02-22 01:14:17 by vaXzine.
Let’s say that you’re creating a website for Barb’s Specialty Pet Products. Should the domain name be barbsspecialtypetproducts.com?
Perhaps — but don’t stop there. Having the right domain name, or domain names, can bring more traffic to your site.
Why more than one domain name?
One domain is all you need to set up a website. But with more domains directing to your site, you can have these additional benefits:
- Bring site visitors who type variations of your domain name
- Acquire traffic that might otherwise go to your competition
- Harness the marketing power of keyword domains
Your primary domain name
If it’s feasible, use your business or brand name in your primary domain. People will remember it and associate it with your business. Also consider the following factors when choosing your primary domain.
Domain name extensions
Should your primary domain end with .com, .net, or .biz, or with a country-specific extension such as .ca or .co.uk?
If your website is aimed at people in a specific country, having a country-specific domain can help:
- Site visitors will recognize right away that the business has a presence in the country of the extension. They may therefore be more comfortable buying from you.
- Some country-specific search results include sites with the relevant country-specific domain extension even if the site isn’t hosted in that country.
On the other hand, if you’re targeting an international audience, a country-specific domain could work against you. People from outside the country of the extension may be less inclined to buy if the business looks foreign to them.
If you want to attract both people within your country and those in other countries, have both. Each domain could direct to the same site, with each audience seeing the domain intended for them. For country-specific search results, the primary domain should be the country-specific one.
Chances are that the .com domain you want is already taken. If you use the .net or .biz version, you risk having potential site visitors go to your .com competition instead. Be sure to use the full domain name on all promotional material to reduce this risk.
Domain name length
A short domain is easier to remember, it has less risk of being mistyped, and it’ll fit easily on your business cards and correspondence.
Conversely, if a short name doesn’t represent your business, it’s more difficult for people to remember. The short names you like may already be taken anyway.
If your business name is up to three easy-to-spell words, it’ll probably work as a domain name. For a longer business name, the initials or just one or two words may be easier than remembering a combination of words.
Secondary domain names
Secondary domains directing to your site are for online use:
- For people who type your primary domain name incorrectly
- For people who search for your products or services online
Typing and spelling variations
How many ways can people spell and type your business name?
barbsspecialtypetproducts.com
barbs-specialty-pet-products.com
barbspecialtypetproducts.com
barbsspecialitypetproducts.com
barbsspecialitypetproducts.com
barbspecialtyproducts.com
barbspecialtyproduct.com
Hyphens aren’t recommended for your primary domain. When people tell others about your site, they’re likely to omit the hyphens. They may also forget to type them.
For secondary domains, hyphens make long domains easier to read. Each word stands out when people see your domain. However, domains such as buy-keyword-product-now.com make some people view hyphenated domains, especially those with more than one hyphen, as spam-like.
Having the words in domains separated may help some search engines recognize keywords. With Google, though, hyphens don’t make any difference.
Consider all of these variations for secondary domain names:
- With and without hyphens
- Different ways of spelling some words
- Singular and plural versions of nouns
- Extensions with .com and .net as well as a country-specific extension if relevant
What people search for
If you want to find the website for Time magazine, you might do a search for it, or you might try typing in time.com. If you do the latter, you’ll find yourself at the Time site.
This type of search behavior extends to generic words too. Searching for dog collars? Try dogcollar.com, for example, and you’ll be redirected to dogidcollar.com. Do you want life insurance? Lifeinsurance.com redirects to nmfn.com (and so does northwesternmutualfinancialnetwork.com).
While having keyword domain names may not draw a lot of site visitors, using them is a technique to consider.
How to use more than one domain
Set up your website with your primary domain, and use that domain on your correspondence and with your customers.
Point secondary domains to your site using URL forwarding (also called domain forwarding, domain redirect, or URL redirect). To have the secondary domain appear in the browser, use domain masking. You can set up these features when you log in to your account with your domain registrar (if your registrar offers these services).
With domains that are simply variations of your primary domain, you can expect additional traffic just from having set up these domains. With domains that contain keywords, you can get more from them by using them to list your site in online directories. When these domains appear in search results, searchers will see the keywords.
The next step
Once you decide on the available domains that you want, register them immediately. They might not be available tomorrow.
If you don’t already have a business name, you’ll find it easier to market your business online if you choose a primary domain and a business name together. If your first choice for a business name doesn’t work well with any available domains, consider a business name that you can easily market with an available domain. Once you’ve registered that domain name and your business name, register secondary domains and put them to use.
Is it worth registering multiple domains for one site? That depends on your site, but any variations that you don’t register will be available for competitors to register and use. If a domain is valuable to a competitor, it’s valuable to you.
Knowing the value of an internet domain name is crucial in today’s business industry. Altough there is no exact formula to appraise a domain, there are a group of things to consider before putting a value to a domain. A majority of people will base their immediate appraisal on TLD extension, word length and keyword popularity but won’t really consider backlinks, brandability or emerging trends part of the equation. There are a few factors that a person must be aware of before they can feel they have thoroughly assessed the domain and attach a valid appraisal amount. The first thing a person can do to is recognize that there are many subtle components that need to be assembled and viewed as a whole to get a comprehensive perspective on the domain. It seems every domainer has their own method used to appraise a domain so I’ve listed a few factors that I feel are necessary in being considered before a domain can be appraised.
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TLD Extension
TLD or Top-Level Domain is the ending extension attached to a domain such as .com, .net or .org. The .com extension is considered the most sought after even though there are other TLD’s that are gaining huge popularity and acceptance. CC’s or Country Codes are also seeing their fair share of registrations.
Name Length
Now that all the 2, 3 and 4 letter .com’s have been registered, the letter count on a domain is fast becoming a huge factor in a domain’s worth. The desire for a short domain is at an all time high and values are steadily climbing due to the limited supply of shorter length domains. Seems shorter names are easier to remember and with that a value increase.
Characters, Numbers and Hyphens
Hyphens integrated between letters are often viewed as separators between keywords. Although there is much dispute whether or not the hyphens negatively impact a domain’s search engine optimization, there is considerable preference that a domain not include anything extra in it’s name. Number digits are beginning to see their popularity rise and can be included with relevant keywords or letters to make a great domain.
Keyword Popularity
Marketable search terms and keyword popularity are extremely relevant in appraising a domain name. The frequency of a given search term helps to indicate the brandability or popularity of the keyword. Generic word domains, such as flowers.com or poker.com are the strongest in their keyword popularity genre.
Image taken on 2008-04-27 11:46:39 by ﴾͡๏̯͡๏﴿ /streetart#+_♥.tk www.ALT3.tk.
Analyzing eBay completed listing of domain sales for last two weeks in $1-$1000 price range.The main difficulty is to determine if the actual sales are real, especially at the high end of the range. In fact, the very first reported sale $999 for “Google Nexus One Premier Domain Pack” (the title itself scares me away, suggesting the bad names with trademark violation) is not valid, as this “super domain pack” gets relisted with $350 price tag. However, the next “official” sale, make you realize that “Google Pack” is not that bad… How about biloud123456789.com selling for $799? You do not need to be an eBay or domainer expert to say: “ain’t real “, without wasting the time by checking out whois history data. There are many amusing sales in ebay “domain names” category. Sometimes I think that if you’re starting as a domainer, you just need to check out eBay’s completed at the high range $100+, to learn what domain names should not be bought.
Back to Earth: let’s categorize what domains names are selling, or pretending to be sold on eBay
A small comment for Trademark name lovers who are hoping to make a quick buck of well-known names: do you know what happened to forbes.ru and some Apple related domains about a month ago? No need to click on the link, just read the titles: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/forbes-gets-300000-from-cybersquatter/397561.html Forbes Gets $300,000 From Cybersquatter, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/07/AR2010010704421.html Apple Seizes 16 Domain Names From A Guy In One Fell Swoop
Do you think spending $50-$400 on a domain name containing iPad\iPod is a good investment? Use your own judgment, but I personally would stick to generic names.
In general terms, eBay market place for domains today is a bit twisted reflection of large specific domain name markets. Yes, I believe, you can make a sale on eBay faster; more patience and additional investments (buying feature listings, appraisals, etc ) are needed when working on a sale with Sedo, AftreNic and GoDaddy auctions. The common side effect of a quick sale is that the price which you get for your domain might be much lower than you expected. If you’re ready to accept this, work with good names, do your research: keyword tools, domain history, past sales for similar names, existing in-links, Google ranking, etc. and you will do just fine with the domain sales on any market place.
Expired domains since my last posting, hope these are still available:Establishedwebsite.commacaroni.comanalystlabs.comartworkdomain.comtemporaryarea.comdealsexpert.comsketchmaps.comsportsecret.comThis is the one which makes me smile at first, though the name may not be as bad as it seems at the first sight: toiletdesigner.com
Image taken on 2010-06-15 21:00:39 by Emilie Ogez.
Irish domain names – Ireland’s domain name
General overview – IEDR
The country code top level domain (ccTLD) for Ireland is .ie. This ccTLD is managed by a not for profit organization in Dublin, Ireland know as the “Irish Domain Registry” or IEDR. The IEDR is not a regulatory body and provides the service to the public and internet community. The registry is responsible for the provision of IE names and the rules relating to their registration. The IEDR implements a dispute resolution policy for domains through the WIPO and unlike other registries operates Monday to Friday during business hours.
Requirements to register
The IE domain itself is a restricted domain in that only applicants who meet certain criteria may register this name. The two main requirements are: Being based in Ireland or having a strong link to Ireland (both northern and southern Ireland). Where the applicant is not based in Ireland information showing this connection must be provided. Secondly the entity registering the domain must have a connection to the name and where this connection is not obvious, must provide evidence of this connection.
Resellers and registration process
Domains are registered through approved domain resellers and are passed to the domain registry directly for approval. The approval process is carried out by a team of people known as IEDR Hostmasters. It is their responsibility to ensure the registration requirements are adhered to. Communication is passed to the approved reseller in the case where more information is required. This thorough process of vetting has led to both positive and negative effects on the domain name’s reputation.
Positive and negative aspects to the domain
On the positive side the domain was recently voted the second safest domain in the world after the Finnish ccTLD. Generally speaking IE domains are held in high regard by Irish based internet surfers. It is seen as a mark of quality or authenticity when doing business online and as a result .ie based websites are trusted over their .com cousins. Very rarely are large spam attacks initiated through an IE domain and the rate of hacks and other internet attacks from IE hostnames is quite low.
