Domain Name Tips IV
I. 3 Ways to Make Money with Your Domain Name by Hooshmand Moslemi
Probably, you have heard about making money online. Also, you have seen lots of different programs and systems that help you earn cash on the Internet. It could be selling stuffs, being an affiliate, running a website, etc. Now, there is another surprising concept: making money with your own domain names. But, is it really true?
Shortly, I have to say that it is possible to earn a living with domain names. Today, there are lots of people starting their own businesses based on this kind of opportunity. But, first of all, you will need to know how it works.
Basically, there are 3 different ways to make money with your own domain names:
1. Buying domain names at low prices, then selling them higher:
Believe it or not, one of the most important secrets of a powerful and popular website is having a good domain name. Thus, many website owners are looking for such domain names and willing to pay a lot in order to own them. Suppose, you had registered that domain name earlier, so you are the person who sets the price and win the deal. That´s it. You have purchased the domain name at a very low price and have sold it many times higher. But the secret is that how you could get those good domain names. Actually, several years ago, it was not difficult to register a good domain name. But, today, it has become harder and harder. Yet, there is one promising solution: buying expired domain names. Everyday, thousands of domain names are being expired due to forgetting the payment of annual fees. After a while, the expired domain names will be deleted and then be available for everybody who wants to purchase it. Among those expired domain names, you can find some valuable, well-established and attractive domain names.
There are some sources on the net where you can find the needed information about expired domain names. On the other hand, you can find some sources to put your domain names for selling. At those auction places, you will see how the customers are bidding and competing in order to grab your domain name. Doing this business properly with working carefully can bring you a lot of profits.
2. Selling advertisements on your parked domain names:
Another way in this approach is to put advertisements on your parked domain name. You register a domain name, then park it on a specific marketplace. Besides, most of them allow you to choose some keywords related to the topic of your domain name. Afterwards, you can see the related advertisements on your parked domain name as sponsored links. These ads are often based on pay per click action and you will get paid whenever someone clicks on the ads. This way is a good idea, even if you intend to sell your domain name later. In fact, the earnings depend on the amount of your visitors. So, it would not be a huge amount of money. However, it could help you earn extra money with your own domain name.
3. Redirecting your domain name to a specific page:
The third method is actually an accessory way. For example, you are an affiliate, a person who sells the others´products or services. In most cases, you, as an affiliate, have a web page like the seller´s, but the difference is your URL address, that is to say your domain name. It is too long and full of various numbers and letters. Sometimes, it would be difficult to market or advertise a page with the URL address like that. Thus, you may need a better web address. So, it is time to register a related domain name and redirect it to your affiliate page. It means, whenever someone types your domain name in the address bar, the page will automatically be forwarded to the affiliate web page. In this way, you send traffic to that web page and if a sale is made, you will make money. So, it could be another way to make money with your registered domain name.
The above mentioned methods are the main ways that help you make money with your own domain names. But, naturally, it is business and there is always risk with any businesses and don´t forget that the whole process of making money depends mostly on your ambitions, individual capacities, expertise, business experiences and desires.
Good Luck!
Hooshmand Moslemi
About the Author
Hooshmand Moslemi is the Author and Owner of " Make A Website Now ", (www.make-a-website-now.com) a very helpful guide full of information, tips and resources for creating a web page in easy steps.
Get a Domain Name now!
II. How To Choose A Good Domain Name by Christine Anderssen
One would think that registering a domain is the first step when setting up your website. This is not quite true. Hopefully you had done your research first to identify your niche keywords, in other words, the primary key terms that people are looking for in relation to your business.
Your domain name should reflect what your site or your business is about. It should be descriptive and easy to remember. If you can register your domain name by using your best niche keyword you will also score a few points in trying to get your site high up in the search engine rankings.
Just note, however, that while this was especially true a couple of years ago, the prevalence of garbage made-for-adsense type of sites to try and register a domain name with keywords in have led to this factor being overused and abused. Search engines are wising up to the fact that a domain name like www.red-widgets-blue-widgets-purple-widgets-cheap-widgets.com might not really be a real business and you should therefore be careful not to STUFF your domain name with keywords.
Here are some tips to choosing a good domain name:
1) If your company has a distinctive name that you use in your marketing campaigns, and if your company is well known among your customers it is best to try and register your company name as your domain name. For example, it will be better for Standard Bank to register standardbank.co.za as opposed to bankingservices.co.za. Branding yourself as a company that provides a specific service is very important.
2) But if your company does not have such a strongly branded presence in the market, or if you are offering a product or service that you specifically want to market through the internet without even HAVING a company, then a descriptive name might be a better option (e.g. www.health-products.co.za)
3) Hyphens are easier to read in print, are easier to 'understand' by the search engines (remember that a key linking strategy is to have text links contain your targeted keywords. If your domain name is legible to search engines and it is used to link to your site, you score some points since your keywords are already contained in your domain name), and gives you more choice. The negatives about hyphens is that they are difficult for people to hear! You will probably have difficulty in spelling out your domain name over the phone or in conversation when it contains hyphens.
It is also true to say that a name without the hyphens are also seen as being more professional (often the hyphenated name is seen as being a bit johnny-come-lately as well as spammy due to the reasons mentioned above). Search engines are also getting more and more proficient in understanding text that are embedded within domain names (even without the hyphens) and using a hyphenated site purely so that the search engines can understand them is probably not necessary these days.
4) But a good piece of advice is that when you register a domain name is to register as many variants (with hyphens as well as without hyphens) and as many domain extensions (.com, .net, .info, .biz) as you can afford. Registering domain names are really not that expensive and you will be protecting the investment into your company and your website brand. Remember that there are unscrupulous domain squatters (typo squatters) out there that will register variants of your domain name to either try and sell it back to you at a high cost, or to try and capture some of your traffic.
5) It is extremely difficult to come up with a good .com domain name these days. Most good domain names have been taken already. Here is a good resource page that contains a list of language tools that you can use to try and mix and match words or portions of words to come up with a good domain name. http://marcusvorwaller.com/blog/archives/2005/08/09/how-to-find-a-great-domain-name/
6) If you are located in a country other than the United States, always try and register your domain name with your local Top Level Domain extension (e.g. .co.uk, .co.za) since the local version of Google will give preference to names with extensions matching your own country.
7) Always try and register your domain with an independent registrar and NOT with your hosting provider. If you ever want to move your website to another hosting provider, it will just be easier to do it if your domain name registrar is also not your hosting provider. You might find it more difficult to get your website away from a bad hosting provider if they have control over your domain name as well.
About the Author
Christine Anderssen is the owner of Tailormade4you. After 20 years in the coporate IT world she recently started working for the worst boss imaginable, herself! Tailormade4you specializes in Web Hosting; Web Design and Web Development services for small businesses and use Open Source to build websites quickly and efficiently.
Get a Domain Name now!
III. Domain Name Registration Explained by Scott Bowen - InftekHosting
No two websites can have the same domain name (or web address, as most people refer to it). For this reason, a process known as domain name registration was established. Domain name registration is overseen by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This company regulates the thousands of domain name registration websites where you can register your domain name.
When going through the domain name registration process it is important that you make sure the registrar site in which you are doing the domain name registration is registered with ICANN. This is important because there are many scam artists who claim they can register your site and lead you to believe they did. Then what happens is you invest a lot of time and money into developing your website only to find that your domain name was not registered and is no longer available. It is not until weeks, or even months later, that you find out that the domain name registration was a scam.
The cost of domain name registration is generally the same price with most registrars, so your biggest concern after finding a domain name registration site is to make sure it is registered with ICANN. The domain name registration process itself is very simple. Hopefully, you have developed a list of potential domain name registration hopefuls in order of most wanted to least wanted. Starting with the domain name you want the most, all you have to do is type it into the domain name registration site and it will tell you if it is available or not.
Domain name registration also allows you to choose an extension, such as .com, .net, .ed, just to name a few. Obviously, .com is the most popular, but if your domain name is not available with the .com extension you may be able to find it with a different extension. However, don't settle for an obscure extension for the sake of obtaining a certain domain name. Part of the domain name registration process is acquiring a domain name that will be easy for people to remember and which will fit well with your website.
Think of your domain name as a word, or set of words, that represents your business. People should be able to figure out what to expect from your website just by reading your domain name. Keep this in mind when undergoing the domain name registration process. You want your domain name to be unique and to stand out. You'll need to be creative in order to do this. It should also be noted that if you do acquire the domain name you want, with the extension you want, you may also want to consider registering the domain name under any other extensions that are still available. Doing this during the domain name registration process will keep others from having the same domain name as you, and thus, could potentially cause confusion among Internet surfers and possibly lose you business.
Once you have your domain name and finishing the domain name registration process, you may want to consider purchasing the name for at least two years. It would also be a good idea to leave a credit card on file and specify that the domain name registration should automatically be renewed at the end of the term. All too often people loose the use of their domain name because they failed to renew it and then someone else gets it. This is no big deal if you don't depend on your website much; however, if your website expands and becomes more popular, not renewing the domain name registration could prove disastrous for your business.
The domain name registration process is not as difficult as it might seem at first; in fact, it is quite simple. The hard part of the domain name registration process is finding a domain name that is available and which properly represents your website. A little creativity though, and you'll breeze through the domain name registration process easily.
About the Author
InfTek, Inc., a Cary, North Carolina based corporation, is one of the US's leading dealers in affordable web hosting solutions and custom tailored computers. http://www.inftekhosting.com
Get a Domain Name now!
Probably, you have heard about making money online. Also, you have seen lots of different programs and systems that help you earn cash on the Internet. It could be selling stuffs, being an affiliate, running a website, etc. Now, there is another surprising concept: making money with your own domain names. But, is it really true?
Shortly, I have to say that it is possible to earn a living with domain names. Today, there are lots of people starting their own businesses based on this kind of opportunity. But, first of all, you will need to know how it works.
Basically, there are 3 different ways to make money with your own domain names:
1. Buying domain names at low prices, then selling them higher:
Believe it or not, one of the most important secrets of a powerful and popular website is having a good domain name. Thus, many website owners are looking for such domain names and willing to pay a lot in order to own them. Suppose, you had registered that domain name earlier, so you are the person who sets the price and win the deal. That´s it. You have purchased the domain name at a very low price and have sold it many times higher. But the secret is that how you could get those good domain names. Actually, several years ago, it was not difficult to register a good domain name. But, today, it has become harder and harder. Yet, there is one promising solution: buying expired domain names. Everyday, thousands of domain names are being expired due to forgetting the payment of annual fees. After a while, the expired domain names will be deleted and then be available for everybody who wants to purchase it. Among those expired domain names, you can find some valuable, well-established and attractive domain names.
There are some sources on the net where you can find the needed information about expired domain names. On the other hand, you can find some sources to put your domain names for selling. At those auction places, you will see how the customers are bidding and competing in order to grab your domain name. Doing this business properly with working carefully can bring you a lot of profits.
2. Selling advertisements on your parked domain names:
Another way in this approach is to put advertisements on your parked domain name. You register a domain name, then park it on a specific marketplace. Besides, most of them allow you to choose some keywords related to the topic of your domain name. Afterwards, you can see the related advertisements on your parked domain name as sponsored links. These ads are often based on pay per click action and you will get paid whenever someone clicks on the ads. This way is a good idea, even if you intend to sell your domain name later. In fact, the earnings depend on the amount of your visitors. So, it would not be a huge amount of money. However, it could help you earn extra money with your own domain name.
3. Redirecting your domain name to a specific page:
The third method is actually an accessory way. For example, you are an affiliate, a person who sells the others´products or services. In most cases, you, as an affiliate, have a web page like the seller´s, but the difference is your URL address, that is to say your domain name. It is too long and full of various numbers and letters. Sometimes, it would be difficult to market or advertise a page with the URL address like that. Thus, you may need a better web address. So, it is time to register a related domain name and redirect it to your affiliate page. It means, whenever someone types your domain name in the address bar, the page will automatically be forwarded to the affiliate web page. In this way, you send traffic to that web page and if a sale is made, you will make money. So, it could be another way to make money with your registered domain name.
The above mentioned methods are the main ways that help you make money with your own domain names. But, naturally, it is business and there is always risk with any businesses and don´t forget that the whole process of making money depends mostly on your ambitions, individual capacities, expertise, business experiences and desires.
Good Luck!
Hooshmand Moslemi
About the Author
Hooshmand Moslemi is the Author and Owner of " Make A Website Now ", (www.make-a-website-now.com) a very helpful guide full of information, tips and resources for creating a web page in easy steps.
Get a Domain Name now!
II. How To Choose A Good Domain Name by Christine Anderssen
One would think that registering a domain is the first step when setting up your website. This is not quite true. Hopefully you had done your research first to identify your niche keywords, in other words, the primary key terms that people are looking for in relation to your business.
Your domain name should reflect what your site or your business is about. It should be descriptive and easy to remember. If you can register your domain name by using your best niche keyword you will also score a few points in trying to get your site high up in the search engine rankings.
Just note, however, that while this was especially true a couple of years ago, the prevalence of garbage made-for-adsense type of sites to try and register a domain name with keywords in have led to this factor being overused and abused. Search engines are wising up to the fact that a domain name like www.red-widgets-blue-widgets-purple-widgets-cheap-widgets.com might not really be a real business and you should therefore be careful not to STUFF your domain name with keywords.
Here are some tips to choosing a good domain name:
1) If your company has a distinctive name that you use in your marketing campaigns, and if your company is well known among your customers it is best to try and register your company name as your domain name. For example, it will be better for Standard Bank to register standardbank.co.za as opposed to bankingservices.co.za. Branding yourself as a company that provides a specific service is very important.
2) But if your company does not have such a strongly branded presence in the market, or if you are offering a product or service that you specifically want to market through the internet without even HAVING a company, then a descriptive name might be a better option (e.g. www.health-products.co.za)
3) Hyphens are easier to read in print, are easier to 'understand' by the search engines (remember that a key linking strategy is to have text links contain your targeted keywords. If your domain name is legible to search engines and it is used to link to your site, you score some points since your keywords are already contained in your domain name), and gives you more choice. The negatives about hyphens is that they are difficult for people to hear! You will probably have difficulty in spelling out your domain name over the phone or in conversation when it contains hyphens.
It is also true to say that a name without the hyphens are also seen as being more professional (often the hyphenated name is seen as being a bit johnny-come-lately as well as spammy due to the reasons mentioned above). Search engines are also getting more and more proficient in understanding text that are embedded within domain names (even without the hyphens) and using a hyphenated site purely so that the search engines can understand them is probably not necessary these days.
4) But a good piece of advice is that when you register a domain name is to register as many variants (with hyphens as well as without hyphens) and as many domain extensions (.com, .net, .info, .biz) as you can afford. Registering domain names are really not that expensive and you will be protecting the investment into your company and your website brand. Remember that there are unscrupulous domain squatters (typo squatters) out there that will register variants of your domain name to either try and sell it back to you at a high cost, or to try and capture some of your traffic.
5) It is extremely difficult to come up with a good .com domain name these days. Most good domain names have been taken already. Here is a good resource page that contains a list of language tools that you can use to try and mix and match words or portions of words to come up with a good domain name. http://marcusvorwaller.com/blog/archives/2005/08/09/how-to-find-a-great-domain-name/
6) If you are located in a country other than the United States, always try and register your domain name with your local Top Level Domain extension (e.g. .co.uk, .co.za) since the local version of Google will give preference to names with extensions matching your own country.
7) Always try and register your domain with an independent registrar and NOT with your hosting provider. If you ever want to move your website to another hosting provider, it will just be easier to do it if your domain name registrar is also not your hosting provider. You might find it more difficult to get your website away from a bad hosting provider if they have control over your domain name as well.
About the Author
Christine Anderssen is the owner of Tailormade4you. After 20 years in the coporate IT world she recently started working for the worst boss imaginable, herself! Tailormade4you specializes in Web Hosting; Web Design and Web Development services for small businesses and use Open Source to build websites quickly and efficiently.
Get a Domain Name now!
III. Domain Name Registration Explained by Scott Bowen - InftekHosting
No two websites can have the same domain name (or web address, as most people refer to it). For this reason, a process known as domain name registration was established. Domain name registration is overseen by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This company regulates the thousands of domain name registration websites where you can register your domain name.
When going through the domain name registration process it is important that you make sure the registrar site in which you are doing the domain name registration is registered with ICANN. This is important because there are many scam artists who claim they can register your site and lead you to believe they did. Then what happens is you invest a lot of time and money into developing your website only to find that your domain name was not registered and is no longer available. It is not until weeks, or even months later, that you find out that the domain name registration was a scam.
The cost of domain name registration is generally the same price with most registrars, so your biggest concern after finding a domain name registration site is to make sure it is registered with ICANN. The domain name registration process itself is very simple. Hopefully, you have developed a list of potential domain name registration hopefuls in order of most wanted to least wanted. Starting with the domain name you want the most, all you have to do is type it into the domain name registration site and it will tell you if it is available or not.
Domain name registration also allows you to choose an extension, such as .com, .net, .ed, just to name a few. Obviously, .com is the most popular, but if your domain name is not available with the .com extension you may be able to find it with a different extension. However, don't settle for an obscure extension for the sake of obtaining a certain domain name. Part of the domain name registration process is acquiring a domain name that will be easy for people to remember and which will fit well with your website.
Think of your domain name as a word, or set of words, that represents your business. People should be able to figure out what to expect from your website just by reading your domain name. Keep this in mind when undergoing the domain name registration process. You want your domain name to be unique and to stand out. You'll need to be creative in order to do this. It should also be noted that if you do acquire the domain name you want, with the extension you want, you may also want to consider registering the domain name under any other extensions that are still available. Doing this during the domain name registration process will keep others from having the same domain name as you, and thus, could potentially cause confusion among Internet surfers and possibly lose you business.
Once you have your domain name and finishing the domain name registration process, you may want to consider purchasing the name for at least two years. It would also be a good idea to leave a credit card on file and specify that the domain name registration should automatically be renewed at the end of the term. All too often people loose the use of their domain name because they failed to renew it and then someone else gets it. This is no big deal if you don't depend on your website much; however, if your website expands and becomes more popular, not renewing the domain name registration could prove disastrous for your business.
The domain name registration process is not as difficult as it might seem at first; in fact, it is quite simple. The hard part of the domain name registration process is finding a domain name that is available and which properly represents your website. A little creativity though, and you'll breeze through the domain name registration process easily.
About the Author
InfTek, Inc., a Cary, North Carolina based corporation, is one of the US's leading dealers in affordable web hosting solutions and custom tailored computers. http://www.inftekhosting.com
Get a Domain Name now!
posted by TER at
12:08 AM
