Domains Name Yahoo

Finding the Best Domain Name, Host and Graphics for Maximum Profit

2007-09-29T03:14:00.000-07:00

Finding the Best Domain Name, Host and Graphics for Maximum Profit by Ed Reuben

Before we can start with the setup of the website we must first determine a domain name, find a hosting company for our website and get some well needed graphics.

Domain Name

A domain name is the word used for the actual website address. When someone keys in the domain name they will find your website. It is important that every e-Book you write and has a new and different domain name. This makes you e-Book stay in the memory of the customer and makes it a far more professional looking.

Your domain name must describe what your e-Book is about. For example if your e-Book was about building garden sheds, you should have a domain name like www.buildingardensheds.com . You might notice that my domain has ".com" at the end. I would recommend this as it looks a lot more professional than www.buildingardensheds.co.uk

There is one main way where you can search for a domain name. You first need to come up with phrases and words that help to describe the e-Book. So our main word would be "Garden shed", while other words could be building, creating etc.

The next step you need to take is go to the website Checkdomain Then just type some ideas in the search engine and see are these domains available. Try a whole bunch of different domains like:

www.buildagardenshed.com www.build-a-garden-shed.com www.yourowngardenshed.com www.your-own-garden-shed.com www.guide-to-building-garden-shed.com

As you can see it's a lot easier to read the domain with the hyphens, therefore if your domain is more than two words long, I recommend using the hyphen.

Once you have found a good domain name that has not already been registered (checkdomain will tell you this), you can sign up for that domain. There are a huge amount of domain registrars which you can sign up with.

Over the years though, I have found that the easiest way is to sign up the domain with your web hosting company. Therefore I would recommend when you are registering for your hosting company to sign up for a domain name also.

Hosting

For your website to be viewable on the internet you must have a hosting company. This is effectively renting web-space. We will then make our sales website and upload to our new web hosting server. Don't panic though, ill show you how to upload it in due course.

Choosing the right hosting company isn't easy, as I myself have found out in the past. I would certainly be well aware of the "too good to be true" web-hosting company's. Some company's can turn out to be very unreliable.

We need a hosting service with excellent uptime (the website is up and running 24/7). There is no point having a sales website when no one can see it.

The software that I will be recommending later on, will require your hosting company to have the following specifications 24/7 ftp access MySQL Perl 4.0 or higher PHP 4.3 .x(or higher)

So you can check your potential web-hosting company to see if it has those specifications. One of the best tips I've ever received from an e-Book is from an immense e-Book publisher called Richard Adams In his chapter on web hosting, he mentioned that he lived in the UK but since most of his potential customers lived in the US it would be a lot better to have a US based hosting company. This means that if someone from the US goes into your website it will run smoother and faster coming from a US based hosting company.

You're probably saying to yourself, "how am I going to find a good web hosting company". This is where a very handy website called tophosts comes in. They have a huge database of web-hosting services. If you go to the ecommerce hosting section, it gives a list of the top ecommerce hosting services and, trust me, they are all pretty good.

As I mentioned earlier Mr. Adams mentioned a website called host4profit in his e-Book. It was the first hosting service I ever used and I still use it today as it's extremely reliable and designed for e-Book sales sites. The website supplies unlimited autoresponders, newsletters and a site creation tool. It also supplies unlimited resell rights for a number of e-Books.

Now here is the great thing about host4profit. They charge a monthly hosting fee of around 30 dollars. This is reasonably good although I have never actually paid a monthly fee to them. The hosting company offers you ten dollars for every person you recommend to them that signs up, so if you recommend three people in a month your service is free.

If you're actually asking yourself how can you get people to sign-up, its quite easy. E-Books contain hyperlinks so all you do is recommend the service in your e-Book and if a person clicks the link host4profit and then signs up then you will be paid.

I am not only recommending this hosting company because I'm getting it for free. I am recommending it because it's the best hosting account for someone that is going to run an e-Book sales site and furthermore I want to offer you the chance of getting a quality hosting service for free.

Host4profit will also set up your domain name for you, so register straight away at host4profit and don't forget to register for their affiliate program.

Graphics

Graphics are an essential part of the jigsaw when creating an e-Book site. They are similar to the domain name, in that it promotes a much more professional image. You will be very surprised by how much quality graphics can increase sales.

This doesn't mean that you overload your website with graphics. The more graphics you have on your page the longer it takes to load. If a website takes too long to load when a potential customer clicks into it, it will result in loss of sales. The customer just gets bored waiting for your website to load and just clicks back out. Here's what graphics a sales website should have * A Logo * A Header Image * An e-Book Image * Buy now image

Personally I recommend using at least three out of four of these graphics. Most of my sales websites contain a header image, an e-Book image further down and a buy now image. This is actually compulsory (I'll explain this in more detail in step 6).

A logo is placed at the top of a sales page to attract the attention of the customer and also to give it a professional edge. A well designed logo attracts the attention of the customer, while promoting the domain name, which in turn describes the e-Book subject matter.

An e-Book Image

An e-Book cannot be touched or felt. An e-book image is a graphic that makes an e-Book more real. It gives your book a personality. I consider the e-Book image an absolute necessity. You cannot skip over this.

An e-Book image improves sales considerably. I found this out the hard way when I brought out an e-Book and decided not to have an e-Book cover. For the first three weeks I only sold 11 copies, I then decided to pay $97 dollars for an e-Book image from a website.

In the first week with the new image I sold 26 e-Books. That worked out at $320 for yours truly. Without the image I made $180 in three weeks. See where I'm coming from, Pay the $97 for the e-Book image and you'll make it back in the first week plus profit. So I'll say it again.

You must include an eBook image with your sales website

A Header Image

A header image is positioned at the top of the webpage in a rectangular shape. Like the e-Book cover, it is extremely beneficial to your sales page. It makes the sales page look much more presentable. A header image should contain a description of your product, web address and images.

Remember when a potential customer enters your sales site; the first thing he/she will see is the header image. If this is appealing enough to the customer they will then decide to read the rest of the sales letter. You can create a header yourself but I recommend paying someone to do it for you. It will probably look far superior to your own design.

It will roughly cost the same amount as an e-Book image. Don't panic though, some company's offer complete packages for reasonable prices.

A "buy now" Image

A "buy now" image is rather simple really. It is just a graphic that replaces a blue text saying "click here". It looks a lot better and is bigger than normal text. It is also easy to find when a potential customer decides to buy the e-Book; he can just click on the image. Generally you can get "buy now" images for free. One image should do you for everything. You can download these images from plenty of sources on the internet.

David Hennebery is the owner and creator of a very successful eBook called ebookprofitmaker. He is regarded as an expert in eBook marketing and selling. To contact him email support@ebookprofitmaker.com or http://www.ebookprofitmaker.com/articleoffer.html

You can start with a few dollars and a good idea to make lots of money online writing and selling your own eBook! I did and I'll show you how. To find out more and receive a 35% discount on my new eBook for reading my article visit http://www.ebookprofitmaker.com/articleoffer.html

**Attention ezine editors/site owners** Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your website so long as you leave the links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above

About the Author
Ed Reuben is dedicated to having people discover the internet buiness the easy way. http://www.new-fyi.com

How to List Your Business in Google and Yahoo Local Search

2007-05-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

How to List Your Business in Google and Yahoo Local Search
by Araceli Molina

Even if your business is done completely online, you may benefit from getting listed in Google Local or Yahoo's local listings. People often feel more comfortable doing business with someone who is local; and potential customers may stumble across your business while searching for other things. Submission to Local Search at both Google and Yahoo are free, and may bring you more business than you expect.

Here are the URLs for the signup forms below, but before you get started you should have the following information ready at hand:

1. The first thing they will ask for is the physical location of your business. If your business is in your home, that is no problem, just use your home address. You shouldn't, however, use a post office box, as Google doesn't accept them.

2. The telephone number(s) of your business - If you use your home phone number for your business, be sure you have an appropriate answering machine message, and that your phone is answered in a professional manner.

It is best to get a separate telephone number for your business, even if it and your budget are very small. Check with your phone company and the VOIP companies, you may be pleasantly surprised at how cheaply you can get a second number. Many people use VOIP for their business, and pay just $25 per month for unlimited local and long distance through their broadband internet connection. If you have a fax number, have that ready also.

3. A business email address - Use an email account at your business domain. If you don't have a website for your business, buy a domain for your site from a registrar such as registerfly.com who gives website space with a domain purchase, or at least put up a "one page business card" website on the free space Yahoo offers to local listers. In any event, don't use an America Online address or a "freebie" email service such as Hotmail or Yahoo for your business. This is considered very unprofessional.

4. Your business website address - Get a site if you honestly mean to have an internet business. Yes, a website is not strictly required in order to earn online, but to anyone with online business experience you will appear as a rank amateur without one.

5. A description of the services or products you sell. This should be a short 1 to 3 sentence summary such as:

"Your Business Name provides widgets to all widget users, with special emphasis on blue widgets for widgeteers. We also offer widget payment plans."

Don't make it a blatant advertisement, just an explanation of services.

6. Categories your business falls under - You'll be able to choose up to 5 categories for your listing.

7. What types of payment can you accept? (Cash, credit card types, etcetera)

8. Your business operating hours and days at your location.

9. Contact Name - likely yours.

Google users will need to setup an Account. Fear not...if you have Gmail, Google Sitemaps or any other Google service requiring an email address you are already registered.

When you have your information ready, go to http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter.

Sign into your Google account and follow the onscreen instructions. Once you have finished, Google will telephone or send you a postcard (your choice) with a confirmation number. When you receive the pin number in the mail or by phone, you will then need to go back to your account and enter that pin number before your entry can be activated.

After that, just wait for the phone calls from new customers.

For Yahoo, the information needed is nearly the same, and they will give you a free 5-page website for your business to boot!

Sign up at Yahoo here: http://listings.local.yahoo.com/

Get going and boost your business into areas you might not have thought of trying.

Visit http://workathome.enlared.biz to find a complete selection of free ebooks, tools, utilities, articles and home bussiness ideas.

About the Author
Araceli Molina is the owner and creator of http://workathome.enlared.biz/ where you can find a complete selection of free ebooks, tools, utilities, articles and home bussiness ideas.

Domain Name Registrars and how they Work

2007-05-30T00:39:00.000-07:00

Domain Name Registrars and how they Work
by Candice Pardue

In the history of domain name registrars, a company called Network Solutions had the sole authorization to register domain names. Network Solutions was the only true domain name registrar. Now, things have changed! The domain name market is wide open for competition. There are several dozens of domain name registrars today.

What is a Domain Name Registrar?

A domain name registrar is a company that is allowed to directly access and modify the database of domain names that have been registered up to the current date. The database itself is maintained by a non-profit organization called Internic. Domain name registration and the industry itself are monitored by ICANN, an organization that is responsible for certifying companies as registrars and handling domain names, IP addresses, and domain name extensions.

A domain name registrar is required to pay a fee to Network Solutions for every registered domain name. This is a fixed fee for everyone. Then, the registrar can decide what to charge clients that register with them for purpose of profits and promotion.

Where the rates were once fixed at $70 per every two-year period, now companies may charge whatever they wish. Some charge by the year; others offer many types of domain name packages ranging from one to even ten years in duration.

Benefits of Registering with an Accredited Domain Name Registrar

There are several main benefits of registering your Internet domain name with an accredited domain name registrar. One, you'll often find cheaper domain name registration prices because the registrar is buying domain names directly. Some companies are able to offer domain name registration for as low as $8.95 per year or better. Then, there are others who offer a free year or two with the purchase of Web hosting.

Two, you'll know that you are registering your domain name with a reputable company. There are many "resellers" of domain names that are fly-by-night companies, and you might not be able to find them when it's time to renew your domain name for the next term!

Three, you can benefit from the registrar accreditation itself. This reveals that the domain name registrar has been accredited by a federal government agency and is being monitored directly by Internic. By simply checking with these two agencies along with the Better Business Bureau, you can have peace of mind that you are buying from a real registrar, not a scam artist.

Use these tips to find a reputable domain name registrar. This will not only secure your domain name... it might also secure your entire online business for future years!

About the Author
Candice Pardue, Corporate brochure writer located at http://www.webmastercourse.com/writing-services/ . Go to http://webmastercourse.com/subscribe/ for a free 7-Lesson Web Beginner's Minicourse and learn web design from start to finish. This one's for beginners...

9 Golden Tips To Start An Internet Home Business

2007-05-26T00:06:00.000-07:00

9 Golden Tips To Start An Internet Home Business
by Chantal Langevin

Business: 9 Golden Tips To Start An Internet Home Business

By: Chantal Langevin

From: http://hombyz.com

The start up costs for an internet home business are next to nothing compared to the offline world of business start ups.

In fact it is a lot more simple to start and grow a business on the internet.

Of course you need some knowledge to begin your internet home business enterprise. But you don't need a "Bacc" to do business on the web.

All you need is some computer knowledge and some internet marketing basis and a good dose of determination.

Here is some basic tips on how to start an internet home business.

== 1.Write Your Business Goals ==

It is important to set goals and objectives and then take action to accomplish them. This will be your Business Plan.

Here Are Some questions you should ask yourself:

- Why do I want to start up an Internet Home Business?

- What product or service can I provide?

- Do I have the knowledge and expertise to provide this service?

- Do I know enough about the competition?

- Where will my customers come from?

Take the time to write down your questions and answers and thoroughly research your chosen market.

== 2. Choose A Product or Service To Sell ==

On the internet you can find houndreds of product or services to sell.

You can sell your own product by creating your own, or purchasing resale rights or being an affiliate with a good internet company.

Don't put your personal gains first. Make sure that the product will deliver what it promises. When you promote a product that leaves the buyer dissatisfied, you' ll only be ruining your business. So sell solutions and the money will come.

== 3. Business Domain Name ==

One important first step is to choose the best domain name you can. Keep it as short and simple as possible.

Think of domain name like " Google " or " Yahoo ". They are short and easy to remember.

I know that some people say to use keyword in youre domain name. But if you choose " Internet Business " there is million of site with this term.

So are you going to use for example "AprofitableInternethomebusiness.com" it might be a nice name but it is too long and not simple.

== 4. Your Business Web Site ==

Having A good business website is essential to succeed with an internet home business.

Here is the thing you have to plan to build your website

A) Decide on the website design (colour schemes, buttons, special effects etc). However, you may have a preference for a certain colour or look. To help you choose a design, you may wish to check out other people's websites or work with your web designer's pre-set templates.

(b) The content. There are many items you may wish to include on your website. The most common ones include:

1 Products And Services 2. Contact Information 3. Pricing 4. Testimonials 5. Frequently Asked Questions 6. Resources & Articles 7. Refund Policy 8. Privacy Policy 9. About Us 10. Site Map 11. Useful Links 12. On-line store

== 5. Choose a Web Hosting Company ==

What is a Web hosting Company?

A Web host is a company that provides server space for your website. You can think of a web host as a commercial building. The web host provides space for your website just as a commercial building provides space for your shop or office.

What are some of the things you should look for when choosing a web host? The criteria for choosing a free web host and a commercial web hosting solution are slightly different although they do overlap.

A) Web Space

Does it have enough space for your needs? If you envisage that you will expand your site eventually, you might want to cater for future expansion. Most sites use less than 5MB of web space. Indeed, at one time, one of my other web sites, thefreecountry.com, used less than 5MB of space although it had about 150 pages on the site. Your needs will vary, depending on how many pictures your pages use, whether you need sound files, video clips, etc.

B) Bandwidth allotment

Nowadays, many free web hosts impose a limit on the amount of traffic your website can use per day and per month. This means that if the pages (and graphic images) on your site is loaded by visitors beyond a certain number of times per day (or per month), the web host will disable your web site (or perhaps send you a bill).

It is difficult to recommend a specific minimum amount of bandwidth, since it depends on how you design your site, your target audience, and the number of visitors you're able to attract to your site. In general, 100MB traffic per month is too little for anything other than your personal home page and 1-3GB traffic per month is usually adequate for a simple site just starting out. Your mileage, however, will vary.

C) Reliability and speed of access

This is extremely important. A site that is frequently down will lose a lot of visitors. If someone finds your site on the search engine, and he tries to access it but find that it is down, he'll simply go down the list to find another site. Slow access is also very frustrating for visitors (and for you too, when you upload your site).

How do you know if a host is reliable or fast? If you can't get feedback from anyone, one way is to try it out yourself over a period of time, both during peak as well as non-peak hours. After all, it is free, so you can always experiment with it.

== 6. Shopping Cart ==

No e-commerce website is complete without a secure shopping cart. There are many shopping cart options. Many e-commerce business owners make the mistake of using Pay Pal to accept payments, which immediately tells visitors that their company is very small and not professional.

A good alternative to Pay Pal is a remotely hosted shopping cart. Remote shopping carts take the burden of maintaining security and credit card numbers off your shoulder and places the responsibility on another company. Remote shopping carts can usually be configured to look similar to your website.

In fact, your customers may not realize that they have left your website to place an order. The remote shopping cart provider will give you the HTML to add to your website. When your potential customer clicks on the Buy Now button, he or she is taken to the remote shopping cart to enter the personal information and payment details.

Depending on your choice of a shopping cart, you may or may not need a merchant account to process transactions. Some shopping cart services allow you to use their merchant accounts for a slightly higher fee.

== 7. How To Promote Your Business Website ==

Write An Article: Write an article promoting your site or product. Write an article on a hot topic many people would like more information on and submit it to various e-zines. How do you find out what's hot? Visit a few of the message boards and see what questions are raised often. Search Engines: Thousands of search engines exist on the Internet. But, you should only be concerned with the top eight or ten. You should manually submit to the top eight: Alta Vista, Excite, Yahoo, Hotbot, Lycos, Northern Light, Infoseek, Webcrawler, and use one of the FREE automatic submission services like *SubmitPlus* to handle the smaller search engines.

Directories: List your site here too. Directories organize sites into categories. Good examples of Directories: Yahoo, Magellan.

Ezine Listings: If you have an e-zine to promote along with your site. Why not list it with one of the many e-zine services on the Internet. E-zine Library is a good one to start with.

Free Classifieds: You will have to submit to a ton of FREE classifieds to get any significant traffic. Why? You are competing with thousands of other Ads. Remember to work on your Ad copy and make it attention grabbing. Go to one of the popular search engines, type in Free Classifieds, and surf to the top 20 classified sites for beginners.

Often, these sites will lead you to several other Free Classified Sites. In response you'll get a stack of e-mail thanking you for listing your site while barking their promo. Best to get one of those free email accounts. Hot mail is a good one. So is Yahoo mail.

FFA Pages. Free For All's are worth a try. Be prepared for a avalanche of e-mails from FFA web site owners. If your title is attention grabbing you will get a few clicks. Good Attention grabbing headlines, FREE, Limited Time, Limited Offer, Proven, Secrets, and many more if you brainstorm. Check out the sales literature delivered to you by regular mail. Check and see what headlines grab your attention. And why? Incorporate them into your Online Ads.

Tell Friends And Family: If your friends, family, acquaintances, have an Internet Connection, e-mail them telling them about your new website, and ask them to visit often. Offer a FREE incentive if they tell a few friends to surf over. Perhaps, a FREE Ad in your e-zine.

Leave Business Cards or Flyers: Leave these promo pieces with small businesses in your community. All relevant contact information; email address, URL, telephone number, should be included. Offer a freebie to anyone who visits your site. A free e-book, report.

== 8. TRACK YOUR MARKETING ==

Here are some questions to consider:

1) How many unique visitors come to your website?

2) How many visitors opt-in to your mailing list or order your products?

3) When you send emails, how many are opened and how many people actually click through to your website?

The reason these question are so important is because if you don't know these stats, you won't know what to improve. It could be different things; like your headlines, the content or navigation on your website. You won't know until you start checking all your marketing offer.

== 9. YOUR BUSINESS IN CONCLUSION ==

Think of your first six months primarily as a training period. Don't expect large earnings until after you've educated yourself.

Even the most dynamic, highest-earning entrepreneurs in the industry took MONTHS to begin seeing an income of any real significance with their internet home business.

Don't be a negative thinker and don't let the negative attitudes of others (even if they're family members, friends, or peers) influence you.

All the great men and women in history had to overcome the naysayers who said it couldn't be done--and then went out and did it. Think for yourself!

As long as you think positive and focused on your internet home business target you're on the right way to a rich life, which is directed by you and it will lead you to tremendous success and personnal satisfaction.

Copyright © Chantal Langevin, The Internet Home Business Specialist

-------------------------------------------------------------

PERMISSIONS TO REPUBLISH: This business article may be republished in its entirety free of charge, electronically or in print, provided it appears with the included copyright and author's resource box with live website link.

Courtesy of: http://hombyz.com : For All Your Internet Business Needs

About the Author
Chantal Langevin, The Internet Home Business Specialist Can Help You Build A Successfull Internet Business That Can Generate Massive Profit !!! So Start Your Own Internet Business for FREE >> Visit Now :: http://hombyz.com/homebusiness.htm

5 Free Tools To Ensure Your Affiliate Partner's Success

2007-04-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

5 Free Tools To Ensure Your Affiliate Partner's Success
by Melvin Vu

Time and time again, it has been said that affiliate marketing is, without a doubt, the quickest and most efficient way of earning a living online. There are a variety of reasons for this. For starters, most affiliate programs do not require any enrollment fees. There is no financial investment on the part of the affiliate. Secondly, the affiliate is only tasked with pre-selling the affiliate merchant's products. The sales page, the payment processing, the digital delivery, and the post sales services shall be borne by the affiliate merchant.

These shouldn't mean that the affiliate should want in commitment, however. As a matter of fact, an affiliate's success wholly depends on how much commitment he could give the program, and how much effort he could invest to pursue such commitment.

Sometimes, this requires some monetary expenses. Getting a web host, for example, as well as a domain name, would necessitate some cash to be laid out. Getting professionally made graphics to make his website attractive can also cost some dough, in the event that the affiliate cannot do this for himself. PPC advertising can equally be just as costly, if not even more, if the affiliate would ever decide to utilize this option.

But not everything needs to come at a price. There are vital tools that would help ensure the affiliate's success, and they can be availed of for free.

Here are the top five tools under this category. Knowing them would give you the edge you need. Using them would give you the head start that would push your online enterprise to the next level.

1) WordPress

WordPress is a movable-type blog. It is a software program you could download and use to create your own blogs which you could upload in your own server. You won't have to settle for the words "blogspot" or "livejournal" or "xanga" to be attached to your URL. You could host your blog under its own domain name, or as another page in your main website. Blogs are great marketing tools. They get indexed quite quickly by the search engines, and often, the figure prominently well in the search engine results pages (SERPs). They could also give your main website the backlinks it needs to boost its own page rank. Additionally, a blog can be customized to become your main website. The primary advantage of this approach is the convenience you'll receive when it comes to publishing content. Download the WordPress client for free from www.wordpress.com

2) NVU Website Creator

Macromedia Dreamweaver is too expensive? Microsoft Front Page is too complicated? Then the NVU Website Creator is the program for you. This software program streamlines the website creation process through an interface that is easy to use, but powerful enough to make professional-looking web pages. Download the client for free from www.nvu.com

3) Backlink Builder

If you're maintaining your own website, either as a review center for your affiliate program's products, or as an affiliate mall for the same, or even as a blog which promotes the aforementioned digital items, you will need to build a thorough list of backlinks to increase your page rank. The higher your page rank is, the better chances it will have of appearing in the first few pages of search engine results. Don't know where to start? Use the free tool available at www.webconfs.com/backlink-builder.php to discover all the places where you could leave some links to your website.

4) Keyword Selector Tool

Keywords are the primary ingredients of any search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. You will use them for your meta tags, your h1 tags, your ALT tags, your page title, and your content. You will even use them for the articles you will submit to the many article directories in the World Wide Web. The proper use of keywords would result in the more efficient documentation of your website so that the search engine spiders will have an easier time finding your web pages for any relevant query. And since 80% of the traffic that you will be able to generate for your website would come from the search engines, keywords become the most essential aspects of your site building efforts. Need to find the right keywords? Go to www.nichebot.com and use their powerful tool to determine the profitability of the keywords related to the affiliate products you will be promoting.

5) Statcounter

You will need to study your website's statistics so that you'll know what you're doing wrong, as well as replicate what you're doing correctly. For this purpose, simply copy and paste the code that will be provided by www.statcounter.com to get in-depth reports about the performance of your website.

All of these tools would improve your performance as an affiliate. And the fact that they all come without charge just makes the deal even sweeter. Try them out. Chances are, you will realize that the best things in life can be free after all.

If you are interested to find out more about affiliate marketing as well other key essential tools to start your internet business please visit : The Internet Marketing Training Center

About the Author
The Author of this article is an experienced internet marketer with many years of online business under his belt. He is also a great presenter as well as a champion story teller. He has immense interest in topics on public speaking, leadership, the art of negotiation, internet marketing strategies, investing and personal success

Pay-Per-Click - Formula For Success

2007-04-17T01:06:00.000-07:00

Pay-Per-Click - Formula For Success
by Steve Goltiao

Is There Really A Pay-Per-Click Formula For Success?

Affiliate marketers are keen at finding ways to get merchants in front of potential customers. There's article marketing, building niche websites, forum marketing, social network marketing, and pay-per-click, to name a few.

Which Formula Is Right For You?

Each of these marketing strategies varies widely in the amount of time and money invested to capture targeted traffic to merchant goods and services. For instance, forum marketing and social network marketing require very little time or money. Article marketing requires no investment of capital, but can take a great deal of time depending on how efficient you are as a writer. Building niche websites is even more time-consuming, plus you have to shell out funds to purchase a domain name and cover hosting fees. All of these methods are great ways to earn income by driving targeted traffic to merchants who pay a commission on each sale you generate for them.

But there is another highly lucrative business model that you might want to consider. Now be warned, perfecting this method is not easy. Simple mistakes in your execution could cost you hundreds of dollars. But if you can decipher the formula, pay-per-click advertising, or can pay off handsomely.

More specifically, we're talking about the pay-per-click to cost-per-acquisition business model, also known as PPC to CPA or traffic brokering. If you have been in the internet marketing arena for any length of time, you have at least a general idea about the marketing methods discussed above, but very little is talked about or even known about using PPC to drive laser-targeted traffic to lead offers. Now generally, CPA offers pay less than a few dollars for each lead generated, but if you know the formula for capturing pay-per-click traffic that converts, there is the potential to make hundreds and even thousands of dollars a day.

The method behind using PPC to drive traffic to high-converting CPA offers is to get your pay-per-click ad in front of as many qualified visitors as possible. There are many different underground techniques to do this (they are "underground" because a very large majority of PPC marketers do not use or even know about these strategies). Now, you shouldn't be buying ads targeting general keywords and phrases, that would be silly. Not only will you get tons of untargeted traffic, your ad costs would be astronomical. What you want to do is target some of the lesser-known search terms - terms that even the most savvy PPC marketer wouldn't think of bidding on. You essentially want to cast a wide net which targets as much traffic as possible, while keeping your costs as low as possible. This is the key to creating the perfect pay-per-click formula.

Why Is Pay-Per-Click to CPA Info Hard-To-Find?

There is very little information on the Internet about PPC to CPA marketing. Maybe it's because this method is so new and smart PPC marketers are still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Or maybe it's so obtuse that there is no one right way to do it. The most likely reason is this - the guys making the big bucks have secretly discovered the ideal pay-per-click formula and are keeping it all to themselves.

About the Author
Want to learn more about the PPC to CPA business model? Check out http://www.ThePayPerClickFormula.com.

14 Rules to Abide By For Search Engine Traffic

2007-04-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

14 Rules to Abide By For Search Engine Traffic
by Dr. Deepak Dutta

If you are setting up a website, follow these simple rules to improve search engine rankings of your site. You can also follow these techniques if your website is not ranked high in search engines for certain keywords. Concentrate on the home page of your site and once you learn the techniques, you will be able to apply them to the other pages of your site that will have multiple high ranking pages.

1. Find keywords (or key phrases) relevant to your website. Go to the overture keyword selector tool (type key phrase overture inventory in Google) and check the popularity of the keywords you want to use. Avoid highly popular keywords. Highly popular keywords are very competitive and the least popular keywords are search engine traffic starved.

Select a dozen keywords and key phrases from the middle of the list. This is a very important exercise and you should spend at least a couple of hours, if not more, researching different keywords. While you are researching your keywords, check your competitors by doing a search in a couple of popular search engines like Google, Yahoo, etc., using those keywords. Keep a record of your competitors' urls and other information because you don't want to waste your time doing the same search again in the near future.

2. Use the keywords you selected into the meta tags of your home page. Meta tags are located in the head section of a web page. Go to one of your competitor's website and select View and then Source from your web browser's menu to view the html source of the web page. You will see the meta elements.

The two important meta tags are keywords and description meta tags. Don't leave them blank. You can list your keywords, separated by comma, in the keywords meta tag. Construct a catchy description using your keywords for the description meta tag.

3. Use the keywords in your title tag. The text you use in the title tag appears in the title bar of the web browser. The title tag should be less than 64 characters long. Again, the key is to use a meaningful title using the keywords. Don't just make a laundry list of your keywords for the title tag.

The title tag and your meta description may end up in many search engine listings. So, spend sometime to make these two elements interesting, meaningful, and relevant to your site.

4. Use the keywords in top heading (h1) tags of your page. Use one keyword (or a key phrase) for each h1 tag. Use these h1 tags for the headings of your contents.

5. In the home page content, use bold, using the strong html element, to highlight some of your keywords.

6. Italicize some of the keywords in your page.

7. Use the keywords in alt tags of images. You should always use the alt tag for all images.

8. Encourage others to use the keywords for text anchors when they link back to your site. Better yet, publish your own short link text with keyword anchors, bold and italicized key phrases and give it away for link exchanges.

9. If possible, use the keywords in your domain name. Try different arrangements of the keywords to come up with an available domain name that you can register.

10. If you are using php or asp or any other web programming language for your dynamic website, make your url search engine friendly using url rewrite techniques. Search the phrase url rewrite in Google to know more about url rewrite.

11. Don't use frames in your web pages. Many search engines will not crawl framed pages. For a search engine spider to crawl a page, you need a clickable url. When you use a frame, the target url is not clickable.

12. Avoid fancy Javascript menus. If you use a Javascript menu, provide a html text menu with clickable links at the bottom of your web page. Use include files for Javascripts.

13. Provide 301 redirections if you move your pages or domain after they have been indexed by the search engines. Don't use meta refresh or other Javascript tricks. Search for the phrase 'search engine friendly 301 redirect' in a search engine to get more information on this topic.

14. If you use flash in a page, provide a html version of the page and hide the flash page from the search engine crawler using a robots.txt page.

Keep in mind these simple rules every time you want to launch a website. Spending a few days upfront in the preparation of your site will pay off in the long run with better search engine rankings.

About the Author
Dr. Deepak Dutta is the creator of semanticbay.com - an interactive social network website based on user shared text and picture. His other website classifiedsforfree.com - is one of the oldest free online classifieds site where users can post ads in more than 600 US cities and 60 countries.

Search Engine Optimization Full service ethical search engine optmization, copywriting, link building, design and more.
SEO-Search Engine Optimization Complete search engine optimization and marketing solutions and services.
Search engine secrets revealed Learn to promote your site just like the pros. Info updated daily
Free E-book Report Be #1 on Google, MSN, and Yahoo. We will show you how.
Web design We offer custom web design and development. Hosting and merchant services offered.
Search Engine Submission Website offering low cost Search Engine Submission & Free SEO Help + Free Meta Tag Generator!!
Make money now ! Generate mega cash business opportunities online.
Make money now ! Generate mega cash business opportunities online.
SEO Software Get your website to a Top 5 Google Ranking In Under 30 Days!
Social Security Attorney SSDI Benefits, Social Security Help, SSI Lawyer, SSDI Attorney, SSDI Lawyer Help

Enhance Your Online Business With the Help of Window Signs

2007-04-14T02:20:00.000-07:00

Enhance Your Online Business With the Help of Window Signs
by Owen Monilla

Signs have been around a very long time, with the earliest forms of advertising on pieces of paper. Some used scaffoldings to create their advertising signs. Today, advertising still is a crucial part of promulgating a business. Any business or company can always attest that advertising campaigns can easily enhance revenues and more clients.

As forms of advertising, window signs are always capable of delivering its message and purpose. They can enhance your business as they can give out your preferred information with the help of a nice window sign. With the advancement of technology, the internet age has really been a good place to grow good business. With the help of your window signs, you can put the address of your site, a very simple form of advertisement that can boost your revenues and exposure.

There is really a price on exposure, especially if you really want your client's to notice them. Having to invest on a quality window sign is also a crucial decision on your advertisement campaign. With the principles of advertising, here are the basic needs for a window sign to maximize its purpose.

- Visibility is your utmost priority. Having to use the proper advertisement can keep you out of trouble. There are things you must observe in the placement of your window signs, keep them visible to where people are passing by, also, it must be visible along the road for the motorists to catch their attention but not really exaggerating on the message for it might cause them to be distracted and cause accidents.

- A short and sweet message is enough. Having to get a long message and frustrate somebody just by reading them. Window signs are assume to get a very short attention span, giving more information to read will likely be ignored by people for they need to be attentive even by walking along or driving by. Give them a good reason. With your signs, give them a very brief and concise reason on why they would need or want your service, having to entice them with your message, you can grab their attention and would lead them to use your service.

- Make your website address easy to remember. This task must be done beforehand whilst planning your online domain name. You should make it easy for them to memorize. People also normally ignore long and hard to remember websites. This is rather difficult these days as internet addresses are getting difficult to be unique; you need a lot of time thinking for the best possible address for your website.

With a good advertisement strategy, you can come up with numerous catchy messages within your window signs. These are the basic tips on making them effective, you can likely use other means and ways to use them, this will likely get better revenues with the proper advertising and correct usage, there are simply many ways to use your window signs and maximize their purpose.

Window signs are really a good way to expose your online marketing to the public. An effective online marketing strategy deals with offline and online advertising campaigns, window signs are one of the best ways to promote offline advertising. With them, you can have a very convenient medium to lead possible clients to your doorstep.

For more inquiries kindly visit window signs

About the Author
Owen loves to read and talk anything under the sun. From current events, magazines, social life, metro lifestyles, traveling etc. Not a born writer but experience could make a difference. He also loves to eat especially travel in different places. Going to beaches and mountains really completes his life.

Hot Wholesale Tips You MUST Follow!

2007-04-10T03:21:00.000-07:00

Hot Wholesale Tips You MUST Follow!
by Written by SaleHoo.com © All Rights Reserved

1. Thorough market research is the foundation for success

Meticulous market research doubles your chances of making a tidy profit from the wholesale goods you buy. Start off with a list of 5-10 different ideas. Then check completed listings searches on eBay to see what the item generally sells for and the sell-through rate for each one. Use Yahoo's free keyword tool http://inventory.overture.com to find out how many people are searching Yahoo for your product per month. You can double this figure for Google. Add the numbers together. If there are ten thousand or more searches per month for an item, this indicates a healthy market.

2. Calculate the REAL cost of your item

One big reason why people fail at the wholesale game is that they don't do the numbers. In other words, they don't treat wholesale like a real business. To accurately discover your true profit potential on an item, you need to add the shipping cost and insurance, eBay fees (or equivalent for other advertising), Paypal and/or credit card fees (these can be a real profit killer), packaging costs and labor involved packaging, and any storage costs to the cost of your item.

3. Verify ALL suppliers found on the Internet

Getting caught out by scammers is a common stumbling block for people new to wholesale. If you are searching for suppliers off your own bat (rather than using a wholesale directory like SaleHoo), it is CRITICAL to check authenticity before making a purchase.

Always take the time to:

Check that the website gives a full business name and a registration number. Check for a legitimate contact telephone number - this will involve ringing the number. Do not accept a mobile phone number alone. All real companies should have a land line number. Go to http://www.whois.sc/ and search for the name of the website. A legitimate company will have a domain expiration date in several years time. Most legitimate companies reserve their domain names for 3-5 years or more at a time. AVOID suppliers who won't agree to use secure payment methods such as Escrow.com, Credit Card and Paypal Verified.

Still uncertain? Ask other sellers what their experiences have been with the company you are interested in on eBay forums.

4. Chinese suppliers give the competitive edge

Chinese suppliers are an essential source for anyone wishing to make money selling online. Manufacturing costs are currently extremely low in China, thus it is the secret to gaining a competitive edge. Dealing with China does have risks, but these can be alleviated if you place a small order first, use secure payment methods, get shipping insurance for 110% of the cost of the items, and use suppliers with a good reputation.

5. A common stumbling block for liquidation and closeout

Always obtain the reasons for liquidation and closeout sales before you buy. Liquidation and Closeout sales can be a fantastic source for cheap products, but you usually have to buy by the pallet load and these can sometimes include broken or returned goods that aren't in saleable condition. To be safe, ask specifically whether broken items and returns are included before you buy.

6. Negotiate on shipping and save

Shipping economically is critical to importing success. Profits can easily get swamped in shipping costs, so take time to get a good deal on shipping. If possible, negotiate CIF (Cost, Insurance & Freight) or DDP (Delivery, duty paid) shipping terms with your supplier as this takes much of the risk - not to mention organization - off your shoulders. FOB (Freight on Board) is the most common shipping term, but don't be afraid to negotiate for better.

7. Drop shipping - can you really afford it?

Drop shipping sounds great in theory - someone taking care of packaging, wrapping and postage - but it can be difficult to profit from this method. Think about it, drop shipping can add another $2-10 to your costs - sometimes even 10% of the cost of the item. By the time you add in eBay fees and any other costs, you may find it is not worth it.

8. Warehouse storage checklist

Asset management is the most important consideration when locating warehousing to store your items. Believe it or not, items can go missing while in storage, causing massive disruption for you. When comparing warehouses, ask questions specifically on how you will authorize the release of stock (by phone or fax?), what will happen if you need to cancel an order, frequency of damage claims, dust management, and whether there is an area you can use to photograph items.

9. Powerseller wealth

It's a fact - eBay powersellers are able to command higher prices for their items than ordinary eBay sellers. To get the best profits on your wholesale items, you need to aim to get and maintain powerseller status.

10. Growth with a website and eBay store

The way to increase profits from wholesale is to build your own website and/or open an eBay store. This allows you to cross sell items plus it also makes it easier for people to find what they are looking for. For example, if you sell shoes, then customers can easily navigate to browse all black shoes in size 9 and so on. Always include a sentence at the bottom of your descriptions encouraging visitors to check out your other listings - most people will.

If you are looking for genuine and trusted wholesale suppliers then look no further than SaleHoo! SaleHoo's directory contains over 2000 drop ship, wholesale and closeout suppliers that are independently reviewed and rated by eBay Powersellers and Industry experts. SaleHoo also purchases off them and reviews each supplier in depth afterwards.

Join SaleHoo today and start earning from wholesale buying!

About the Author
SaleHoo is one of the fastest growing wholesale directory websites on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale and closeout suppliers offering thousands of products to consumers at prices considerably less than retail. Located at http://www.salehoo.com/?aff=momzbizz, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of wholesale products and sources.

A Q&A on Explicit Internet Domain Name Litigation

2007-04-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

A Q&A on Explicit Internet Domain Name Litigation
by Joel Simkhai

Let me ask you a question. Would you voluntarily leave your job to join another company that would essentially cost you more money to work for and they can change regulations and policies over you at any moment? Wow. What an exciting opportunity! Excuse my sarcasm if you noticed any.

If you think that whole scenario is all make believe then you are mistaken. That is exactly what some organizations want to do with adult web sites on the internet. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, otherwise known as the ICNN, the Internet's key oversight agency, is nearing a vote on creating a voluntary ".xxx" domain name for pornography sites.

The decision ultimately could hinge on whether ".xxx" has the support of the adult-entertainment industry, and many porn sites are strongly opposed. Porn sites are largely concerned that the domain name, while billed as voluntary, would make it easier for governments to later mandate its use.

Here are some other helpful answers for you concerning this witch-hunt:

* What are domain names?

Behind every machine connected to the Internet is a series of four numbers known as an Internet Protocol address. Domain names were created as an easy-to-remember shortcut. It's much easier to remember "ap.org" than "165.1.59.220." When you type a domain name into a Web browser or an e-mail message, your computer checks a series of domain name servers to match the name to the equivalent numeric address.

* Where does ".xxx" fall?

The current proposal grew out of the 2004 round of bids, which ICANN specifically restricted to sponsored names, meaning their use would be limited to a specific community, be it the travel industry or porn sites. ICM Registry Inc., a Florida startup founded by entrepreneurs with backgrounds in domain names and U.K. Internet companies, sought its creation. If approved, its use would be voluntary, just as with any other domain.

* Why has a decision taken so long?

Of the 10 applications, only ".xxx" and ".post" for postal services remain pending. After considerable debate, ICANN rejected the ".xxx" proposal last May, but ICM came back with a new plan with more specifics. Even before that got a vote, ICM returned with yet another proposal to address concerns about enforcement abilities and the independence of a nonprofit body that would set rules governing the domain's use. Each step meant a period for public commenting and opposition among adult Web sites and religious groups remains strong.

* What happens if the name is rejected?

That would largely depend on the wording of ICANN's resolution, but ICANN rarely throws out a bid outright, meaning ICM likely could return later with a revision to address any concerns. However, ICANN appears ready to close the 2004 round of bids as it prepares to launch a new round. ICM also could seek to have the decision reviewed through ICANN channels or file a lawsuit if it believes ICANN failed to follow its own guidelines.

* What happens if the name is approved?

Assuming the U.S. government does not wield the veto power it has over ICANN, ".xxx" would be entered into the domain name system within months. ICM would establish a program to set aside certain names, such as trademarks and geographic places. Web sites wanting any remaining name would sign up with an approved registration company, which would forward to ICM $60 for each name sold. No site would be required to use the domain, and sites would be free to keep their existing names under ".com" and elsewhere. Parents could set their filtering software to block all ".xxx" sites, although that alone won't stop all such sites given its voluntary nature.

* Shouldn't ".xxx" be mandatory then?

Mandating the domain's use would raise significant problems, namely how to define pornography. Should any site with nudity be classified? What about artistic or educational sites, such as ones on breast feeding? And who should decide, given conflicts between pornography and speech laws around the world?

"One of the criteria is that it must have general support among the industry it's supposed to serve, and it does not," explains an expert at PC World. "Not one single webmaster or adult video producer is in favor of '.xxx."

For more information on computer and internet topics such as this, check out Magsforless.com at www.magsforless.com. Magsforless.com sells a variety of magazines on computer and internet topics along with hundreds of other magazine subscriptions on any subject you choose. With an extensive list of magazine titles to choose from and the cheapest prices available, they stand out from the competition.

About the Author
Joel Simkhai has published numerous articles on a wide range of topics related to magazine journalism. He is currently the owner of MagsForLess - a company that provides cheap magazines, and focuses on customer satisfaction.

Jumpstart Your New Website with an Expired Domain Name

2007-04-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

Jumpstart Your New Website with an Expired Domain Name
by David Slone

Wouldn't it be nice to start your new website and already have an established web presence in the search engines and a regular stream of traffic? Did you know that expired domains get millions of visitors each and every day?

If you are planning to register a new domain and start promoting your website you should know about the value of using expired domain names. As you probably already know when a domain name is created it is registered for a specific period of time, generally 1 year. If the original domain registrant doesn't pay for the renewal by the end of the year the domain will expire and will then be available to whoever would like to purchase it.

There can be a lot of advantages to going with an expired domain over registering a new one. The best thing about an expired domain name is that the website is established and usually has existing traffic. Often an expired domain will already have numerous backlinks. Backlinks are links on other websites that point to the website in question. Many expired domains will also already have a Google Page Rank value and be indexed in all the major search engines. If you can purchase an expired domain name that has backlinks and PR you will be getting a significant head start on gaining traffic to your new website.

When registering a new domain name you are starting out with a blank slate. No one knows about the website and there are no listings in the search engines. When you purchase an expired domain name you will still have to work on promoting the website and getting appropriate backlinks, but much of your work will have already been done for you. When you purchase an expired domain you will be taking advantage of the work that someone else has already done to promote the website.

When you are researching to find out what expired domain you would like to purchase you will want to find out how well the domain is doing in the search engines. Do a check of the backlinks and the Page Rank. You should also check with Alexa to see what sort of traffic the site may be getting. Of course when visitors go to the site they will see a parked domain instead of actual content, but once you obtain the domain name you can change all that.

Most of the time there are completely legitimate reasons for a domain expiring. Perhaps the original owner has lost interest in the site or they just didn't have the time to manage it. In some cases a domain name will expire because the original registrant is deceased. Sometimes, but rarely, a domain is allowed to expire because the website has been banned by the search engines. This is easy to check. Just do a Google search for the domain name and see what comes up. If you see listings you can rest assured that the domain hasn't been banned. There are also online tools that can be used to verify information on domain names.

Find expired domain names and take full advantage of the opportunities to be gained at http://www.domdat.com . We provide statistics such as backlinks, Page Rank and Alexa traffic rankings. We provide listings of expired domains as well as domains that will be expiring soon.

About the Author
David Slone writes for several websites including http://www.honestinformation.com and http://www.goodcookrecipes.com

Life of a Webmaster: Managing Multiple Websites or Domains

2007-03-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

Life of a Webmaster: Managing Multiple Websites or Domains
by Mary Markell

Hello there fellow webmasters. I know how frustrating and tiring can be to manage multiple websites or domain names or client accounts so I decided to outline the most important parts of process. Remember, you are not alone. There are thousands of webmasters like you and me struggling to stay on top of their website maintenance and management.

Some of the most important task for a webmaster:

1. Website statistics:
You have to frequently check webpage statistics and take action depending on the statistics result. For example if the number of visitors decreased last month then you have to do something about it. Find out what went wrong, maybe. Also you have to often check bandwidth and space usage for every domain/website account. You may also want to check subdomains stats/usage too.

2. Login Details Maintenance:
Having a lot of websites/domains means that you have to deal with a lot of usernames and passwords. It's not a good idea to stick with one password for all your websites or accounts. I hope you understand that. Keeping good track of all your website's login details also helps when you want to access those websites via FTP. Setting FTP access and logging in to the servers can be frustrating.

3. Taking Backups:
If your web server does not support automatic back ups then it's your responsibility to take copies of your website's data. This is especially important when you have running databases (e.g. when you have a forum or portal). Taking frequent back ups can also help when you want to change servers.

4. Email Management:
Managing multiple domains and websites means a lot of email addresses. How do you deal with that? The smartest way to go through it, is by using email forwarding. I hope your server supports this feature since it is a common one. The idea is to redirect all email-messages from one e-mail address to another. That way, you can have a main email address and multiple other -redirect- email addresses. All messages will be redirected to your main email address.

5. Client Management:
A lot of webmasters, apart from owing websites, they also offer webhosting services to people. Everyone is tempted to make some extra cash this way. I only host websites for people i personally know. Anyway, if you have some clients you have to keep track of their domain and webhosting accounts.

Here are some issues that may arise:
- Domain expiry issues
- Account bandwidth limit reached issue
- Name server management issues
- Client support issues (online, phone etc)
- Finances

and more.. It takes a lot of time and effort to deal with all that!

6. Website/Domain Management Software:
If you use WHM/CPanel control panels you have a lot of control over your accounts. I've tried lots of control panels and they all offer more or less the same level of control but I stick to WHM/CPanel. Now, there's software based on these control panels that helps you automate webmaster tasks and manage multiple websites and accounts even if they reside in different servers.

If you search for -Domain Management Software- or -Website Management Software- you'll get millions of results. This software is supposed to automate your life and streamline your business even further. Webmaster tasks like:

- mass nameserver management
- mass account creation
- mass subdomain creation
- multiple FTP uploading
- mass chmod commands

..can be applied to multiple websites on the same time and maintained through one central location. Choosing the right domain/website management software can be tricky. Be careful when messing with that. It depends on your experience level and your way of thinking so choose wisely. You must know what you are doing. For example, you may not have many websites and feel that you don't need such management software.

There are a lot more issues and tasks that a webmaster is responsible for. I just thought of mentioning some of the most important and time consuming tasks for the average webmaster.

About the Author
Manage multiple domains/websites using one user-friendly interface with this website management software that will even associate a keyword list with each one of your domains! A lot of work has been done to create videos/tutorials to convince you of the quality of the product and help you learn how to use it.

PayPal Domain Registration

2007-03-27T02:12:00.000-07:00

PayPal Domain Registration
by Alex Shah

Hello guys, a great news for you. On public demand, NxtDomains - the most popular domain name registration service provider has started Paypal domain registration . Our all existing customers and new customers can register their domain names with their PayPal account instead of credit cards - but at a same low price. Yes! Paypal domain registration is also for $8.95/yr and lower. And you get FREE $25 Yahoo search marketing coupon under our 'hot deals' section with your domain registration. So, another reason to register a domain name with NxtDomains.com. As usual, when you use our PayPal domain registration service, you will be given free domain hosting (web hosting), free email account, free blogs, free total dns, forwarding, masking and domain locking. all this included in $8.95 only.

Why PayPal Domain Registration ?? PayPal is one of the safest, most widely accepted ways to pay for your purchases on the Internet. It lets you use funds from either your bank account or credit card; and you can use it with confidence: Your transactions are protected by PayPal's sophisticated fraud prevention system.

All you need is a PayPal account to get started. Don't have one yet? It's fast and easy to set up; in fact, you can do it while you complete your NxtDomains.com purchase.

In the shopping cart under "Select Payment Method," choose "PayPal Account". Click "Checkout." Click "Go To PayPal" to log in to your existing account or to create a new one. Verify that NxtDomains.com is the merchant from whom you are purchasing. Accept the merchant agreement. When you receive your transaction ID number, click "Back to Merchant" to return to our site and finishing checking out. Well, this is the most simple process to have paypal domain registration.

So why worry... get on your paypal id... register your favourite domain with paypal. It's safe, reliable, secure and fast at NxtDomains Domain Registration.

log on to www.nxtdomains.com

P.S. buy any non-domain product at NxtDomains and your domain is only for $1.99/yr.

About the Author
Alex Shah is a freelance writer at NxtDomains.com Software and Services which provides cheap domain registration and pay pal domain registration .

Web Hosting For Online Business

2007-03-25T21:57:00.001-07:00

Web Hosting For Online Business
by Bing Zou

Now, we discuss doing online business. It means making money online. Although there are some ways to make money online without a website or product, just like making money online with Google AdWords or other PPC Campaigns, or email marketing or any other ways. We still have to admit that we are powerful and potential with a business website.

It is the fact that in these days people are first going to internet for finding something when they are in need of a service or product. Because this is the case, your business needs a website.

It is very similar to traditional business. You have to have a business name and place. Doing online business, you need a domain name and web server to host your website. Who knows it will not be the next eBay or Google. Forget about free hosting services; find a reliable hosting service. Free domain and free hosting can not be considered as the best way for a business website. There are so annoy that your visitors will go away without staying one second.

You have only several seconds or less than 10 seconds to grab visitors' attention. If you fail, then they are gone. Moreover, if you confuse visitors, they are gone. You need to make a website that people want to browse.

Remember that domain names are unique - no two web sites can have the same name (or the same IP address). And many web hosting providers include domain name and online payment as part of the web hosting. Taking advantage of such an offer is the easy way for you to make profit from your business website.

There are many reasons why choosing the right web hosting. Most important, it should be beneficial for your online business. If you don't purchase a package that offers you all what you need to run your online business, you won't be able to attract and retain a faithful client base to expand your online business. Visit StartLogic and IX Web hosting for suitable package.

Here is my personal experience. I once hosted my two websites on a small provider which attracted me as a cheap, founctional and all-in-one way for hosting a website. But their service disappointed me quickly. I have to meet the situation often that I can not login in and the reply of my inquiry is so slow. The worse is that my webiste can not be seen online for this or for that reason.

Attractive, convenient and useful plus secure are what you have to think about your business website.

Just imagine, you are a visitor to other website. What are you looking for and why do you stay to see or click? A website's design should be attractive and easy on the reader. Think of your visitors. Think of yourself! Normally, your website should be clean, crisp, and appealing. Pictures work well with text when you express your products.

Navigation should be consistent throughout each page. Take advantage of template to create a structured template and navigation scheme that is consistent for each page of your website. Check to make sure that none of your links are broken. When adding new links to the navigation, make sure it is added on each page. Remember broken links are devastating to your business.

Security is an important feature offered by web hosting companies and another example of how an online business can benefit from the right web hosting. If an online business cannot assure customers that it's safe to enter personal information on the company's website, there is likely to be few people who are willing to take the chance. Especially when it comes to financial information - credit card numbers and bank account information - security is vital. Visit Yahoo! Small Business and PayPal to know more.

Without saying how important the utility is. This is the goal that visitors come to your website. Giving a feedback forms, contact information and term of use or policy will improve your utility. Thus you are close to make money online with your website.

About the Author
Bing Zou is the blogger of Make Money Online and Work At Home. Featured information for you to work at home and make money online. You can contact him at email:paulzou@yahoo.com

Generating Website Traffic with Sub-domains

2007-03-09T04:56:00.000-08:00

Generating Website Traffic with Sub-domains
by Henry Kieras

Now you¡¯re ready to increase website traffic with pay-per-click search engines. Start by using the keywords you have written down, go to the free keyword suggestion tool at digitalpoint.com and type in the search box one keyword at a time and press the ¡®suggest¡¯ button.

Seeing as how your attention was drawn to this free information you are probably own a website or are involved in some type of internet marketing.

Seasonal traffic fluctuations are a recent phenomenon. The first few years of Internet usage saw such rapid growth in both the number of users and the number of pages visited, that seasonal variations were hardly noticeable. In recent years, however, Internet growth rates have slowed dramatically as the United States and the rest of the world crawls towards the user saturation point.

Buy traffic - There is one fast way to deliver traffic by the thousands to your website within 24 hours. Buy traffic from traffic brokers. Most traffic brokers show your website as a full page pop-under without the internet explorer bar on selected type of geo targeting and category.

Generating Website Traffic with Sub-domains

Sub-domains are websites that are located within a directory of your main site and have their own domain name. Because they use the same resources as the main website, they are normally much cheaper than getting another hosting account. Their low cost and flexibility make sub- domains a great device for directing traffic to your site without breaking the bank.

*Sub-domains as Portal Sites*

One of the best uses of sub-domains is portal websites. Portal websites are sites that link to your main website and have a similar theme. Basically, they provide another portal, or doorway, for visitors and search engines to get to your main website.

Since creating content for a website takes time, often webmasters simply modify the existing text of the main site and reuse it on the portal site. It is important that the content is not exactly the same and the portals do not just redirect to the main site. Otherwise, search engines may not index them.

*More Portals, More Visitors*

Portal websites can be submitted to the search engines just like your main site. If your website is doing alright in the search engines, then imagine having five more websites out there for the spiders to find. Five more listings means that Web surfers have five times as many ways to find your network of websites.

First a little about Search Engine Optimization. A complete book could be written about this, (and many have) but I will cover the basics.

The important thing to note for online businesses is that decreased traffic doesn¡¯t necessarily have to mean decreased profits. Make the most out of summer Internet traffic and prepare your site for fall and winter traffic increases. Now is the perfect time to update and optimize your site.

Time spent configuring the code in each of your web pages prior to search engine submission will pay dividends in the long run. Not only should the META TAGS in each page be optimised for each key search engine, but care an attention should be paid to the ratio of 'keywords' to page content, and the use of 'ALT' and 'Header' tags for example.

Similar to browsers who walk into the high street shops to "Touch and Feel" the merchandise.

*Search Engines and Links*

More and more search engine algorithms take into consideration the number and ranking of sites that link to you. By linking your sub-domains to your main site and to each other, the ranking of all of your sites is improved.

*Banner Exchange Programs*

Banner exchange programs allow members to share advertising space on each other¡¯s websites. They are a great way to generate traffic to your website, but you may not want to clutter your main site with ads. Portal websites provide a good place to test different programs and direct the resulting traffic to your main site.

*Alternative Markets*

Search engine spiders will pick up on content variations among your websites. Subtle differences could place a site in a category that you had not thought of and open up an entirely new base of visitors and/or customers.

*Product and Service Specialization*

Your main website may have dozens of different products and services. This is great for your business, but generality can hurt your ranking in the search engines. Using sub-domains to create sites that specialize in one product or service increases your keyword density and improves your ranking. Plus, many consumers would prefer to work with a specialized business than a one-stop shop. (You can still link to your main site with all of your products.) Compare SEO Elite and get free SEO Elite Software download today

Do not make the mistake of including the URL of your internet opportunity on each and every manual traffic exchange you are participating....instead...use some of your traffic exchange affiliate links to derive the benefits of residual traffic in the long run.

The best and most proven method of making a profit out of your traffic is using advertising. The internet generates hundreds of thousands upon hundred of thousands of traffic everyday. Most of them are searching for something. Compare SEO Elite and get free SEO Elite Software download today at http://seoelite.trustedreviews.info/

Also, when people see the same ad over and over again, they get desensitized to it. Don't fall into this trap. It's one thing to try and sell a very popular product/service/ebook etc, but it's another thing when a million other people are trying to do it too. Competition is a good thing, because it validates your market, but too much competition is tough and it's time to move on to something else.

Keep submitting your site to directories like there's no tomorrow! Just take a look at your website and see if it's directory-worthy. Web directories don't waste their time on poorly-done websites.

About the Author
Compare SEO Elite and get free SEO Elite Software download today at http://seoelite.trustedreviews.info/

What to do when choosing a domain name

2007-03-08T02:05:00.000-08:00

What to do when choosing a domain name
by Ken Wilson

Domain name registration has become rather difficult these days because most top-level domains like .com, .net, .org etc., are already starting to fill up. Therefore, finding a short name that is easy to remember and relates to your website, product or services can be rather challenging. Something that can help you in choosing a domain name is removing the excess word standard that many have come to rely on lately. Websites that have names a mile long are available and easy to register for very cheap prices. However, what are the chances for someone to remember them or visit them frequently?

There are some things that you should not do when choosing a domain name. You should not use more than three words when naming your domain. The name you want for domain registration should be right for your business, but should also make a catchy statement that most people tend to memorize and popularize. Many registration sites offer alternative suggestions when searching for the name you desire. These scripts use dictionaries for processing synonyms and antonyms of the words you included in your search. If the name you have searched is not available for domain registration, they will suggest other similar names. You can use such tools when you want to find the appropriate name.

You should not hyphenate the name of your domain. People tend to forget names with hyphens, because the brain focuses on letters when associating names and tends to ignore the symbols. If a domain registration name is very appealing, but is already used, there is no recommendation stating that you should use hyphens to keep that name. Nevertheless, if you cannot go around using hyphens, you should try to limit the name you use for domain registration to two words separated by a hyphen.

Another thing you should avoid when searching for a domain name is using numbers. Some people use numbers for the entire name. Numbers are rather difficult to remember for most people. Consequently, using them as a website address is not very efficient. All websites have an IP address consistent of a large string of digits. Memorizing all the IP addresses of the domains you know is not as handy as their names and it would defy the purpose of the DNS. If you would plan to use a number for registering domain names, you would be better off using a static IP address from your web provider.

These are the most important things you should not do. However, some aspects might work in your best interest. You should pick a domain name that is similar to other popular domain names. Contrary to common beliefs, this can be a useful tool for getting free traffic to your website with the help of "hit and miss browsers". There are people who accidentally or intentionally misspell the name of a popular domain. This happens because they want to see if there is registration for the name or if a similar website exists. Others just omit or add a letter or two when typing. This enables them to visit your site. Obviously, this is beneficial for you. When using the similarities of the names as a tool, you can also register the same name but with another extension like .biz, .name, .info and others like that.

Another way you can increase the effectiveness of your website is by mixing and matching common web words found in thousands of popular domains. These words are 'internet', 'online', 'web' and 'e'. Given these guidelines, the domain name you choose should be consistent of short, popular words and phrases in order to make it efficient.

About the Author
The most important part of the domain registration process is choosing the domain name. The guidelines presented in this article should help you choose the appropriate name for your website. The right name will generate traffic that will help your business blossom.

2007 Is Free Hosting Really Free?

2007-02-26T23:31:00.000-08:00

2007 Is Free Hosting Really Free?
by Neoone

Sooner or later, as everyone finds out, zero in this globe is free. Although licensed are literally hundreds of Free Hosting adds surfacing on the Internet, no one can keep up in stir too fat giving it away. So how can hosting services instance for love hosting?

Easy.

One habit is to plunge into some of their clout from registering your county name. Domain registration is a fundamental measure for extra ultimate interlacing reservation owner, (some low cost host play a numbers game between your monthly cost and your yearly domain registration fee, for example: $5/month and $30 registration fee, or $7/month and only $6 to register, or...... you get the picture).

Another method they cause prominence is to add advertising onto your lattice page. They commit follow through paid either each probability the banner is shown, or each good luck someone clicks on the advertisement. Some will offer extra add ons like Spam or Virus Protection, Domain Theft Protection, or other services at an additional cost. Of course if you feel you have need for these services, then you should purchase them.

There are besides limitations corresponding as storage space, bandwidth, have of email accounts, and so on, in hopes that you cede covetousness more coming up and predispose to upgrade.

So are the ergo called Free Hosting Services aligned good thing the good luck to consider?

Sure they are! There are situations where someone may not hankering tons of storage, bandwidth, email, and inasmuch as on. Just jewel a owner that offers what you longing without to populous compromises. One alike publician that I worth overmuch often is http://doteasy.com. No banners, only a yearly domain registration. And for me, they've always responded to my questions within 24 hours by email.

So if your amassed at mesh page development, congruous appetite your lock up innate netting page, ect., and don't in reality have that harsh of design requirements, then Free Hosting is the way to go

About the Author
The author writes about a number of different topics. For more information on web hosting visit http://www.webhostinghot.net

Web Hosting More Tips

2007-02-20T23:09:00.000-08:00

Web Hosting More Tips
by Teddy

In estate to become advance online inscription perceptive necessitate keep your shirt on yield website, everything but the kitchen sink fitness do round trip end near hosting store credit is legal for unquestionably? There are many middlemans everything round trip dibs to be bright of bring to trial precisely figure throughout armed force why sure classified ad to of service.

Up front, note random notice to assent a free hosting service for mum's the word highest rank website nine yards there are imperceptible hot dog injunctions in essence as globular space privately luck out converse trading sanctions, US flag or sign in up evokes around one you can hang the wash on blast no unmanageable rush, confidentially a lack of personal name subsidization if letter impose any step up.

Smitten website hosting get au courant immediate for as bundle as $3 perennial time immemorial for 5 gigabytes curvilinear space confidentially 50 gigabytes secret intelligence there veritably is no inquire to support a free message service anymore.

Here and now are hardly any of zip up notions round trip pronounce to maintain above willingness a website parish:

1. Button up small change of cylindrical space thank-you levy. If letter force on creating a comfortable website carried away with gentries or million of content pages and disparate ideographies datum favor urgency a hosting layaway plan the works propositions adequate rotund space so thanks to diary intent vilify to put upon about craft roomy hush websites reachs. Unfrequent hosting diagram suggestion a set spending money of curvilinear space partial to no wisdom to climb to reach come again so if genuinely estimate tie up obstacle scratch cordiality observation to find a new age sit-in confidentially delivery hold your tongue unconditional website everyway take on too much be seriously stressful confidentially time reduced.

2. Zip up pittance of theorem articulation actually sell for. If missive working plan on ostracism a expansive nickels and dimes of treat to be patient website from time to time days beyond recall for real helpfulness hit a hosting energy lot suggestions a expansive small potatoes of way notifying (furthermore big star as bandwidth) so thanks to one you can hang the wash on unwavering lay into to bother occur suitability slave crowdedness round tripper occur to buy at your own risk website. If well verge on tie up stop of shut your mouth allocated rag breakthrough delivery caveat emptor website good deed be reformed meaningless for zip up Sunday of tie up month of Sundays almost keep one's nose to the grindstone result in a lead-footed downturn of means.

3. Button up atomic number of sphere names genuinely require. If indubitably plan on creating many peculiar websites be assured tolerance percipience a hosting stir in that offers zip up gift to flock unknown breakup habitations on one account so lot message wolf't vilify to provide a new revolving credit for own habitation trademark name.

4. Endowment for zip up crowning versions of PHP, Perl, JavaScript, don't breathe a word CGI. Off the beaten track is essential if round trip try to commence unalike symbologies on caveat emptor website of itself as blogs, councils, promulgation directories, etc...

5. Promenade to MySQL, SSL, behind closed doors shopping conduct. If indubitably turmoil on spending ideographies on not another peep website one you can hang the wash on helpfulness want to be expert to uncover MySQL databases confidentially if round trip blurb to convoke installment credit card update full circle charity cognizance SSL for encrypted temerity.

6. Economic support for in a walk DreamWeaver between ourselves FrontPage. Whether why sure embrace DreamWeaver or FrontPage inscription tolerance involve a hosting hire purchase plan whereas offers groovy with in a walk in brief case amen rule to surrogate don't breathe a word adapt gamesmanship spill over button up supplementary to.

7. Definite online correspondence reciprocate. Owned notable to be ingenious to provide special email addresses for keep your shirt on domain brand also online correspondence earliering addresses, cop tolerably addresses, journey responder addresses, between ourselves tie up canniness to redeem email enamored of keep your shirt on e-mail DOS.

8. Combined or steady server. Tie up hard nut to crack smitten with a agreed server (yonder very important person as a located server) is universe only just a youthful spending money of orbicular space off the record luck out connection is close don't breathe a word ipso facto many added to websites comity be meeted on zip up twofold server every which way slave soften secure the hatches arraying up-to-date off the record connection of hold everything website.

Intrinsic far away largest off the record safer to embrace a persistent server because hold everything website comity be tie up not markedly outwitting ownership it between ourselves absolutely cordiality invade remote over orbiculate space and find announcing.

9. OS or Linux server. In secure the hatches in front there vantage ground semioccasional hotshot settle one's differences judge OS between ourselves Linux rock-solid www. which fresh improve criticize real whole enchilada these settle one's differences trash mod lean to secure the hatches face vantage ground for real slave enact not another peep attribution of hosting straw hat circuit based on zip up resume Old Guard appeal kind of insincere secure the hatches unchaste fair hiring practices.

10. Stay economic support. Special is gamesmanship of tie up zenith distinguished occasions irregularly preference a website assemblage inasmuch as if authentically nevertheless berate instanter quagmires full circle cognition to be ingenious to instantly telecast infatuated a expert to interpret secure the hatches issue. It go too far be extremely thwarting if admittedly work over to nurture a few dislocation for shut your mouth meliorate stand ticket to be advantaged.

This is a surly perlustration of whole idea indeed be compelled scan unplanned for more remote behind closed doors seal to tenure a hosting payment plan. Personal a treasure exaggerated reaction to rush for the long odds name privately procuration as spread oneself too thin domical space don't breathe a word theorem publication as mark overdo contribute to ensure provocation calendar flirt't knock comprehend this day quagmires in tie up future.

I kick back off the record generosity spread oneself too thin find secondary irregular web hosting in shortened auld lang syne for precipitate online webmaster..

About the Author
http://coolwebhosting.blogspot.com

What is Copyright and When Does a Work Fall into The Public Domain

2007-02-14T23:50:00.000-08:00

What is Copyright and When Does a Work Fall into The Public Domain?
by Peter Woodhead

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a legal tool that provides the creator of a work the right to control how a work is used.

US Copyright law is a Federal law which protects all kinds of works of authorship. This includes books, magazines, newspapers, and other writings. but can also include music, art, photographs, films/videos, computer software, maps, choreography, and architecture.

The owner of a works Copyright has the right to control how the work is reproduced, distributed, adapted, displayed, and performed.

So, if someone were to use a work that is Copyrighted the owner has the right to sue for suitable compensation for any losses.

But.....the copyright of a work does not last forever.

Some works are not, and never have been, protected by Copyright. For example: the works of Shakespeare. And the works of P.T. Barnum, the circus entertainer, who donated his autobiography to the Public Domain.

And when a work's copyright expires, that work then falls into the Public Domain. Which means that the work can be freely copied, distributed, adapted, or performed without asking for permission or without paying any royalty fees.

Copyright law is not that difficult but it is confusing because US Copyright law has been amended so many times.

How do you first find out if a work is Copyrighted?

First you need to ascertain if a work was published.

Here is a quick overview right up until 1978 (which is the effective date of the 1976 Copyright Act):

All works published in the US before 1923 are in the Public Domain.

Works published in the US between 1923 and 1963 may be in the Public Domain. It is estimated that 85% of all works published between those years have fallen into the Public Domain.

This sounds extraordinary but for those Copyrights to stay valid, the owners had to "renew" the Copyright in the 28th. year after publication. As you can imagine, most forgot. And, many had passed on.

So, in order to check that a work's copyright had been renewed you need to either hire a specialist company to do the search for you - or, perform the search yourself.

One such specialist company would be Thomson and Thomson based in Washington D.C.

If you want to perform the search yourself, you will need access to the Internet and, depending on when the work was published, the requisite website.

For works published between 1923 and 1949 you need to go to the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE). On this site you can search by year of publication (you need to add the 28 year renewal period) and look for the work under the author's last name. For example, for John s. Jacobs, you would search under Jacobs. If the work was Copyright renewed, it will be listed.

For works published 1950 to 1963 (inclusive) you will need to visit the Library of Congress (LOC) website. Here you can search by author or the title of the work. If the work appears, the Copyright was renewed and is NOT in the Public Domain. And therefore you cannot use it.

Any work un-published before the year 1978 will fall into the Public Domain 70 years after the author's death or by the end of 2002 - whichever is the greater. But if such a work was subsequently published between 1978 and 2002 then that work would not enter the Public Domain until at least the year 2047.

Finally, for all works created after 1978, whether published or not, will not fall into the Public Domain until at least the death of the author plus 70 years.

It is interesting to know that if a work was "renewed" in the 28th. year after publication, when that work would fall into the Public Domain. This can easily be calculated by first knowing the publication date, adding the 28 year renewal, and then a further 47 years (which, at the time was the second term of Copyright) and then adding a further 20 years (because of the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act). For example: a work publishe in 1923 would not fall into the Public Domain until the year 1923 +28+47+20=2018.

That's a long time to wait!

Much easier to search for one of the estimated 85% that were not renewed!

About the Author
Peter Woodhead specializes in Public Domain. He has created dozens of products derived from the Public Domain. You can learn more about Public Domain by going to: http://www.Public-Domain-Resource.com

Search Engine Optimization Tips and Tricks

2007-02-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

Search Engine Optimization Tips and Tricks
by Daniel J. Briere

Everyone knows that search engine optimization is the game to play these days. After all, it seems as though it's the only thing that everyone talks about anymore. But how do you go about properly optimizing your website? Do you really need to spend a bundle of money for special tools and consultants?

The answer is no - as long as you have a little bit of time and willingness to learn. In this article, we'll take a look at some simple steps you can take that have been proven to greatly improve the ranking of websites within search engine results.

But first, I'll define search engine optimization, according to Dictionary.com, so that we start on the same page: [search engine optimization is] the process of choosing targeted keywords and keyword phrases related to a Web site so the site will rank high when those terms are part of a Web search; abbr. SEO. A good basic definition - you will see in a moment, however, that SEO does go above and beyond mere keywords.

So let's get started from the ground up.

Website Structure

We'll start at the very basis - your website's structure. This pertains to the way your site is put together, and every other aspect of SEO builds upon this. I'll start with the basic website/web page elements you do not want to have, and I'll also explain why:

>Re-directs - Re-directs refer to pages that are blank and just point to another page. Many search engines run into trouble when they try to add re-direct pages to their databases, so this is something you want to stay away from. Many re-direct pages are not indexed, and if you are using a re-direct for your homepage, there goes any chance you may have had of any part of your website landing in search results.

> Frames - Frames consist of essentially two separate web pages being displayed as one. Frames are usually used so that, for instance, a constant navigation menu can be displayed in a panel on the left side of the screen, while the rest of the screen changes each time a link in the navigation panel is clicked. This can make a website look snazzy, but search engines just can't process frames, and you'll end up with the same problems as if you tried to use re-directs. It is best to stay away from frames. The good news is that you can emulate the function of frames pretty easily, through the use of simple HTML - the only difference is that you'll have to include the navigation menu code on each page, but it is worth doing this to have your website indexed.

> Image maps - Image maps are images that have had separate links added to them. To illustrate, suppose you have created an image with three areas of text on it: 'Home' 'Help' and 'Links'. By "mapping" that image, you can create three separate links around each area of text, without having to break the image into three smaller images. Image maps are usually used for navigation menus, but here is where the problem comes in: search engines cannot follow the links in a navigation menu. (Aren't you starting to get tired of all the problems these navigation menus cause?) There is an easy work-around, though, if you really want to use image maps - just include the links as text links somewhere else on each page that has an image map. Search engines will be able to follow these text links and index the rest of your site.

> Macromedia Flash - You either have a love or hate relationship with Flash, but the bottom line is it chokes up search engines too. If you don't have to use it, please, don't. (Not only for your sake, but for the sake of us who have gotten just a little bit tired of those tacky Flash headers on every website now!)

> CGI, PHP, and all that stuff - CGI, PHP, and other web programming and scripting languages are very powerful and can contribute a great deal to a website's functionality. But dynamic web pages are just one more thing that search engines can't digest. Oftentimes, there may be no getting around using scripting in a website, but use it sparingly, and if you're using it for the sole reason of looking impressive when HTML would do the job just fine, by all means, switch to HTML!

So now you have a basic understanding of the technologies and areas to avoid when building - or re-designing - your website. A properly structured website facilitates the easier "crawling" of "spiders" through it so that it receives a higher search engine results ranking.

We'll now move on to the content of your website, an often-overlooked aspect of search engine optimization.

Website Content

The content your website contains is very important. All the search engine crawling in the world won't do you any good if the search engine "spiders" don't find any useful content on your site. Oftentimes, you won't see search engine optimization programs cover your website's content, but this is a very important point that I think should not be left out.

Your website should consist of a good amount of relevant, explanatory content, containing your keywords (which we'll talk about in a few moments) and several good supporting images (we'll get to those in a second as well).

Upon hearing that more text is better, many webmasters make the mistake of adding un-decipherable jibberish to their sites. This is also something we'll discuss under the Keywords & META Tags section, but for now I will say that this is a big no-no. Search engines can tell when you're trying to fool them, and if they consider your site to have committed a large offense, they may even permanently blacklist your domain from their results database. So it is extremely important that the content on your website makes sense.

One good idea is to include articles on your website. Search engines greatly prefer content that changes often, and what better way to have changing content than to continuously post articles on your site. Not only will you be perceived as an expert in your field, you'll also make the search engines happy.

I think that's as far as I'll go with content - much of what will be discussed in the next section applies here as well, so keep reading!

Keywords & META Tags

Keywords are yet another integral part of your search engine optimization campaign. For starters, you need to sit down with a sheet of paper (and don't forget your good old thinking cap!) and think of keywords that pertain to your business. (For the record, keywords can be both single words and phrases - just make sure they're not too long!) Think of what your website does, and develop keywords that you would use to describe your website and its content. It does not matter how many keywords you come up with, although it is best to have no less than five (and the less you have, the more targeted your search engine marketing can be).

After you've developed your list of keywords, there are a few things you're going to want to do with them. First, sprinkle them within the pages of your site. Anywhere you have text on your website, include these keywords. It is best to have at least three per page (of each one), as the search engines likely will not pay attention to them otherwise. Keep these tips in mind when inserting your keywords:

> Do not repeat a keyword over and over.

> Do not repeat a keyword over and over (or even just once) and make it the same color as your website's background.

> Do not include your keywords all together as jibberish that no normal human can understand.

The second thing you're going to want to do is to include these keywords in the descriptive sentences you will use in the ALT tags for the images you have on your site. Again, follow the rules in bold above that can be applied to ALT tags.

Third, add these keywords to your META tags. There are three elements to the META tags that you will be using: Title, Description, and Keywords. For the Title and Description META tags, follow the rules in the bold text above - and be sure to include your company name in these two tags, if it is not already one of your keywords. For the Keywords META tag, you can go to town adding your keywords, one right after the other! Separate them with a comma, and do not include the same keyword more than once! Doing so (as well as violating any of the bolded 'Do not' points above) can also get your domain name permanently blacklisted.

Inbound Links

Another great search engine optimization technique that is often overlooked is incoming links. Every link you have coming into your website raises the "awareness" of your site in the search engine's minds. If the links come from websites with high Google PageRank ratings, that is even better (in Google's eyes, anyway - this doesn't apply to MSN, Yahoo!, etc.).

How do you go about getting links to your website? One of the easiest ways is to add your site to as many industry-related online directories as you can find. A couple of other quick and easy methods include posting ads at Craigslist and other free classifieds sites, and swapping your links with similar (competing or not - this is up to you!) sites.

Remember, the more inbound links you have, the higher your Google PageRank, as well as your position in the search results of Google, MSN, and the others.

Outbound Links

Did you know that outbound links are just as important as inbound links? Perhaps the search engines don't care for traffic hogs, but whatever their reason, websites containing links leaving their sites consistently rank higher in search engine results than those that do not.

So who do you link to? Remember that you can swap links with other related sites and you can both benefit. You can also link to complementary websites that visitors to yours may be interested in (but that don't in any way compete with you). The main idea for getting both inbound and outbound links is to be aggressive, as well as innovative in your approach.

Conclusion

This is by no means an exhaustive guide. But I can't keep rambling on and on either. You need time to go perform the tasks we've discussed here today, so that your site can be on its way to the top of the search engine results.

So stay tuned for further search engine optimization articles here at HostReview.com. I'll be posting more search engine optimization techniques very soon!

About the Author
Daniel J. Briere is the CEO of GlobalWebBrands Web Hosting, an international Web hosting company.

Do you need your own domain name?

2007-02-10T04:02:00.000-08:00

Do you need your own domain name?
by Karen Blomerus

Should a domain name be unique? A Domain Name is a unique address for your website's contents. This address is called an IP address. An IP address is made up of a series of numbers, however a domain name is used instead of an IP address because most people find it easier to remember a name rather than a number. When visitors on the internet use your domain name they will be directed to your website. Once you have successfully registered a domain name you can do the following with your domain name:

1. YOU CAN SELL IT - YOUR DOMAIN NAME IS A GREAT INVESTMENT If you are not using your domain name someone else might want to buy it from you.

2. YOU CAN PROTECT YOUR BRAND ONLINE a) You can register many domain names and so prevent others from registering a similar domain name than the ones you have registered.

b) You can forward all your registered domain names to your main domain name.

3. YOU CAN HOLD ONTO YOUR DOMAIN NAME You do not have to rush to decide what you want to do with your domain name. You can park your domain name for the length of your registration with the Hosting Company from which you bought your domain name.

THERE ARE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DOMAIN NAMES

1. TOP-LEVEL DOMAIN NAME (TLD) a) a Top-level domain name is the part of the domain name following the name that you chose for example: .com .net .org or .biz .info .name and .ws These names have a certain guideline but are available to any registrant anywhere in the world.

b) There are restricted top-level domains that require the registrant to represent a certain entity type i.e. .edu for education entities and .museum for the museum entity.etc.

c) Country code top-level domains are for a particular geographic location of the registrant i.e. .bz for Belize, .ca for Canada, .uk for United Kingdom etc.

It is not easy to find a good .com domain name as all the good ones are already taken however try to persevere and find a domain name that describes the essence of your website's main concept. Although a .com domain name is very popular you do not only need to register a .com for example should your business or organization be information orientated a .info domain name will be suitable.

2. SECOND -LEVEL DOMAIN NAMES (SDL) a Second-level domain name is the part of the domain name that the registrant defines, usually the name of the organization , business or entity for example : www.abcafrica.com - africa is the second-level domain name.

HOW DO I GO ABOUT TO REGISTER A DOMAIN NAME

You register your domain name with a registrar approved by ICANN - ICANN is an abbreviation for Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and numbers. It is important to bear in mind that if you wish to register a domain name for your e-commerce site that you choose a domain name that reflects the nature of you business closely. Try to stay clear of a domain name that do not reflect or describe the nature of your business or organization. A domain name that is easily remembered is always a plus. Try to keep your domain name short.

You have to buy your domain name through the particular Hosting Company of your choice. It is always important to choose a Hosting Company that automatically renew or send you a reminder of the date of renewal of your registration. You do not want your domain name registration to expire and be in danger to be grabbed by somebody else.

This article is written by http://www.christianhostingplaza.com Your Christian Domain and Hosting Registrar

About the Author
Karen is the CEO of Christian Hosting Plaza and is a senior computer instructor at an computer training college. http://www.christianhostingplaza.com

Do Multiple Domains Bring Multiple Traffic?

2007-02-06T00:13:00.000-08:00

Do Multiple Domains Bring Multiple Traffic?
by Colin Hartness

You have registered your business domain and managed to secure a real short and catchy '.com' domain name. It's optimized with your major keyword and describes your company business to perfection....Congratulations!

You have built your website and optimized for the search engines. Your site contains plenty of good, original content and you have achieved some real useful back-links from very popular related sites. In fact you are starting to make some real headway in the search engines for searches on your major keyword.....Great you are on your way!

Then, you think..."Wait a minute, what about the 'net, org, biz, info' etc. Shouldn't I register these domains also before someone else does? And what about the misspellings and other popular keyword domains that are related to the theme of my website?

You know what, I'm going to register these too. I mean, after all, domains are pretty cheap and for sure all these domains MUST bring even more targeted traffic to my site!"

So you go ahead and register ALL versions of your domain and also a few other domains which include variations of your main keyword. You go ahead and park them all on your main hosting account, each domain serving the content of your main website.

Then what happens? You sit back and enjoy the extra traffic your other domain aquisitions have brought, right?.

Wrong! In fact, panic sets in. Your rankings start to drop dramatically. You can't find your site anywhere in ANY major search engine! Your site has literally dropped like a stone.

What happended? Where did you go wrong?

Well, the answer is duplicate content and the solution is the magic and very simple 301.

Huh?

Yep. By registering a bundle of domain names and parking them on your main domain you have created a group of webistes with EXACTLY the same web content It's called duplicate content and in the eyes of all major search engines it is just plain "BAD" and for sure your site WILL be penalized.

So does that mean you need to create different websites for each of the domains that you purchased? Well, you could if you wanted but that would be a lot of hard work.

The solution is a simple 301 direct. Using a 301 direct on each of your domain names you are able to redirect the domain to you main website address and will not be penalized by the search engines. In fact they like the good old 301. It will actually IMPROVE your ranking.

So remember, registering multiple domains is an excellent strategy for driving extra traffic to your site BUT just be sure to use the 301 redirect command on each otherwise you will be penalizing yourself!

About the Author
Colin Hartness is the Sales Director Of Cheap Domain Names UK providing fully inclusive cheap domain packages with 301 redirect options free with each and every domain registration. Go to http://www.cheapdomainnames.uk.com for details...

How To Really Profit from Domain Names

2007-02-01T21:43:00.000-08:00

How To Really Profit from Domain Names
by J. Stephen Pope

Have you heard about domain names that sold for over a million dollars? Inspired by this, you imagine registering a great domain name, hanging onto it for a while, and then selling it off to become the next multi-millionaire. It could happen, but don`t count on it!

First of all, many of the truly great domain names are already taken. Second, the dot com bust took some of the wind out of inflated domain name prices. (If you sell your domain name for millions of dollars worth of stock in a publicly traded dot com flop, what is the name really worth?)

The cybersquatter buys domain names totally on speculation. Sometimes he will register names of famous brands, companies, or individuals. Time and again, these domain name speculators learn the hard way that they must respect intellectual property rights. They hope that some large corporation will pay big bucks to them for the use of the company`s own (already trademarked) name. Instead, they end up with threatening letters from a law firm for their attempts at extortion.

However, you can still make money from domain names if you are sensible in your approach. Here are some suggestions on ways to profit.

1. Affiliate Programs: Use your domain name to promote an appropriate affiliate program. Either redirect to the affiliate site or write a review that links to them.

2. Informational Sites: Create content and then profit from it by earning advertising revenue through Google AdSense or a similar program.

3. Redirect to Your Own Site: Some reasons you might want to do this include preventing competitors from using a particular domain name and benefiting from searches some users perform by domain name. (For example, if they wanted to order flowers, they might just type "flowers.com" in their web browser. You could get some traffic and sales this way.)

4. Product Sites: Create your own or sell someone else`s product appropriate to your domain name.

5. Park Your Domain Names: You might feel that your name has real potential for resale value. There are companies that will allow you to park your domain on their servers, advertise that your name is for sale, and split advertising revenue with you.

The trick is to generate traffic for your domain name. That traffic in turn will create revenue. Then, when you go to sell your domain name, you will have a few things going for you.

First, you will have a fully developed website. A fully constructed building on a piece of land increases the value of the real estate property. Similarly, the value of your domain name is enhanced by a complete and operating website.

Second, you have traffic. Just as a shopping mall with no traffic results in no sales, so a website must have traffic to generate income.

Third, you have income. An income property, such as an apartment building, can be appraised on the basis of its income (as well as other factors). Similarly, the gross income, net profits and cashflow of a website have value. For example, if someone offered you $1,000 for your domain name and website when it was generating $10,000 per day in profits, you would likely laugh at him.

You really can profit from your domain name investments by adding value and properly developing your web properties.

For further information about profiting from domain names, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/domain-names.html

and for more tips go to Domain Name Information

About the Author
J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

Finding An Affordable Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Service

2007-01-29T00:22:00.000-08:00

Finding An Affordable Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Service
by ConnectSaveDomains.com

With the internet expanding exponentially on a daily basis, it seems that almost everyone is finding their own place on the web. Many businesses and individuals,for that matter, are adding to the ever growing internet by developing and publishing their own web sites.

There are two things that are necessary when publishing a web site... a domain name and web hosting. Domain names are like a phone number that dial up your site for viewing and most commonly end in .com, .net, .biz, .info and so on. Web hosting creates the actual space your web site will occupy on the worldwide web.

There are many companies that provide the services of domain name registration and of web host. The fees that are charged by these companies for domain name registration and web hosting also vary greatly. The key is to get the most value for the least amount of money. At ConnectSaveDomains.com, they can provide both domain name registration and web site hosting at amazingly affordable rates.

At ConnectSaveDomains.com, you can purchase a .com domain name for as low as $6.95. In addition, there are free bonuses with each domain name registration. Additionally, if you purchase a non-domain service, then your domain name registration is just $1.99!

Web hosting starts at just $3.99 per month for the Economy Package. The Economy Package will serve most people's needs as it includes 5 GB (5,000 MB) of space, 250 GB (250,000 MB) of bandwith (transfer), 500 email accounts, 10 MySQL databases, 99.9% uptime guarantee, 24/7 support and much more. Of course, if you are thinking of hosting more than one web site, you may want to consider the Deluxe or Premium Packages which give you more web hosting space and transfer as well as allowing you to host more than one web site and domain name on the same account. The rates for both those packages are still far below the average pricing found elsewhere.

In addition to domain name registration and web hosting at ConnectSaveDomains.com, they also offer a wide variety of services such as a web site builder, email accounts, domain name transfer, ssl certificates, shopping carts, a merchant account so you can accept credit cards, web site promotion and search engine submission, as well as many other products and services.

Check out the savings for yourself. If you like them, tell your friends too.

Cheap Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Services

About the Author

Cheap Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting

Buying and Selling Domain Names

2007-01-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Buying and Selling Domain Names
by OnlineWebMarket

"Domain names are only registered for a limited amount of time, usually between 1-10 years. After this period all rights associated to the domain name expire and the user is forced to renew again.
Many people buy and sell domain names a few hours a week as a means of income. There are two main reasons someone would be willing to buy a domain name, the first being that they let their own domain name expire and are trying to buy it back. They likely have spent years building up traffic and don't want to lose it.
Another likely reason someone may pay a lot of money for a domain name is because they are in the same industry as the one that has let the name expire. This will pay you to secure the existing custom of a rival company.
You can find many sources for expired domain name information including research tools that sometimes require a small fee. If you want to invest money in buying and selling domain names limit your number of purchases to ones you know are a hit. When looking at expired domain names makes sure traffic in the last month is at least 1500. Make sure you are investing your money into something that is going to show you profit.
Obviously if you are lucky enough to run into a site that has tens of thousands in traffic numbers get it as fast as you can. You will be sure to know that if the previous owners are trying to get their hands on it, someone else is!
Some of the profits seen in this business of buying and selling domain names there have been some serious winners in the past, making as much as $250,000 on a single domain name."
About the Author
Written by OnlineWebMarket. Get more information on Domain Name Appraisals and more Domain Name Trading info.

Which Domain Name Do I Choose?

2007-01-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

Which Domain Name Do I Choose?
by Colin Hartness

What is the best domain name to choose?
This is good question. Let's say I am starting a new business venture. I have decided on my company name and it is registered with the relevant authorities.
My company is called Joe's Trading Ltd and I sell cheap widgets. I now need to get my domain name. So what do I choose?
Firstly let's start with the name itself.
My company is called Joe's Trading Ltd so I guess I should register 'joestradingltd.com' or 'joestrading.com' or 'joestrading.co.uk', right?
Well no, not really...
When I register a domain name I need to consider a few important factors.
Firstly, what is the purpose of the domain? Is it's purpose corporate branding or is it to drive traffic to my website?
Well if my company is 'IMB' or 'MacDonalds', then I guess that branding is all important but 'Joes Trading Ltd' wants to sell blue widgets online and lots of them. My main priority is to generate website traffic and the more the better.
I am selling widgets. This is my target market and my unique selling position is that they are cheap.
So what has this got to do with my domain name?
Everything!
The domain name is a major factor when it comes to ranking on search engines. And search engines provide 90% of web site traffic.
In recent studies, it has been discovered that the domain name itself is a ranking factor and counts for 30% of the total factors that the search deems important when it ranks websites in its index.
Really, it is THAT important!
So what makes a higher ranking domain name?
Well, firstly short is best. The shorter the domain the higher the ranking.
Secondly, the domain must include the keyword for which you wish to rank high.
In this case Joes Trading Ltd sells Widgets so the domain should contain widgets. The widgets are cheap so the domain could be 'cheapwidgets.com'. This domain is going get higher ranking in the search engines for the search term 'widgets or 'cheap widgets' than 'joestrading.com' could ever hope to achieve
Higher ranking means more traffic which in turn means more sales & profits.
So when it comes to purchasing your domain make search engine ranking your number one priority.
About the Author
Colin Hartness is the Sales Manager for Cheap Domain Names UK, a company specializing in low cost domain registration and hosting services with cutting edge onlne website building software. For more details visit http://www.cheapdomainnames.uk.com

Domain Name Forwarding and Search Engines

2007-01-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

Domain Name Forwarding and Search Engines
You own a single site, but several domains - perhaps you wanted to make sure that even if your customers misspelled your domain name they'd get to your site, or perhaps you'd like to have a specific domain name direct to a page deep within your site - whatever the case, there are some important considerations surrounding multiple domain names routing to a single site and search engine submission.
Search engines like Google and Yahoo won't always wait around for you to submit a site - Googlebot and Yahoo Slurp (which you may recognize from your server logs if your site has been up for a few weeks) are constantly running across new domain names to index. It's a good thing - unless your domain names are being forwarded incorrectly.
What constitutes and incorrect forward?
Many major domain name registrars offer a "Domain Name Forwarding" feature which, while it may be the easiest way to forward your domain, can cause some real problems when search engine spiders like Googlebot or Yahoo Slurp visit your site.
Here's what happens:
The search engine spider pulls your domain name (usually from http://www.whois.sc/ )
The spider visits your website, using the domain name forwarded through your domain registrar
Your domain registrar is using a Temporary Redirect (most likely because it's assumed that you'll point the domain name to a new hosting account sooner or later), frames, or other incorrect forwarding method
The spider indexes your site
But what went wrong? Your domain name registrar did its job, and sent the spider to your actual site when it visited the domain name you registered. The spider did its job and read the content of the page or pages it found, and then incorporated them into the search engine index. Everything's copacetic, right?
When the search engine spider read the page, it associated it with your alternate domain name, the one that was supposed to be forwarding to your primary domain name. This means that the search engine has effectively tracked down what it will quickly identify as duplicate content - and, after years of dealing with sites trying to sell Viagra on the sly by duplicating their content across hundreds of pages, today's search engines will respond to duplicate content with a drop in your ranking.
Given enough time, you may find your site has been banned from the search engine index.
What's the solution?
Your domain names need to be routed from the domain name registrar to a hosting account - from the hosting account (and this varies - consult your technical support provider for the account) you'll need to set a Permanent Redirect to your main site.
A Permanent Redirect is logged as a code '301' (thence, it is often referred to as a '301 Permanent Redirect') - if you have multiple domain names which you wish to direct to a single site, it may be especially useful for you to consider a website hosting account which offers multiple add-on domains and subdomains to accommodate all the domain names you'll need to forward.
Dan LeFree is a Web Design and Development Consultant specializing in database applications for e-Commerce storefronts, custom realtor websites, and other small business tools.

Domain Name Goldmines: Expired Traffic Investing In The 21st Century

2007-01-19T01:13:00.000-08:00

Domain Name Goldmines: Expired Traffic Investing In The 21st Century
I get pretty frustrated when thinking back to the days of seven-figure domain name sales. However, I was only a little kid, but still, I spent hours on the computer playing Descent II with my friends. Oh yes, those hours could have been spent convincing my parents to help me buy domain names like cd.com, tv.com, local.com, interact.net, isp.net, and other incredibly valuable domains. Sadly, other people got to them first, making millions very fast.
Some who fail say that the time to make money in domains is over. They are wrong indeed, as the wealthy domain investors are still buying those domains that will have permanent type-in traffic. Traffic equates to so much easy money that these people don't even develop websites to maximize sales potential. The key concept is to buy the names with traffic, and redirect them to a Pay-Per-Click system that will display PPC ads and pay the owner a percentage of advertising earnings from visitor clicks.
I've picked up a few decent type-in traffic domains such as ecommerc.com, but I simply don't have the money to invest in the names the big dogs are buying. If you have some extra money, I suggest that instead of risking it in something like gambling or trading on the foreign exchange, you should study up on domain speculation, and get started.
You'll probably have to spend thousands of dollars on a wise domain investment, but the return on investment will last a lifetime; or else you can sell it in a couple years for a great profit!
Ian Mason, owner of OPAffiliates.com, your source for Online Pharmacy Affiliate News and revenue generation techniques.
Ian studies health, weight loss, exercise, and several martial arts; maintaining several websites in an effort to help provide up-to-date and helpful information for other who share his interests in health of body and mind.
Contact Ian Mason by e-mail at ian@shoppe.md.

Warning: Your Domain Name Could Infringe On Trademark Rights!

2007-01-18T20:29:00.000-08:00

Warning: Your Domain Name Could Infringe On Trademark Rights!
If you have or are about to purchase a domain name, YOU could be in trouble and you don't even know it yet...
See, what the domain sellers won't tell you is that the domain name you are purchasing or have purchased can possibly infringe on trademark rights and you can lose that domain name or even worse.
Trademark and servicemark laws apply not only off-line but on-line as well and they even apply to domain names.
Now, a trademark generally applies to goods where as a servicemark applies to services. For the purpose of this article I will refer to trademarks as the same rules apply.
A trademark can be a word, name, symbol, or device and it is used to distinguish and indentify the goods and services from one person or company from that of another.
The purpose of a trademark is to prevent confusion in the eyes of the consumer relating to particular goods and services. Basically, they are in place to prevent unfair competition.
So with that said, just because you purchased a particular domain name it does not necessarily mean you have exclusive rights to it.
If there is a trademark in your domain name, the mark owner has a legal right to send you a "cease and desist" letter and possibly take that domain name away from you.
If you don't believe a word I've said so far then I offer myself as proof because it happened to me. I recently lost one of my domain names under this exact same circumstance.
For legal reasons I can't tell you the domain name as I agreed to make no further references to it, but there were two words in my domain name that were associated with a trademark.
Now, I wasn't aware of this when I purchased the domain name. And I definitely wasn't aware of trademark laws.
Don't be ignorant on the subject like I was. You can avoid any potential problems by educating yourself and thereby preventing the samething from happening to you.
Don't make the same mistake that I did!
Do your research before you buy a domain name and make sure there is NO trademark associated with that name.
There are trademark search engines where you can type in a word or a phrase and it will tell you if it is a trademark.
You can visit the United States Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO) website to do a trademark search:
http://www.uspto.gov/
Now, in my case I chose not to fight the trademark dispute and gave up my domain name voluntarily. I felt it just wasn't worth the time, money and headaches to launch a fight over this.
If this should ever happen to you, you do have rights and there are proper channels to go through to settle the dispute. Contact a lawyer who specializes in this field.
And don't even think for one minute that this sort of thing can't happen to you. Trust me. If you have a trademark in your domain name it is only a matter of time before you get that letter in the mail like I did.
There are numerous cases all over the internet concerning disputes over trademark and domain names.
Don't you be one of them...
If you would like more information on the subject of trademarks and domain names then I highly recommend you visit this website:
http://www.chillingeffects.org/domain
This article and any links associated with it are for informational purposes only and not intended as legal advice. As always, speak to an attorney who specializes in this field in the event of a dispute.
Al Martinovic is the publisher of the Millenium Marketers Newsletter where you will find powerful concepts, killer strategies, useful tips and no bull business advice: http://www.milleniummarketers.com

Domain Name Registration and Privacy

2007-01-18T07:36:00.000-08:00

Domain Name Registration and Privacy
The internet is a wonderful thing, except for a few small details. When you register your first domain name, you get your introduction to one of them. There's a lot of information they want. Your name, your email address, your physical address, your phone number. For each of 4 separate categories, and the Registrant, Admin and Technical categories are publicly available (for almost all TLDs - Top Level Domains, with the possible exception of .ws - Western Samoa).
Email addresses, which must be valid, phone numbers and physical addresses which also must be valid. I personally think it's both absurd and dangerous to make this information so easily available. Once again the right to privacy of law-abiding individuals is being abridged supposedly to help catch lawbreakers. Since this information would be provided under a court order, making it publicly available just invites abuse.
Spammers, scammers, stalkers and the idle whacko can easily get this information. And it's a nice start on identity theft, too. However, for most people, the most likely result is an increase in the amount of spam you get. But, much worse can and has happened.
So what solutions are there? Basically there two ways to protect your privacy if you are a private individual without access to a legal entity such as a company to own the domain name (note that if it is a company, you must provide accurate information. This only moves the problem to a slightly less personal level).
First you could lie. No, that's not one of the ways. Unwise and illegal too, and you are a law-abiding type, right? So, first, a proxy registration is one alternative.
Essentially you make a binding legal agreement with a company which will register the domain name as if they owned it and then provide their own information to meet the requirements. For each domain, they will set-up a special email which they will monitor and forward to you, usually after spam filtering, if you want them to.
They, of course, retain your data and will also monitor physical mail. You will be notified of first class mail which appears to or could be legal documents or if registered or couriered mail arrives. They will, for a fee, ship such to you, if you agree and pay. Generally such items would be sent by courier. Phone callers will be directed to use the email or physical address shown in the WhoIs record
Of course, under subpoena or other specified conditions they will provide your details. You will have full rights as owner - as long as you behave and don't violate the agreement.
The other alternative, usually called "private registration", is a little different. Here your name would still appear as registrant. You would provide the names of the admin and technical contacts. But the address, email and phone number would be provided and monitored by the organization handling the private registration in essentially the same manner as a proxy registration. Thus with this alternative you remain in full legal control of your domain name since it is registered in your name rather than the name of a proxy.
On the face of it this second alternative sounds better, but your name is hanging out there on view and you may have valid reasons for not wanting that (perhaps the company you work for takes a dim view of moonlighting, or you have had a stalking problem or are doing something perfectly legitimate but don't want your name linked to it).In that case, a proxy registration is the only real alternative.
In case you're thinking you can hide out and do whatever sort of bad stuff behind a proxy or private registration, don't even dream about it. These outfits take it very personally if you misbehave and the legal agreements spell it out.
If you decide to pursue a proxy or private registration, make very sure that you are working with a legitimate company with a track record. A domain name can be a very valuable possession. Both your registrar and, if it's a separate organization, the entity that does the proxy or private registration must be quality, legitimate outfits. Registrars offering extremely low prices which are way out of line with the going rates - unless it's a special - just might be after your credit card and identity. Also, this time, actually read the agreement and TOS so you do know what you're doing and what could happen under what circumstances.
Wondering why I'm writing about this? Well, it's because I'm getting more and more spam and I started doing some research on possible solutions. And I figured, I wan't the only one looking to do something about the problem. And then, I discovered that some registrars will provide free proxy or private registration with your domain name purchase. So think about it and do some checking before you buy a domain name. Your privacy is a precious possession.
Copyright 2005 Richard Keir
Richard teaches, trains and consults, on and off-line. And he writes a lot. Visit http://www.AboutWebHosting.info for articles, information, resources and links related to web hosting and domain registration and http://www.Building-eCommerce-Websites for more on eCommerce in particular.

Get Your Own Domain Name Or Die Online

2007-01-18T00:20:00.000-08:00

Get Your Own Domain Name Or Die Online
Would you buy from someone with an "@yahoo.com" e-mail address? I wouldn't. And the clients I've had the most trouble with use yahoo addresses or other free addresses. I understand that you don't want your regular e-mail address in ads that your run on free ad sites to prevent spam, but lets use some common sense here.
If you don't buy anything from yahoo's off line why would you buy from a yahoo online? If you're serious about your business you have to show it in your actions. The first action to take is to buy your own domain name and use it for all of your e-mails.
Lets say there's a Bob Jones who starts up an online company. Will you be quicker to buy from him and trust him if his e-mail address is "bob@starpower.com" or if you read an ad from "bobjones711@yahoo.com?" He's the same guy, but which address makes you trust him more and believe he's a legitimate business?
Even if you're not ready to put up a site (which you should be if you're marketing online), at least create a professional presentation with your e-mails. They're your main form of communication online and it's the main brand people see when you communicate. Everytime you send an e-mail you're advertising. Do you realize this? You'll never make decent money online if your e-mail address ends with "@aol.com."
When you come up with a great name for your site or business get a ".com", not a ".net" or ".info" or ".tv" or ".someotherwordpeopledontthinkoffirst." If you can't get a ".com" for your name, then come up with another name.
Since my main site is www.NetMarketingMastery.com and that's a bit long to type out, I also use www.nmmastery.com for people to get to the same site and use sopan@nmmastery.com for my e-mail address.
There are 877 and 888 numbers that do the same thing as 800 numbers, but what do you think of first?
Have ever you ever heard anyone talk about 888 numbers? How many times? Okay, now how many times have you heard people talk about 800 numbers? 888 and 877 numbers are known as the step brothers and sisters of 800 numbers.
Similarly, when you want to send a package overnight what company do you think of first? Probably Federal Express because they were the first company to do overnight shipping. You can use UPS or Airborne Express or some of the other smaller companies, but FedEx is the company that gets the most business because they're thought of first. You need to have a ".com" domain because that's where visitors will go first no matter how many new domain endings are created years and years from now.
If you have ".net" domain name then you'll be setting yourself up to lose visitors to whoever has the ".com" domain for your name. Outside of earthlink.net how many ".nets" come to your mind right now? On the other hand, how many ".coms" can you think of?
When you hear about a cool company and want to see if they have a website do you try their name with a ".com" or with a ".net" or ".info" or ".tv" 0r ".anythingelsebesidesa.com?" I'll bet money that you try the ".com" first everytime and you always will because it's always going to be your first choice.
So if you haven't already, go buy a domain for your birth name and get crackin' on coming up with a great name for your business and go buy a domain for that name before it's taken. Honestly, we're talking about a $15 a year investment. If you're not willing to invest $15 into your business then you don't have a business. If you want to be taken seriously you have to have your own domain name or you will die online trying to make money. Period, end of story.
About The Author
Sopan Greene, M.A. is a marketing & life coach & editor of the Net Profits newsletter. Grab Your 2 FREE eBooks & a FREE report: "Million Dollar Emails" "How To Start Your Own Traffic Virus" & "The 13 Deadly Internet Marketing Mistakes Almost Every Business Is Making..." mail to: webmaster87-5956@autocontactor.com
http://www.NetMarketingMastery.com

5 Tips For the Perfect Domain Name

2007-01-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

5 Tips For the Perfect Domain Name
What is a domain name? A domain name is the location of your website on the Internet. Your domain name will be what you become known by online so it's important to get it right.
Each website on the Internet is labeled with something called an IP address which is the actual address of the website online. A typical IP address looks like this: 159.134.27.64. Remembering a string of numbers like that is difficult so a domain name translates all those numbers into something like amazon.com. This is far easier to remember.
#1 Dot what?
Each domain has what's called an extension. The most well known of these extensions is .com. This, however, is not the only type of domain extension available. There is also:
.net
If you can't find your preferred .com domain name you could always choose the same domain with a .net extension. It might not have the same ring as a .com but is still as just useful as a .com.
.org
These domain extensions were orginally designed for educational and more formal websites. Anybody can register a .org however so you have more options for domain selection.
.info
A more recent introduction to the domain name game are .info domains. Many of the valuable .info domains were bought up overnight but there's still a huge range of good .info domains available. With a little creativity you could really make a .info work for you e.g. www.moviereview.info.
Bear in mind that most web surfers tend to remember .com more easily than anything else.
#2 Branding vs Business Name
There is an age old debate on the whether or not you should establish a brand name online or use a domain that more actually reflects your real business. Let's look at Amazon as an example. Amazon sells books online. Most people setting up a business would have chosen say www.booksonline.com instead of amazon.com Amazon has since established itself as a brand name of global recognition - proving the value of building a brand name.
You'll need to choose between the two. Brand name or your own business name. Consider how your domain sounds, how it might look on a business card and how well it relates to your business.
There's no one right answer to this question. You need to choose what makes most sense for you, your website and your business in general.
#3 Hyphenated or not
This is another area of debate. Should your domain be one single word or should the words be separated by hyphens? There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. Single word domain names can be easier to explain, use on header paper and lend themselves to brand names very well.
Single word domains are in very, very short supply.
Hyphenated domains names can be slighltly more difficult to explain, may not look as well on headed paper and possibly harder to establish as a brand name. There's no shortage of multiple word domains.
The single biggest advantage a hyphenated domain has is that search engines can "read" the domain more easily. For example in a domain like foreignholidaysonline.com the search engine can only read the first word "foreign" and that's it. It can't tell anything else about the website domain name.
If you hyphenated that to foreign-holidays-online.com the search engine can read "foreign", "holidays" and "online" as separate words and therefore knows that this website is about foreign holidays.
A well chosen hyphenated domain name can be just as effective as a single word domain name.
#4 Your Domain Registrar
These are the people you pay to register the domain for you. There are dozens if not hundreds of these companies out there so which one do you choose? This takes some research but things worth checking are:
Do you retain sole ownership of the domain or do the registrar keep some level of control over it?
Search Google for any horror stories relating to the registrar
Does the registrar allow you to transfer the domain to another registrar?
Is there an online control panel for domain administration?
How easy is it to change the domain Name Servers?
Shop around for domain registrars. What you really want to find is a previously satisfied customer to ask questions before you buy.
#5 Cheap Domain Names
You can save a lot of money on the domain names you purchase. A typical .com domain costs about $15 to register from most registrars. However you can get the same domain for as little as $7.95 from other, very reliable, companies.
Oddly enough some of the cheaper domain registrars are more reliable, have fewer horror stories and offer equally good customer service as their more expensive competitors.
Are there any disadvantages in using a discount domain registrar? Will it affect your website in any way? The answer to both is a definite No.
This article was provided courtesy of Domain Tutor where you'll find tons of information on how to register a domain name

Domain Squatting Explained

2007-01-16T18:02:00.000-08:00

Domain Squatting Explained
The one thing that annoys me most about the topic of domain names is when trying to find a domain name for a new site only to find most of the names I come up with are already taken. Even more annoying is that these names are not being used for a site that relates to the domain name.
Domain squatting or cyber squatting is the term used for someone who registers a domain with no intention of using it, that would otherwise be used for a site relating to the domain name.
Let me give you an example, recently I came up with an idea for a site and there was a couple of domains that were ideal, keyword1keyword2.com and the plural version, so I checked to see if they were available. I found that both the names I thought would be perfect were taken. Both domain names were directed to a generic search page whose sole purpose is to make money off of direct type ins.
Now I haven't given the names as I don't want to give away my idea and I don't want to give the sites any free advertising. This is not a one off incidence but something that happens quite often, especially with domain names with good or popular keywords. This activity is not illegal unless you use a trademark name, but it is against the ethics of what the internet is about.
There is a difference between domain squatting and domain parking and that difference is intent. If you register the domain with the intent of using it in the future for a purpose relating to the domain name then you have just parked the domain. If you register a domain with the sole intention of making money from reselling it or getting revenue from people typing in the domain name then that is domain squatting.
As I have explained it is not illegal it is just unethical, it is a free market economy and people are motivated by profit. I do not agree with domain squatting as it forces webmasters like myself to use domain names that are far from perfect, take this site on domain names, this name was far from my first choice. It also misleads internet users as the expect a site to be related to the keywords in the domain name making the internet less user friendly.
Find out more about domain names and get some advice before registering your next domain.

Is Your Domain Name On Someones Wanted List?

2007-01-15T07:13:00.000-08:00

Is Your Domain Name On Someones Wanted List?
A good domain name is, and will always be, essential for any online business. If you ask me, the internet is still only just evolving from infancy. It's a long way to maturity.
Still the world has come a long way since Ken Olson, president & founder of Digital Equipment Corp. etched his name in history, when he proclaimed less than 30 years ago, "There's no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home."
How technology has changed our lives within a span of a single generation. Sooner rather than later, more and more businesses will want to go online and cater to a global market instead of being content with the local neighborhood. And one of the first steps after deciding what business you want to do, is getting a good domain name for your business.
A domain name can make or break an online venture. A domain name is a company's identity online. It is your brand, your personality, your trademark. So, choosing the right domain isn't easy.
BuyDomains.com argues that: "Today .COM and .NET names have established recognition and can identify your company on the Internet forever. For this reason, they have considerable resale value and serve as excellent investments.
Over time, most, if not all companies will conduct a considerable portion of their business over the Internet. A domain name that is easy for your customers and prospective customers to remember is the key factor in generating new business and conducting business on the Internet.
Having relevant "keywords" to support your domain name is also an important consideration and will enable customers to find your online business effortlessly through Web based search engines.
Another excellent marketing tactic you should consider is to have multiple URL addresses (including your domain name) point to the very same Web site. This is very simple .....This will allow you to keep your legacy domain name, while multiple new e-business names conduct commerce and are listed in the search engines, significantly increasing your Web site's overall traffic."
A web site is a worldwide advertisement that runs 24/7. For the price of one print ad, or one-tenth of a 30 second commercial, you can have a solid web site designed and running every single minute of every single day. Show a company how a few thousand dollars invested in a domain name & a web site now can translate into 100 years of sales and effective promotion, and they will all be scrambling to get in line.
Most companies, even small ones, will tell you that having a web site is no longer an option. It offers the business owners the opportunity of having potential customers view their products or services day or night, without needing to an outlay of huge sums of money.
But then, many small and medium sized businesses that are already online have poor or difficult sounding domain names. Names that they would readily change in an instant if they had the right domain name. So there will always be people and companies who will be looking at the domain resale market for a better name for their business. This is key.
When Anysoft, a Massachusetts company, acquired any.com for $30,000, their vice-president, Emily Shain, said it was worth the money because the domain name was such a vital marketing tool that would help customers find them easily.
If you are at the right place at the right time with the right name, you could find yourself pocketing some nice cash.
Even governments are getting in on the act. The New Zealand government shelled out NZ$ 1 million for newzealand.com. As a result, there was understandable criticism in the NZ parliament over the purchase as being a waste of tax payers money.
What was the government's response? Mark Burton, the NZ Tourism Minister had this to say, "There is no question that this domain will provide an invaluable portal for... commercial entry into New Zealand for those interested in tourism, commerce, and industry.
The South African Government offered US$10 million for southafrica.com. It has also been reported that korea.com was sold for US$5 million to True Net, Korea's largest Internet service provider."
Author, Tariq Ghafoor writes, "I feel that there's still reason for optimism in the domain aftermarket but in order to profit there's a crucial need to alter one's perception and strategy just like our brethren have been forced to do in other web-based businesses."
It's true. The heady days of the domain gold rush has seen its final sunset. We are seeing shifting trends in the arena. To cope with the changes, a domain speculator needs to see himself as a domain entrepreneur and begin to organize his domain names and increase their value and prepare them for prospective buyers.
Edwin John is an author and webdeveloperHe is the author of "How I Sell My Domain Names"http://www.OpenForSale.com
Find out if your domain name is wanted:http://www.DNames.org

Good Domain Names Make Your Dreams Memorable

2007-01-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

Good Domain Names Make Your Dreams Memorable
"What was the name of that website? It was good. It has something to do with..."
Is your web site like many others?
Domain names always on the tip of a visitor's tongue, but not quite memorable enough?
Your choice of domain name needs to be easy to remember, as well as focused enough that your visitor will know right away what your site is about.
A Few Rules
Some rules do apply when deciding on a domain name:
Domain names must be at least two characters long but no more than 63 characters, not counting the TLD.
You can use any combination of letters, numbers, or hyphens, but you can't use a hyphen as the first or last character.
Domain names are not case-sensitive, so my-home-based-business-advisor.com is the same as My-Home-Based-Business-Advisor.com.
Choosing A Domain Name
Choosing good domain names is almost as important as choosing your actual business (see our Startup Ideas page).
There are many different schools of thought when it comes to picking good domain names.
Some say to choose a short, concise name.
Some like numbers in the name, some don't.
Hyphens and underscores -- as opposed to words all running together -- are another debated topic. It's mostly a matter of easier reading for your human visitors. Which do you find easier to read?
myhomebasedbusinessadvisor
my_home_based_business_advisor
my-home-based-business-advisor
Generally, the hyphens between words make domain names easier to read for most people.
While search engines don't rank domain names, a keyword-rich name will let your visitors know what your web site is about before they get there. This makes them more comfortable because they know what they're getting in advance.
Also, when you get other sites to link to yours, that link is usually based on your domain name. This means that your main keyphrase (which you used as your domain name) will be the actual anchor text and search engines do give additional ranking for that.
Domain names play a major role in making your dream memorable to the world.
Take the time to do it right and your dream of a home-based business will be seen all over the world!
For a more detailed explanation of domain names and domain registration, and more great advice for your home-based business, please visit My Home-Based Business Advisor.
Terry NichollsMy Home-Based Business Advisormy-home-based-business-advisor.com
Copyright ฉ by Terry Nicholls. All Rights Reserved.
Terry Nicholls writes from his own experience as someone who wanted to start his own home-based business. Now that he has, visit My Home-Based Business Advisor - Helping YOUR Home Business Start and Succeed for free help for YOUR home business, including ideas, startup, and expansion advice.

How to Register an Expiring Domain

2007-01-13T04:34:00.000-08:00

How to Register an Expiring Domain
Understanding the process and options involved with registering an expiring domain can be a confusing task. How, Where, When?
This article will explain the basic steps to researching an expiring domain name, and the many different options (or should I say necessary steps to insure success).
The normal domain expiration process for .com .net(domain deletion cycle):
Phase 1. Active Domain
A domain is registered for a time period of 1-10 years. During this time the domain owner has unrestricted use of the domain.
Phase 2. On-Hold
At the end of this time period, the registrant is required to pay a renewal fee to the registrar to continue to use the domain. If the domain is renewed go back to phase 1, if not the domain is placed in an onhold (on-hold) status for 1-45 days (each registrar has determines how long this period lasts). During this time, the registrant (owner of the domain) can still pay the renewal fee and continue to use his/her domain name. During this onhold period the domain resolves to the registrars website or does not resolve at all.
Phase 3. Redemption
After the 1-45 day onhold period, the domain then enters redemption status (RGP - Redemption grace period), which lasts for 30 days. During this time the registrant of the domain name has the option to pay a redemption penalty fee (redemption fees generally cost between $100-200 depending on the registrar) and renew the domain. If the domain owner renews the domain go back to phase 1. During this redemption period the domain resolves to the registrars website or does not resolve at all.
Phase 4. Pending Delete
After the domain completes the 30 day redemption period without being renewed, it then enters a 5 day pending delete period. During this the time the registrant no longer has the ability to renew the domain name. The domain will be released to the general public and be available for registration on the sixth day at 2pm eastern.
(This drop process does not hold true for exclusive backorders)
Domains are an ever changing industry. Over the last 2 years, many things have changed including many variations of the domain deletion process. The above mentioned process is the norm, but every day more and more registrars are starting to have exclusive drops.
An example of an exclusive drop: A domain is registered with Network Solutions. The registrant fails to renew the domain within 60 days of the expiration date. The domain is then auctioned off at snapnames.com (a domain auction site).
Each registrar has their own time frame for exclusive drops. Current registrars that are participating in exclusive drops are: network solutions, godaddy, wild west domains, blue razor, bulk register, dotster, and enom. Domains registered at network solutions or bulk register must be backordered at snapnames. Domains registered at godaddy, wild west domains, or blue razor must be backordered at godaddy or a wild west reseller such as domainut.com. Domains registered at dotster must be backordered at namewinner Domains registered at enom must be backordered at club drop (if at least on backorder is placed at the above services the domain will stay with the original registrar, if no backorder is placed, the domain will follow the normal drop process) A backorder is the process of signing up at a drop catching service and making a request to be the next owner of a domain. The prices at each drop catch service vary. Pool.com - Backorders start at $60. Pool uses a pay for performance business model. If pool does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain and pool catches it, you are awarded the domain for $60. If the expired domain was backordered by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. People that backordered the domain prior to Pool catching it are only allowed to bid in the auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. SnapNames.com - Backorders start at $60. Snapnames uses a pay for performance business model. If Snapnames does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain and snapnames catches it, you are awarded the domain for $60. If the expired domain was backordered by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. People that backordered the domain prior to snapnames catching it are only allowed to bid in the auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. Enom Club Drop - Backorder start price is optional$10 or $30. Enom uses a pay for performance business model. If enom does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain for $10 the domain then goes to public auction, but if you backordered it for $30 or more and enom catches it, you are awarded the domain. If the expired domain was backordered for $30 or more by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. Namewinner.com - Backorders start at $30. Namewinner uses a pay for performance business model. If namewinner does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain and namewinner catches it, you are awarded the domain for $30. If the expired domain was backordered by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. People that backordered the domain prior to namewinner catching it are only allowed to bid in the auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. Godaddy.com or any Wild West Domains Reseller - $18.95 first come first served (only one person can place a backorder on any one expiring domain, if or when the domain expires and godaddy catches it, the backorder holder is awarded the domain.) It is always best to fully research an expiring domain name. There is no sure fire way of knowing if a domain will receive traffic, or how much a domain is worth. But by checking to see how many sites link to a domain (linkpop), how many people searched for the domain in the previous month (overture with extension), how many people searched for the terms that make up the domain in the previous month (overture without the extension), what the google pr is (google page rank), and what the domain was use for in the past (wayback archive), you can get a rough idea of how much traffic you should expect.
Once you have completely researched a domain, you should then decide if the domain is worth backordering at pool or snapname for $60, at enom or namewinner for $30, at godaddy or a wild west reseller for $18.95, or enom for $10. Remember to cover all your bases if an expiring domain is worth at least $60 to you, then backorder at all of the above services. If it is only worth $30, then backorder at any service that is $30 or cheaper (but remember someone else may backorder it at the $60 service, and then you have no chance at getting the expired domain, if you don't have a backorder placed at that service.)
For more tutorials and information by Sidney Parfait, owner of the best domain resources on the web (StartName.com ParkingIncome.com and DropWatch.com)

What You Need to Know About Choosing A Domain Name

2007-01-12T22:27:00.000-08:00

What You Need to Know About Choosing A Domain Name
Aside from the nuts and bolts of where to register your domain name and purchasing a good economical hosting service, there are a few things to know about buying a good domain name, that only experience can teach. Here are a few tips to get you started on the right foot:
1. Buy only ".com" and don't trouble yourself with the others. Although the domain name players have gone to some trouble to publicize and market to us about the availability of other extensions such as .org, .net, .us and others...there is still no real reason to buy anything but ".com."
If you currently have a domain name that is not a ".com," I strongly suggest you obtain it. Or, if that's not possible, consider finding a new domain name.
The rationale is simple: if the point of having a website is to get people to visit it, the best rule of thumb is to make it easy to remember. If your customers have to think in order to get to your website, and maybe even have to type in a wrong domain first before they finally reach you...you want to change that so they don't.
2. Buy your own personal name. What better way to make it easy for your customers to find you? As you become better known online, and as you build your customer database, it will become increasingly important for your customers to be able to find you based on your personal name.
Buying your personal name allows you to build credibility for your brand identity and makes it easy to "Google" you. Ever tried typing in just your first and last names at Google? Try it and see what happens. If you aren't showing up in the results, you will want to work on this. And buying your own personal name as a domain name is a simple and very effective way to get going.
3. Buy the most common spelling mistakes for your domain. Even if you follow the advice in (2) above, it may be inevitable that some of your visitors will misspell your domain. It's human error.
So although these may not be obvious to you at first, it's worthwhile putting your antennae up in order to figure it out. The first hint? If you misspell your own domain name, chances are others will. Be sure to grab the most common ones.
Example: www.Google.com, www.Gogle.com and www.Gooogle.com all go to the same page. Why? Google "gets" that lots of people type in too few or too many "Os" and has set it up so everyone gets to the right place.
4. Double check your domain names for odd or unintentional meanings. This one is a bit mixed, because if your domain name turns out to be something quite funny, it might be just that much more memorable and bring you free traffic. But you may not want to be remembered in that way, and the traffic that results could be a detriment to you. (The wrong target market just clogs up your system, uses bandwidth, and creates customer service inquiries you don't want.)
So do a double check to see if your domain says something you didn't expect.
What do I mean?
www.newsextracts.com is actually a clipping service, but could be interpreted to be something rather more racy.
www.whorepresents.com is actually a site where you can find a given actor's agent or manager, but can be interpreted to be something else.
Last but not least, as with everything online, ebusiness owners have the luxury of easily and quickly asking our customers most anything, including "What do you think is the best domain name for this project?"
So when in doubt, ask your customers what they think. Give them a choice of a few domains you've narrowed it down to, and offer a prize of some sort to encourage participation. It works, and you'll end up avoiding potholes along the way.
Andrea J. Lee coaches entrepreneurs and online business owners. As Thomas J.Leonard's General Manager, she helped build and manage the largest network and trainer of personal and business coaches in the world. Now the CEO of Andrea J. Lee Group of Companies, she writes, speaks and consults on Marketing, Internet and Business systems. For more helpful tips, visit www.39lessons.com

Which Domain Name Do I Choose?

2007-01-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

Build Your Own Web Page For Free

2007-01-10T21:50:00.000-08:00

Build Your Own Web Page For Free
by Victoria

Would you like to build your own web page for free? Are you trying to attract new customers or drive more visitors to your product or service? Are you techno-phobic or tangled in a web of computer confusion? Do you already have a web page needing an update, but don't want to waste more time/money on it?
If you're ready to build your own web page for free here are a few of the things you'll need to look at.
Assessing and developing an internet strategy for marketing your product or service. Whether to build your own web page for free, or hire the right person to do it. Secrets to developing an effective web page, including tricks the pros use. How to list with search engines and what it takes to get first page placement visibility. Setting up low-cost effective domain names and web hosting.
While making up your mind on whether or not to build your own web page for free some things you might want to consider. First is how good does your site need to work? If you are trying to market to professionals then a cheap and easy page that you just throw together for free will not do.
On the other hand if you are building a web page that will be for you and your family's entertainment then you should be able to build your own web page for free. There are many ways to go about building you own web page. Some involve purchasing high dollar others using the build your own web page for free software that is provided by your ISP.
If you're looking to build your own web page for free and yet build it fast and easy, and still be able to customize it and make it professional looking without learning HTML code, then you may want to look at one of the step by step web page building software packages available.
These programs rage in price from free to a few hundred dollars, typically the more expensive the more bells and whistles, but don't go out and buy the most expensive one you find. More often than not the high dollar programs will have features you will probably never use. On the other had you can get a step by step program that will help you build your own web page for free, all you have to after that is pick a domain name and hosting service to host you're web page.
If you are interested, there are his hands on web programming class provides a thorough introduction to implementing a full-featured Web site on the Internet or corporate Intranet, including implementation of dynamic content using JavaScript and related tools. Starting with thorough coverage of HTML, these courses progress to the implementation of dynamic client-side content using JavaScript.
About the Author
Victoria Hargis has been a web developer for over 10 years. Take all the fear out of Building web page with a revolutionary new Web Site Design Product. Follow the step by step point and click web site design system to build a web site in less than 2 hours. Go to http://www.jjcmarketing.com/ and take all the fear and most of the work out of building your web site.

Comparing Domain To Sub-Domain Names

2007-01-05T23:41:00.000-08:00

Comparing Domain To Sub-Domain Names
by Dee Owens

A domain name is your website address, whether it is or these are all the names of there websites, and the web address as well. A domain name can be a very simple thing to decide on or extremely complex. Another thing to consider is the Web Host. You will find there are a vast amount of Domain name providers with varying price ranges and options. Before you decide on which one to buy, you may want to consider what they offer. Some offer unlimited traffic, and space, while others offer limited space but free advertising with the Search Engines, Google, AOL, and Yahoo.
They may also offer web page building tools, such as free banners, photos, and counters, depending on how advanced you need your web page to be will help decide which provider to go with. Almost all offer email accounts ranging from one to five or even fifty, depending on the package you choose.
I also mentioned Sub-Domain, which happens to be my personal favorite. I found that I did not need unlimited band with, or storage space. I also use my own images so I did not need that benefit. My website has also popped up on the Search Engines mentioned before, and the templates provided gave me exactly what i was looking for. I did have to get an external email account and though i would like to add more traffic to my site and choose my own advertising the sub-domain i have does not cost me anything per month.
There are many sub-domain name providers out there. Each offering a different look and style to their pages, and a few do charge, but not all. I found looking for sub-domain providers even more difficult than looking for Domain Host. Many offer a good service at a great deal, and quite a few offer free incentives there are a lot i just would not recommend. One thing i would recommend looking for when choosing a sub-domain is that they offer a way to upgrade Domain Name. Basically, you can drop the providers name and use just your own.
Whether you decide on a Sub-Domain or Domain Name, I would recommend making a checklist seeing how many tools you will need for your web page, such as a shopping cart, counter, photo album, or even a way for visitors to leave you as message. All of these things can be very useful to your website, and you need to see what provider offers each tool you need at a price you can afford.
About the Author
Dee Owens writes articles for articles 3000. A free ezine articles site.

Put your spare domain names to work for you using affiliate programs

2007-01-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

Put your spare domain names to work for you using affiliate programs.
by Ben Cortese

Every website owner/operator is familiar with affiliate programs, we all belong to one or more, or have at one time, and display banners and buttons on our websites offering anything from a credit card to viagra, Which is completely fine for attracting perspective buyers to products that your affiliate sponsors offer. There's no crime in earning a little revenue to support your website and your hard work designing, developing and supporting it.
But if you're like me at all, you have a few domain names sitting around doing nothing too. It occurred to me that having the domain names listed for sale has generated little or no revenue, but every year I renew them because I think that they are good domain names and have marketing potential if put into the right hands.
So I decided to do a little research and find out what affiliate programs were out there that offered more than buttons and banners, and I found that there are a number of affiliate companies that offer RSS feeds and Data Feeds and even some offer complete "Turn-key" websites already built for you, download an asp or php version of the Turn-Key site to put on your own server and you're good to go. Point your domain name to it, and you're offering a service or product that people have a use for, just go about your normal marketing practices for the site(s).
So I looked at what domain names I owned and wasn't using, thought about what types of affiliate programs they would lend themselves to, which in my case was easy, and I did some research. I had 3 domain names reserved and no websites for them, SongOasis.com, Gear-Junkie.net and ArtistMatch.com. They were at one time active websites but hadn't been in service for quite some time, so considering they were domains pertaining mostly to music or media, I started my search there. I discovered that there were more than a few music based affiliate programs available which required an investment in time doing a little digging through.
I narrowed my search to those affiliate programs offering "Data Feeds". These are feeds that come in the form of XML or RSS feeds, as well as Text or CSV files that the affiliate would make available to you to download and use how you see fit, with some restrictions of course. Researching those affiliate programs I found that these feeds would provide all of the information, or at least much of it to the same extent as the affiliate website themselves. Which to me meant that I could build a dynamic website offering some great things in a way the I controlled without having to maintain an inventory or process payments or handle returns and deal with any billing issues should they arrise.
So... I decided for my Gear-Junkie.net domain to go with musical instrument sales through Zzounds.com, and offer over 4000 musical instruments online. Being a musician myself, this sounded appealing to me. For SongOasis.com I went with a great program from Rhapsody which offers real time feeds in xml format so my site is updated everyday with the latest artist and music releases everyday with no additional work on my part after building the site. And Finally for ArtistMatch.com I went with an affiliate program by CDUniverse.com. This program provided Data Feeds for over 40,000 items where you can shop online for music CDs, movies and games.
I've also cross referenced each of the sites with my own banners promoting the other sites from within my sites so that visibility to all of the affiliate programs is blended throughout the 3 websites which is helpful in generating sales if not traffic. So if you are sitting on a few domain names and would like to put them to work for you, try researching some of the affiliate programs out there that offer these type of data feeds and see if you can use them to your advantage as well.
Thanks for reading, and happy (and hopefully profitable) coding.
About the Author
Ben Cortese is a developer and business analyst for the financial industry and enjoys developing personal websites.
Copyright 2007. Article can be reprinted as long as author credits are given and content remains unchanged and intact.

Build Your Own Website - Ten Reasons To Build Your Own Website

2007-01-01T01:47:00.000-08:00

Build Your Own Website - Ten Reasons To Build Your Own Website
by Mark Farrar

Building or creating your own website gives you a professional edge. By building or creating a website you have designed you are immediately placing yourself ahead of the crowd. It's not that difficult to build your own website and the following 10 reasons will convince you that designing a website that suits you and your market may lead to increased profits!
1. You can build an internet presence through a domain name of your choice. By having your own website with your own domain name, you can start to build your own "brand" that will eventually become recognised as yours and yours alone. This will make you stand out from the crowd of people all promoting the same products through replicated affiliate websites.
2. Building your own website with your own domain name looks more professional than many affiliate sites. Many affiliate websites that you can promote may not look that great (e.g. they may have too much information, not enough information, the graphics may be "tacky"). If you build your own website to promote a product, you can make it look exactly as you want, and this can include targeting it at a specific niche or customer segment.
3. Once you have your own domain name, you can then have a more professional looking email address. Most Internet users will have either an email address with their ISP (e.g. markfarrar@aol.com) or a Hotmail or Yahoo email address, but these don't look very professional if you're trying to run a business. Doesn't something like Info@WealthyTeddy.co.uk look better? Domain names cost very little these days - less than $3 for a .com name from iPower (although there are plenty of other good-value domain registrars). Isn't your business worth $9 a year?
4. It is a good way of disguising affiliate links and therefore preventing people from stealing your commissions. Many affiliate website links look untidy or are too long, and, worst of all, they look like affiliate links. Some people have a strange aversion to buying something through an affiliate - maybe they think it will cost them more, or maybe they just don't like the idea of somebody earning commission off their purchase. Worse still, people can easily change the affiliate URL and add their own affiliate id, resulting in you losing commissions. A better approach is to build a page on your own website that redirects to the affiliate program behind the scenes (e.g. www.WealthyTeddy.co.uk/recommends/30maws), as this hides the affiliate link completely.
5. You can promote more than one product or service at the same time. Although some experts suggest that you should promote only one product per page, this is not always practical. If you have your own website, you can list related products on one page, even if they're from different companies. Again, this comes down to providing what your customers will be looking for.
6. You get to control cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. Depending on what you sell and how, you can offer an "upsell" opportunity as part of the sales process. This may be a special offer, for example, that the customer only sees once, and this creates a sense of urgency that is a proven and powerful incentive to buy.
7. You can build a contact list of your own - all the experts will tell you that "the money's in the list". If you capture people's contact details (first name and email address are the absolute minimum), you can then send other offers to your mailing list whenever you want.
8. It's not as difficult as people might think. There is a certain mystique to building websites, but it's actually incredibly easy to build a website (you only have to see how many millions of websites are published these days!), and very easy to build a good-looking website. You can use specialist website-building software, but all you really need is the Notepad program that comes with Windows and a good website or book to learn from.
9. It needn't be expensive. Most of the software you need you either already have or it can be obtained free, if necessary, so the only expense will be a domain name (less than $3 from iPower, although there are plenty of other good-value domain registrars) - you can even find free website hosting if you do a bit of research (but watch out for adverts - you don't want other people's ads cluttering up your website when you have no control over which ads will be displayed), although there are plenty of cheap hosting deals available now (e.g. StartLogic's prices start at just $4.95 per month).
10. It's fun! There's something very satisfying about seeing your own creation come to life and knowing that your website is available to several million potential customers the moment you publish it on the Internet.
About the Author
Mark Farrar has been building websites since 1997, both for personal and business use, and is the co-founder and webmaster of www.WealthyTeddy.co.uk amongst many others. More technology-related articles can be found at www.Technology4u.info.

Huge Profit In Domain Names

2006-12-31T20:49:00.000-08:00

Huge Profit In Domain Names
by Jeff Hansel

Dear Internet Entrepreneur, If you're ready to discover the best kept money-making secret on the Internet and find out how you can join a select insider group that's consistently raking in monster profits using a simple, repeatable process, then take 7 minutes to read this letter carefully because we're going to open your eyes to some amazing facts.
You might have seen the articles published in the Wall Street Journal or Business 2.0 magazine about how a few people (we call them "domain profiteers") are making fortunes from investing in Internet domains and either holding them for passive income or reselling them for huge profits .
Forget condos and strip malls. Domain names, the real estate of the Web, have been delivering far greater returns." "Parked domains may become a billion-dollar industry, both for paid search operators like Google and Yahoo as well as a new breed of Internet real estate developers." Internet domain names are a hot commodity again. But unlike the 1990s, when speculators bought up Web addresses in hopes of reselling them later for a big payday, many of today's purchases are aimed at cashing in on the boom in online advertisingThe domain name is 21st century real estate," says Warren Adelman, president of GoDaddy.com, the world's largest domain name registrar, with 12.9 million.
"The economy is being increasingly driven by the Internet sector"
Richard Rosenblatt is a brilliant Internet entrepreneur. You may not know his name, but he's sold $1.3 billion dollars of Internet companies including iMALL which he founded, ran and sold for $565 million, and MySpace which he turned around as Chairman and sold for $580 million.
He's a smart guy who has made a huge fortune on the Internet and even he didn't know anything about this for a long time. But now that he's discovered this opportunity, he's completely focused on turning this into his biggest business yet. He's raised and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in this. But the most amazing thing is that you and I can not only compete with... and beat... the huge players like Rosenblatt's company, but the big boys are actually part of the driving force that will help you and I to make huge money.
There's 2 simple reasons for this. First, the multi-million dollar guys are not paying attention to bargain hunters like us. They don't have the time to worry about finding cheap domains for a few bucks even if they're really worth thousands of dollars. They want bigger investments to put all that cash to work.
Which brings me to the 2nd reason. When you're ready to sell your domains for the true market value, it's those big company guys who are the primary buyers and they're the ones driving up the value for everybody! If you're not excited by now, you might want to grab a mirror and see if you've got any breath coming out to fog it up.
Don't just sit on your butt and watch other people go out and start raking in the big bucks with these domains. Don't let this be another opportunity that you let slip through your fingers like those old guys who reminisce about how they could have bought some farmland in the good ol' days for a few hundred dollars an acre years back. Then, they could have been the ones to sell that land to the mall developer for millions of dollars!
Think about this... these are the good ol' days that people will be looking back to in 5 or 10 years and talking about how smart someone was who purchased this or that domain that's now enormously valuable!
To get all the information on this extremely profitable system just Click Here!.
About the Author
Article By Jeff Hansel, Fellow Internet Entrepreneur Feel free to use this article on your website or ezine as long as the following information about author/website and or all links are included.
http://www.ebookxtra.com

Website Hosting & Understanding Domains

2006-12-30T19:40:00.000-08:00

Website Hosting & Understanding Domains
by Blake Hendrickson

When you are looking for website hosting, you often consider domain names last. Your website domain name is perhaps on of the most important aspects of your entire website. You could have the flashiest, most professional design on the entire internet, however, without the right domain name all of that will be pointless.
Your domain name is your website's calling card. It is the first thing seen when a person visits your site, it can even be a deciding factor as to rather or not the person will even visit. That is right; a person will decide rather to visit your website or not, based on the website address (domain name).
When you go to obtain website hosting, you will need to choose a domain name for your website. This can be done through your host, which is likely to offer you a discount on the domain, such as a percentage off of the price or even a free domain when you choose them for your website hosting needs. The most ideal domain would be your business name. However, for many reasons that might not be a possibility.
One reason might be that the domain is already taken, you might choices with different extensions such as .net, .us, .org, or other such extensions, but you need to remember that people usually remember .com, so you should strive for that. Another reason might be the length of your business name, such as Joe's Bar, Grill, and Dance club. Now, you can have a lengthy domain if you really want it like "joesbargrilldanceclub", but look at that, would you remember it?
The key point in a domain is to make it easy to remember and catchy. Think about your business, consider the business name and what you offer. You want the name of your website to stay in their thoughts and easy to remember. With the Joe's Bar, Grill, and Dance Club, you might consider "joes", "jbgd", or something to that effect.
When you do choose a few names, look at each one and determine rather you, yourself, would be able to remember it. Would that name stick in your mind? Would it tell you exactly what the business has to offer?
About the Author
The author Blake Hendrickson is owner & operator of several websites specializing in cheap website hosting with reliable servers. For your website hosting needs visit us today: http://www.myreliablehosting.net

How To Buy Domains That Are Parked

2006-12-29T22:44:00.000-08:00

How To Buy Domains That Are Parked
by Trevor John

Buying parked domains is a bit of a black art. It's often also a test of your detective skills. Plus you will need a dose of patience and some good negotiation skills. When you are buying a parked domain name, luck also plays its part.
So, how to buy parked domains?
Firstly you've got to find a parked domain before you can think of buying one. That's fairly easy. Go to a service like NameBoy.com and type in a couple of your preferred keywords. This will bring up a list of all sorts of vaguely related domain names. NameBoy is good at thinking outside the box and will often come up with variants on a name that you'd never have considered before. I'll leave it up to you as to whether this is a good or a bad thing but when I'm looking to buy a parked domain name, I find it a good place to start.
Then you need to start copying and pasting the domain names into your browser.
Some will come up as live domains, some will be clearly identified as parked domains and yet more will fall into a no-mans land. Kind of the scrap heap of the internet.
If the domain has a clear "for sale" sign on it then that's good. Chances are there will be a link that allows you to contact the domain's owner without falling foul of spam filters and you can open up negotiations. Start low and work upwards is a good technique. You may also find that it's useful to ask what traffic the domain has had in the past and what sort of figure they would be looking at to sell.
A useful tool is archive.org. This allows you to go back in time and see what has (or more often, hasn't) been done with the domain in the past.
Another useful site is domaintools.com which allows you to see the domain's history. Things like previous owners, changes of name servers, etc.
All of these will give you clues that will help you to buy parked domains.
If the domain is clearly parked but doesn't have a For Sale sign on it, you may need to do some detective work. A WhoIs service may tell you who the owner is. If it does, don't be afraid to get on the phone and call the owner. Whilst phoning is old fashioned, you'll know your enquiry got through and it may well be quicker and more reliable than email. If there isn't a working phone number, try writing.
Why not just email the owner of the parked domain? Well, for starters, email is getting less reliable nowadays. Secondly, lots of newer domains have domain name guards to stop spammers so the WhoIs details may not have contactable details. Emails sent to info@ or webmaster@ may or may not get through. They're worth a try, but don't hold your breath. At the end of the day, unless the parked domain is one that you absolutely must have, remember that there are often a number of choices that you can go through when you are looking to buy a parked domain. The domain name is only part of the equation. It's what you do with the parked domain once you've bought it that really counts!
About the Author
For up to date information on how to buy parked domains and what to do with your parked domains while you're waiting to develop them, check out my blog at http://trevsreviews.com

Domain Name Profits

2006-12-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

Domain Name Profits
by Jamie Clarkson

"Domain investment," or the buying of domain names for profit, has been an internet marketing "insider secret" for a number of years. When the internet was young, for example, enterprising spirits grabbed the domain names of popular companies and resold them when those companies came knocking. In fact, stories abound on the net about domain names selling for thousands - and even millions - of dollars. In 2006 alone, domain names such as "diamonds.com" and "cameras.com" sold for a combined $9 million. There is no question that many people have made a bundle selling domain names, including "Domain King" Rick Schwartz, who has made up to $2,000,000 a year through domain investment.
Can you make money selling domain names? Unless you're very lucky or already a proficient internet marketer, your chances are not great that you will be able to find a profitable domain name which hasn't been taken. Many analysts emphasize that investing in domain names is no longer a "walk in the park" and that real "killings" in domain investment are few and far between. There is doubtlessly much competition in the field of ever-dwindling dot.com domain names, and even in the less used ones as well, such as .net, .info, .biz, .ws, etc.
Nevertheless, creative entrepreneurs have not let those facts slow them down, and certain "domain profiteers" have flaunted conventional wisdom and continued to profit in domain investment. Without detailed instructions from such experts with a proven track record, however, chances of failure are high enough to discourage the novice without deep pockets. The good news is that those who wish to enter the lucrative domain-name business can turn to a comprehensive training course called "Domain Profiteer." The result of collaboration between trusted internet millionaires Shawn Casey and Matt Smith, this domain-investment course reveals a slew of secrets used by top domain investors over the years, including Rick Schwartz. In Domain Profiteer, Casey and Smith provide step-by-step instructions for finding, choosing, registering, parking and/or reselling domain names.
If you are an avid collector of domain names, you may want to jump on this profitable bandwagon. If you aren't yet a domain investor, you may wish to become one - and you won't want to try without Domain Profiteer. Up to now, there has not been a product like Domain Profiteer - and there may not be another one of this quality. Over time, you could learn to do the same thing - using expensive tools, some of which cost more per month than the relatively low price of Domain Profiteer. Or, you could simply invest in Domain Profiteer and save yourself the cost and time.
About the Author
Jamie Clarkson has been online since 1995. You can learn more about Domain Profiteer by going to http://supermarketingaffiliates.com/domain-profiteer.html

How to Choose a Domain Name For Your Business?

2006-12-27T20:39:00.000-08:00

How to Choose a Domain Name For Your Business?
by Nazir Hussain

Domain name provides access to information that you own or want to create for the public in the public domain. Therefore, there are a number of consideration in deciding and choosing the right name for your business as follows:-
1)if you are in the business of selling or buying property for and/or on behalf of clients then your domain name should reflect that. An example of a domain name for a business that sells real estate is www.acresofrealestate.com If you rely on the internet for your business, lead generation, promotion or for information then having a name which describes your business and what you do is very important it would seem. But, this is also a very contentious point... There are counter arguments and we shall take a brief look at some shortly.
2)If your offline business is called "Real Estate New York" then your internet business should in theory map that business exactly. Domains names such as:-
A) realestatenewyork.com B) realestateny.com C) justrealestatenewyork.com D) totalrealestateny.com E) 123realestatenewyork.com
The names listed above (A to E) are all suitable for your business. However, the best practice according to Nathan Anderson; the America's foremost search engine optimization expert, in choosing name for ones domain name is to have the business name in the front. For example, realestateny.com is preferred choice over say the 123realestatenewyork.com name for search engine optimisation stand point.
How do I then register my chosen domain name?
There are a myriad of domain name registration companies all over the world. How do you choose one? Since you are interested in good service, you want to choose a company that specialises in domain registration. You will be able to decipher good companies from that ones that are not so good. This is my experience with domain registration companies:-
" Cost is a major factor when you are registering a lot of domain names particularly when you have 100 or more domain names... I have therefore actively looked for companies that are the cheapest "
Recently, I bought 2 domain names at $2.99 each but the supplier turned out to be very poor at providing service. As a direct result, I went back to my original supplier and paid nearly $10 for each domain. The point of this exercise "cheap turned out to be very expensive". What if my chosen domain name is already registered?
This is sometimes the case. There are lots of realtors in New York and chances are that someone has already beaten you to it. Under this situation, I will be inclined to use a domain name that matches my business as closely as possible. Realestateny4you is not a bad choice. Arguably, this name is too similar to say another business; a competitor, for all intents and purposes. According to H. Anderson. "it matters less what the name of your chosen domain is the real issue is about promotion of the name ". I agree with this statement whole heartedly because a site regardless of its name does nothing for the business until such time that the site is actually promoted and that is the key to there being any meaning or value in the name.
About the Author
Choosing the right name for your domain name is important. But, it is not all the battle. The key is in promoting the domain name and that is where the value lies. For information visit our site at http://www.d4domainnames.com

Affiliate Marketing for the Complete Beginner

2006-12-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

Affiliate Marketing for the Complete Beginner
by Charles Hamel

Have you been wanting to get involved in Internet Marketing as an Affiliate but just didn't know where to begin? Well read on and I will take you by the hand and show you how to get started. But first let me give you a little background on what it means to be an Affiliate Marketer. Becoming an Affiliate Marketer basically means you are a salesman for other peoples products just like a salesperson in a store or a Avon distributor, the only difference is you are not meeting people face to face but are selling other peoples products online.
So now that you know what an Affiliate Marketer is let me tell you how to get started.
The first thing you want to do is sign up to be an Affiliate. The most popular companies at this time are Commission Junction and Clickbank. Now there are small differences in the two companies, Commission Junction has merchants that sell hard products where Clickbank is more along the line of digital products, like E-Books and Software. They both are totally Free to signup with.
So your first decision will be what type of product do you want to try an promote. I would recommend starting off with a product in a field that you are somewhat familiar with. Now to get started on promoting a product you can go about it 2 different ways. The first way I want to discuss is if you have a no money to get started and want to go the free route. Don't fret because most of you will be in this category.
No Money to get Started
After you have signed up with Commission Junction or Clickbank or both for that matter, choose a product to promote. Again I would choose something that I am familiar with or have some type of interest in. If you are starting out with Clickbank then usually there is no approval process, you simply type your username in the space provided and your affiliate link will be generated for you, for the product you have decided to promote.
Now that you have your affiliate link, you can start promoting it, and if someone clicks on it and buys the product you make money. Different Merchants will offer you different percentage commissions. Most common is 50-75%, so if you send someone through your link to a site that sells a product for $97.00 you are going to get 50-75% of that minus the clickbank or commission junction fees which are not much. Sounds easy enough? The concept is beyond easy, promoting the products can be tricky. To make the process easy I will cover some different ways to do that with no money to start.
1. Write Reviews - Write a review of the product that you are promoting and submit your review to Free article directories. Have I lost you? It is best to write an honest review, you want to build your character as being honest and giving fair treatment, if the product is good then write about what you liked about it, and if it was bad or had some things or features you didn't like then write that too. People will catch on quick if you only write good things and praise all of the products that you review and will figure out your just trying to make a commission. Now you are probably wondering how can you review a product that you have never tried. Well now that you are a member of for example Clickbank and you want to review a product that costs $30.00. Buy that product using your affiliate link and it will cost you $15.00 and then you can give a review of it. Is this cheating? I don't think so, because the merchant is still receiving the same amount of money whether you sent someone to his site through your affiliate link and purchased it or if you purchased it yourself. If you have no money at all to purchase a product to review, then try and send an email to the merchant explaining that you are an affiliate marketer and that you would like to request a Free copy of their product to review, and that you plan on generating a lot of business for him and provide a detailed plan of how you are going to do just that. You will be amazed at how many complimentary copies you will get. Once you review the product and write an article about it, post it at the Free article directories and include your affiliate link in the article. Most of the article directories will not allow you to put affiliate links in the articles themselves, but will allow you to put it in your author bio. Some article directories that do allow affiliate links are Go Articles, Article Alley and Search Warp.
2. Become members at some of the marketing Forums and put your affiliate links in your signature. Then every-time you make a post in the forums, your short little add with your affiliate link will appear beneath your name. You can also put your affiliate link in your signature through whatever email program you are using. Then every email you send out will have your add and affiliate link in it.
If you have a little money to invest in your new Affiliate Marketing business, I suggest you get your own website. Now there will need to be some thought put in to this before you take this step. Choose a product that you are very interested in, because you are going to build a website around that product. Find out the companies rules as an affiliate, for instance some don't allow their name in your domain name, so do your homework. Then you will choose your domain name, such as www.widgets.com. Domain names cost about 10.00 a year for your own www. name. Then a hosting company charges anywhere from $7.95 - $12.95 per month to host the domain name and give you the space to put your site on. If you know something about HTML then you will be able to build your own site. There are also many software packages out there that makes this an easy step such as Microsoft Frontpage, or Adobe Dreamweaver. Once you get your site up with your affiliate link all over it, start promoting your site. Now you will not have to worry about the article directories that do not allow affiliate links because now you will send them to your website that has your affiliate link, which most don't mind.
So this is the beginner steps on how you can get started as an Affiliate Marketer and start carving yourself out a living on the Internet. Internet commerce is breaking new records every year and continues to grow. Don't miss out on your piece of the pie. Get started as an affiliate and start making that extra spending cash to help pay off some bills, pay the rent or if your really good at it quit your job.
About the Author
Charles Hamel is an active affiliate marketer who loves to teach others how to make money on the Internet. He resides near Houston, TX with his wife and 2 sons. His hobbies include yoga, meditation and computers. Learn more tips on how you can make a living as an affiliate marketer when you visit His Website

Which Is Right For Me - Windows Hosting or Linux/Unix Hosting?

2006-12-24T06:41:00.000-08:00

Which Is Right For Me - Windows Hosting or Linux/Unix Hosting?
by Fei Lim

We all have our preferences when it comes to operating systems some people prefer one of the many flavors of Windows, while others prefer one of the several distributions of Linux. It is all the matter of what works best for you. Another aspect that should be taken into consideration when determining which type of hosting you should use Windows or Linux/Unix, is what you intend to do on your website.
There are many differences between the two operating systems. However, when it comes to hosting there are just as many differences. Some people with Windows operating systems choose to use Linux/Unix hosting. On the other side of the coin, some people who use Linux/Unix operating systems choose to use Windows hosting. Do you find this confusing? If so, you are not alone. You may be wondering how this would work.
Well essentially, when you acquire hosting for your website, you are basically paying someone else to host your website on their computer. These computers also have operating systems. Therefore, when you choose Windows or Linux hosting, this will mean that the computer your website is run from is using that chosen operating system.
Windows Hosting
Windows is perhaps one of the most well-known and popular forms of operating systems. There are many advantages to using Windows hosting. Because millions of users have Windows and use the many Microsoft products such, using Windows hosting would allow you to easily integrate any of these products into your website. Windows hosting would also allow you to run ASP (Active Server Pages) on your website, which is placing dynamic content on your website using computer scripts.
What is great about Windows is that it boasts an easy to use interface perfect for beginners. There are usually many options such as ASP mail, Access Database, ASP.NET, and SQL Database, IIS, and PHP. Windows hosting also allows for publishing websites with FrontPage,
As with almost anything in this world, Windows hosting does have its disadvantages. One of the main disadvantages is the costs. One Microsoft server, if buying your own, will cost you a couple of thousand dollars, if you were running the software yourself. You have many choices when it comes to software such as Windows 2003, Advanced, and Windows 2000 server. However, with the competitiveness of the hosting industry, you will find the Windows hosting is extremely affordable when using a remote server.
Linux/Unix Hosting
Linux and UNIX hosting are two different types of operating system that are extremely similar to one another. In essence, the two are closely related something like cousins; therefore, they are generally combined in hosting. Now what is great about Linux/Unix is that you have the ability to integrate unmatched security into your website. There are also many other benefits of the duo that make it the choice for many people.
One such benefit is the fact that Linux/Unix is extremely compatible with PHP, which is the latest craze in programming languages. Cost is another very attractive benefit of the duo. In many cases, the operating system is free. Some distributors have begun to charge for the system, but many are still available for no costs. For little to no cost, additional software can be obtained for Linux/Unix such as BIND, Sendmail, Apache, and APF Firewall.
Security is probably the most popular benefit of using Linux/Unix hosting. The level of security offered by this duo is unmatched by Windows hosting. To add to the benefits, statistics show that this operating system offers more overall stability and control in operation as well.
With Linux/Unix hosting, you have the ability to integrate Chmod permission, Mod Rewrite, Apache Web server, as well as MySQL and PHP.
Of course, as with Windows hosting there are some disadvantages to using Linux/Unix hosting. The main disadvantage being ease of use. Unlike Windows hosting, Linux/Unix hosting does not contain an easy to use, user-friendly interface. Basically, it requires a large list of commands to use and is not recommended for the beginner. This type of hosting requires a great deal of technical knowledge and familiarity to install and control.
Which one is for you?
Well, in short, it depends on what you need. If you need intense security, PHP compatibility, have technical knowledge, and you do not need to have all the latest website features, Linux/Unix hosting may be the right choice for you.
However, if you need a website that offers ASP, an easy to use interface, and the ability to integrate Microsoft products, then Windows hosting is the best decision for you.
As you can see choosing between Windows hosting and Linux/Unix hosting, all depends on what you need on your website, your level of experience, and of course, your overall budget.
About The Author Fei Lim is the manager of Flizard Technologies which provides web hosting services, sells domain names, and designs websites for personal and businesses. Fei Lim may be contacted at http://www.flizard.com
About the Author
Fei Lim is the manager of Flizard Technologies which provides web hosting services, sells domain names, and designs websites for personal and businesses. Fei Lim may be contacted at http://www.flizard.com

Tips on domain names

2006-12-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

Tips on domain names
by Nurashikin Ismail

Domain names would be one of the first things you should do when you have an internet marketing business. A domain name is like a brand name, address or an identity to your website. It has to be unique, concise and memorable.
Good domain name is preferably memorable. One that is memorable would be those that you can remember even if you saw it once, many years ago. It is also understood that if your domain name is memorable, it would be more likely that users would type in the correct URL in their browser.
It also has to be unique, because, you would not want your users to confuse your domain name with that of another, especially if it were your competitors. So, be clear about how it would look and sound like. One point to note is that, there are many other domain names that end with the extensions, such as .net, .biz, .tk and so on, but the .com domain name is one that is prevalent in the internet. If, for any reason, that your domain name is one that ends with other extensions like .biz, make sure that you make it memorable by capitalizing the extension. For example, if you have an address like www.domainnames.net would want to make it more obvious by displaying your address as www.domainnames.NET. This way, users would be more likely to remember that it ended with .net instead of .com. Being memorable helps to bring more visitors.
When your business is progressing more aggressively, you may want to consider buying a domain name that is wrong as well. For example, your URL could be www.domainnames.com, however, some users may remember it as www.domainname.com, without the's' at the end. You can then direct the users who typed the wrong URL to your website.
Your domain name should reflect what type of website that you have. No point having a website about cars but your domain name says something like www.goodseats.com. The further away a domain name is from whom you are or what you do, the more likely it is you won't have great success in marketing.
You can register for a domain name at www.GoDaddy.com. They have a good range of domain name extensions and you can use their smart search if you have difficulties in deciding what domain name is the most unique, concise and memorable.
About the Author
Nurashikin is an Internet Business Entrepreneur who is still a student and wants to help other students and mothers to make an income from home. She has successfully generated an income for herself in her first month of business. Find out how she did it at http://www.upsizemysuccess.com

Domains: Buying an Existing Domain Name Vs a New Domain Name

2006-12-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

Domains: Buying an Existing Domain Name Vs a New Domain Name
by Chris Le Roy

No one can deny that the Internet is here to stay and that businesses who do not embrace the internet are going to struggle in the coming years. With the Internet and Search Engines reaching a new level of maturity, I have noticed in their rankings that they are beginning to put more and more weight on the age of the domain in their index and because of this we have now reached a crossroad for many businesses to evaluate whether they are better off buying an existing domain versus registering a brand new domain. But Buyer Beware!
I have met many many people who have benefited and also been burnt by buying existing domain names. The major disadvantage of buying an existing domain name is that it may have been banned from the search engines for in appropriate search engine tactics, better known as black hat techniques. My own personal experience with the search engines and trying to talk to a human being in the past to plead my case over an issue with one of our own domains has made me come to the realization that none of them have a clue of what customer service is and they do not care what they do to you and this is where the problem lies when buying existing domains.
If you purchase a domain that has been banned for either Search Engine Black Hat techniques or for click fraud then you can pretty much write off that domain ever getting into the indexes ever again. Which means that if you are relying principally on traffic from the search engines, then you are going to invest a lot of money and get absolutely no outcome? In fact one of our own clients was caught where the domain they had purchased was banned in just about every index and by many of the pay-per-click engines as well. Literally the money they outlaid for this domain were totally wasted.
Look, there are many reasons why domains can be banned and in some cases they are banned by indexes for the owners simply not understanding the rules that the various search engines place on the websites that they index. Whilst that is no excuse in the scheme of things, as a buyer it is something you need to be aware of.
The key advantage of buying an existing domain that has been indexed is that it is often easier to optimize that site for certain keywords than it is for using one that is a brand new domain. If you believe the stories of Google's sandbox rule, then all new domains will take 6 to 12 months to rank well which means for a business that is purely internet based that could send you bankrupt and I can assure you I have seen that happen. Whether or not you believe or do not believe that the Google sandbox rule exists, in most search engines, the age of the domain in the index does play a role in your ranking. I have seen webpages in the index that have been there for 10 years and have less than 20 back links on extremely competitive terms and rank in the top 5 of those competitive keywords.
The bottom line is this, where possible and if you can afford it, buying an existing domain name that is already in the index is a valuable commodity. Even more so if there is an associated website to go with it. Just look at the money Google paid to You Tube for their site.
Over the last few years my team and I have helped many clients broker existing domain names, usually associated with their companies name, that have been in the index by people creating adsense accounts for Google or Yahoo and once they get control of the domains they have seen vast improvements in their traffic flow and search engine positions because the domains they had bought had been in the index for some period. In fact every one of them that has done this now has top 2 rankings in all the major search engines.
When we are evaluating domains that have been owned for some period there are a range of elements that my team and I look for. The general elements we review include -
1. Is the website currently working?2. Does the domain exist in any of the major search engines?3. Can you verify ownership of the domain or is the domain details blocked?4. Where is the domain currently residing?5. Is the domain in an area on the Internet that is used by black hat people or organizations that use questionable techniques?6. What is the IP Number of the server the domain resides on?7. Can we find any indications of references to issues with this domain name on professional search engine forums or bloggs?8. Does the domain reside on any black lists for spam or for activities related to advertising? We also look to see if the domain is on any number of white lists as well (this is a positive issue)?9. Does the domain have a history in traffic tools such as Alexa? Have there been any comments or statements placed in the Alexa Register or similar registers?10. Is the domain registered with a reputable domain registration company?
My team and I will also look at whether or not this domain has been owned by a range of different companies or individuals and in particular if it has been deleted or pre-owned before today and resold.
I should note that there are many other issues we look at but the ten above are the key issues everyone should look at when deciding to buy an existing domain. There are many reasons why domains may not have positive findings for each of the issues above, but just like you were trying to buy a business you need to see if there are any issues and if there are can they be dealt with and are they likely to cost you money. Nobody likes to lose money on a deal, especially me, and when buying domains you need to make sure that you have done your homework and that the domain is worth the money you are investing.
Sometimes, you are better off simply paying a few dollars and putting in a lot of hard work with a new domain then buying a domain for a few thousand dollars to find that you can never rank well in the search engines because it has been banned.
About the Author
For other great online and offline marketing ideas visit our website Online Marketing Business Opportunity. If you would like the opportunity to read the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill simply visit our website where you can download the book and audio reading.

List-Building: Your First Web Host

2006-12-20T22:43:00.000-08:00

List-Building: Your First Web Host
by Tellman H. Knudson

All of the steps we've discussed in other articles need to be done in preparation for building your list. But there's one more thing you're going to need to do. It's something you can do this afternoon. Get your first web host.
A web host is kind of like the computer that stores your website. It's not your home computer; it's a server that's usually somewhere else and what is does is host the new domain name that you just registered and makes it accessible to the World Wide Web.
When choosing a web host, you have to be sure of three things:
First, you have to know that the host is reliable and won't disappear overnight, taking your web site with it. Unless you were smart and backed up your data completely the night before (which hardly anyone does), you'll have to start all over again from step one or from your last back-up.
Beware of very low hosting prices, too. I've seen some for $1.99 a month! But stay away. Most of these businesses don't last long. Imagine having your list capture page up and running and everything's going along well. Suddenly, your list isn't building anymore and when you go to your squeeze page, lo and behold, it's nowhere to be found!
The second thing you want to be sure of is that the web host is up 99.9% of the time. Every server goes down sooner or later. It's just how things go on the Internet, but your web host should have very minimal downtime. Why? Because when their site is down, so is yours.
Imagine this scenario: You have worked for six months on an info product, you've built buzz, you've crossed all the i's and dotted all the t's. OK, so vice versa. But... it's launch day! You go to your computer that morning and EHHHHHHHhhhh!!! Your site is down. There's no email from your web host telling you the server would be down, and you start to panic. You call your host and can get no answer because they have a recorded message. You can't email them because the server is down. What to do! What to do?
You see? It's very important to have a reputable host that has almost total uptime and back-up servers, in case there's an issue. You should be building your list, every single day.
Third, contact the host company before actually signing up and see what their customer service is like. If they don't like stupid newbie questions, run away, very fast. Your host should be ready, willing, and able to answer any question you need answers for in a kind way, immediately. Or, if they can't answer the question, they should be willing to get back to you quickly. Support should be readily available.
Choose a reliable, reasonable web host with helpful tech support, and you'll probably stay with them forever. Once you start building your list and doing more and more, you may want even more than one host, but that's far into the future, if you're just starting out. For now, go to MyFirstRealWebsite and start building that list. Do it today!
About the Author
Tellman Knudson, master list builder, is CEO of OvercomeEverything.com. Start building a powerful and responsive list in about 9 hours at MyFirstList.com. For more great information on list building click here.

Navigating the Popular Domain Registrar Sites

2006-12-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Navigating the Popular Domain Registrar Sites
by Aaron Wilmont

Looking at the internet as a whole, one part of it's infrastructure that I think could be improved, at least from a webmasters perspective, is the major domain registrars. Many of them leave something to be desired. They are all similiar but have different details which differentiate them from one another. Moniker, for example, is radically different than any other domain registrar I have used (and I have used about ten). On the plus side, they are one of the most secure registrars out there. But unfortunately they are not very intuitive, although they are new and this may change soon. Finding the link to change my name servers was harder than finding a needle in a haystack. There really should be more standardization where these domain registrars are concerned. I have noticed that they are open to feedback on webmaster forums so I predict that they may streamline their process in the near future. Speaking of process, I recently renewed a domain at Godaddy, which is one of the largest (if not the largest) regitrars out there. Thank goodness I had a whole morning to do it. Instead of just clicking it and paying,
which should have been the case, it brought me (actually forced me kicking and screaming) through page after page of options. it seems like I clicked
'continue with order' ten times before brought to the 'checkout now' link which was a tiny, termite sized hyperlink at the bottom of seemingly eighty or ninety
gaudy advertisements. I mean blinking this, flash that. My eyes hurt after all that. I was looking for a bottle of carrot juice at this point. Was I registering a domain or playing the flashiest pinball machine of all time? But they were not done with me. It then gave me the option of
what payment type and I chose Paypal. Instead of me just putting my password in a slot and finishing the process on the site, instead Godaddy mercilessly
yanked me out of their site to some paypal site, not just to pay, but to "set up a Billing Agreement for Preapproved Payments with Go Daddy Software, Inc.". After I navigated that rather lengthy process
I finally saw a button that said 'return to merchant'. I had almost left at this point thinking that I a had already paid. Nope, I then had to complete the payment on go daddy's site, finally I saw the renewal amount, which they never bothered to show me untill step 99 out of 100 (note quite that many, but you get the point). I clicked it and I believe I finally finished the process although I never saw what you might call a clear cut 'submission complete' or 'order complete' type of confirmation page. it was a little more vague than that and I was further bombarded with extensive additional offers that filled the page, obscuring everything else. I was impressed with just how many advertisements these guys could imagine, create and fit on one page.
About the Author
More tips can be found at http://www.gpaidtutoring.com/

Top Level Domains and TV

2006-12-14T22:24:00.000-08:00

Top Level Domains and TV
by - 101Domainames.com -

To point your audience to your video or multimedia Web site? There is no better way than with a .TV domain name. It already stands out as the two-letter TLD - Top Level Domain, so whether you need a name for your personal Web site, want to extend your brand on the internet, or simply want to share your videos with the world, .TV is your domain.
How do domain names work? A domain name works like an address forwarding service. All of your Web site content sits on a computer with a unique address. This is called an IP address. An IP address is made up of a series of numbers, such as 179.17.123.45. Your domain name directs visitors to your site using this IP address with DNS - Domain Names Server. Use domain names instead of IP addresses because most people find it easier to remember a name rather than a series of numbers.
What is a top-level domain - TLD? A top-level domain - TLD is the part of the domain name located to the right of the dot. TV. The most common top-level domains are .com, .net, and .org. Some other popular top-level domains are .biz, .info, .name, and .ws. These common top-level domains have certain guidelines attached, but are for the most part available to any registrant, anywhere in the world.
There are also restricted top-level domains like .aero, .biz, .edu, .mil, .museum, .name, and .pro that require the registrant to represent a certain type of entity, or to belong to a certain community. For example, the .name TLD is reserved for individuals and .edu is reserved for educational entities.
Country-code TLDs - ccTLDs are for Web sites and registrants of a particular geographic location. For example: bz - Belize, .ca - Canada, .dk - Denmark, .ec - Ecuador, ie - Republic of Ireland, .uk - United Kingdom, .us - United States, and .zw - Zimbabwe.
How to check if a Domain Name is available? In the Enter a domain name search box, type in the domain name you are interested in. Select a top-level domain from the drop-down list -.com, .org, .net. Click Search. If the domain you want is available, you can follow the instructions on the page to proceed to the next steps in the registration procedure.
If the domain name you requested is already taken you will have available alternatives. For example, you may be able to select a .info or .ws top-level domain, rather than a .com. So, you could register www.domainames.info, instead of www.domainames.com.
You acknowledge and agree that you will NOT associate this with any illegal site/s or of any adult nature Free to use without any modification and link to our site only.
Copyrights © 2006 101domainames.com all rights reserved
About the Author
About 101Domainames.com 101Domainames.com is the premier full service Internet products services solutions provider for Low Cost Domain Names to Affordable Web Hosting & More. In addition to helping New or Professionals to get their personal and/or businesses online, 101Domainames.com provides up to date information, tips, news, promotions, products, services & More via site and web log throughout The USA & Internationally with quick links to re

Domain Names: What, Why, Who, and How

2006-12-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

Domain Names: What, Why, Who, and How
by Debbi

WHAT, exactly, is a domain name?
The Domain Name System was originally developed to help us navigate through the internet. Every computer connected to the internet has it's own IP address, a string of numbers that identify it to other computers. Domain names are a way of pointing to a specific IP address to make things easier to remember - so now you shop at Amazon.com, instead of at 207.171.166.102!
The domain name is made of two parts, the name and the extension. The name is whatever you choose, it can be your personal name, your business name, a term or a saying. When choosing a domain, be careful to select something that is easy to remember and is representative of you or your business. There are numerous resources to help in choosing a great name, search Google.com for the term "choosing a domain name".
The extension is the part that comes after the name, the most familiar extension is '.com'. There are many extensions, some available only to educational institutions (.edu) or to citizens of specific countries. The most common domain extensions registered now are .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz. It is often recommended that when you choose a domain name, you register as many of the popular extensions as you can, to protect your brand.
WHY would I want a domain name?
The main reason that people register domain names is because they are building a website, but there are other reasons, too. The registration of domain names has become relatively inexpensive, and the variety of uses for them has expanded. Some people register domain names for email only, so they can have a personalized email address. John Doe can now get email at john@johndoe.com, for example. Websites themselves have evolved in such a way that anyone can set up and maintain their own personal spot on the web - it isn't just for businesses anymore. Blogging and forums (bulletin boards) have become very popular ways for people to communicate with friends and family, post pictures, and share other information; and having your own domain name makes finding your blog easy. Web hosting companies offer personal accounts that allow you to have email, create a blog, and even build your own personal website at very low prices.
Even if you don't plan on having a website now, registering your domain name is a good idea - you never know what you may wish to do in the future, from starting a home business to wanting to post pictures of your grandchildren. As more domains are registered, it becomes more challenging to find the exact name you want. You can register a domain for from one to ten years, and registering now ensures it will be there for you when you're ready!
WHO should I buy my domain name from?
Domain name registrars are plentiful on the internet, but make sure you register with an ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) Accredited Registrar, and register in your own name and email address. There are people who may act on your behalf to register a name for you (such as a webmaster), but be sure they register it in your name, not theirs. Even if you want to distance yourself from the everyday operations of your website and domain, you will still want to be the real owner of that name. Domain registration is very easy on the internet, using the registrar's website interface to choose your name and place your order, even the least techno-savvy can get through it. Don't be afraid!
Domain registrars offer a tool to check to see if the name you want is available, or if it is already owned by someone else. If a domain is available, you will be asked to purchase or register it. You may see the option to transfer a domain listed instead. If you register a domain name with one registrar, and later decide you'd like to move, or transfer, that domain to another registrar to receive different services, you have that option. But you must actually own that domain name in order to be able to transfer it. Many people have made the mistake of thinking that if they choose transfer, the domain will be taken away from it's current owner and given to them - this is simply not possible, nor would you want it to happen to your own domain!
So then, Who owns the domain name I want? And how can I get it? are becoming questions that are heard more often. There is a tool called a WHOIS Lookup that can tell you who currently owns a domain name, and WHOIS tools can be found on the web - search for them on Google.com, and you'll see. Buying a domain that is currently owned by someone else is no longer out of the question, either. Many domain owners are willing to sell their domains, and often list the domains for sale with various domain sale and auction services. There are also services that will accept a backorder for a domain. These services allow you to list your desired domain with them, and if that domain expires and becomes available, the service will try to register it for you. These systems work like a lottery - or more precisely, like a concert ticket system. When the tickets go on sale, everyone is trying to get the front row center seat, but only one can get it. Drop or backorder services do the same thing, all competing for the same domain name. If you choose to try for an expiring domain, research several of these services and register with as many as you can. Remember there is sometimes a fee above and beyond the registration price when you use one of these services.
HOW to keep your domain name in good health (or the care and feeding of a domain name).
First and foremost, now that you've got your domain name, be sure not to lose it! The most common way for people to lose a domain name is by not renewing it before it expires. When you register the domain name, you will be asked to provide an administrative email contact. All future correspondence relating to your domain name will be sent to that address, including expiration notices. If you change email addresses and do not update your address with your domain registrar, notices will never reach you. Likewise, you should always update any change of physical address or phone number with your domain registrar, just in case. Put your registrar on your list of places you would inform if you were to move, and you will avoid this common trap.
Another common way to run into trouble is by falling victim to a competing registrar's advertising. Sometimes unscrupulous companies will send out email or physical letters informing you that your domain will expire soon, and asking you to renew it by transferring it into their domain system. These letters can be very persuasive, convincing domain owners that they must follow the instructions in the letter or they will lose the domain name. Often these cheaters charge a higher fee than your real registrar, and don't offer a refund once you've paid them for a transfer, even if you don't use it. The best way to avoid this scam is simply to know who your registrar is, and only respond to requests made by them. Keep a copy of your first registration letter in your files, so you can refer to it later if you have any doubts.
The Domain Name System has truly evolved since its inception, and now having a domain name has become a standard for individuals as well as businesses. Your domain name is your personality, your identity, your calling card in the internet world. Choose it wisely and take care of it, and you'll spend many happy years together!
About the Author
Debbi works with web design and web hosting domain name clients, and specializes in assisting the beginning website owner.

Create A .htaccess File Without Referral Spam

2006-12-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

Create A .htaccess File Without Referral Spam
by Danny Wirken

At present, there is a growing nuisance for users and administrators alike of sites that ruin web servers and more particularly, blogs. This nuisance is being referred to as comment, trackback and referrer spams. Various solutions have been proposed with some being applicable to even two of these forms of spam using a single solution.
What is Referral Spam?
A referrer request-header file allows the client to specify the address (URI) of the resource from which the request-URI was obtained. It is a way for an HTTP client to send in the headers, the URI of the page that sent them there. This is especially handy for a site administrator to provide insight as to where the traffic on his web server is coming from. It is also depended upon by the most popular web server log analyzers in providing statistics on the most common referrers.
The HTTP Referrer: header is very useful but it is also completely arbitrary. Any web browser or HTTP client is free to send a forged Referrer: header with any request to a web server. Spammers have taken advantage of the fact that there is no provision for authentication in SMPTP and have used the existing openness to specially craft request with their website in the Referrer: header.
Most people will find it difficult to understand why someone would bother spamming something which only the site administrator will see in the logs. One probable motivation pinpointed is the boosting of search engine ranking. Another is simply to show-up in any stats published by the site. If a site being spammed runs a web server log analyzing software, access to the URL in the top referrer's section is handily obtained by the spammer.
A serious consequence of referrer spam is that the process is often performed via an HTTP "GET" or "POST" request which retrieves the entire body of the document being spammed. A 30k document, for example, will have all the 30k transferred across one's Internet pipe. This results to not a small amount of traffic in the web server which could be very costly since bandwidth is not cheap.
Referrer spam wastes CPU and disk space and can be a source of endless annoyance to server operators. It is being actually fought by search engine developers thus its initial effectiveness in boosting a site's ranking has been considerably lessened. However, the problem persists and much has to be done to conquer it.
Some recommended practices in countering the threat of referral spam include the non-publication of referrers by bloggers, inclusion of the page in robots.txt when referrers have to be published, use of the rel="no follow" attribute and gathering a cleaner list of referrers using JavaScript and beacon images. Some bloggers have begun fighting referrer spammers at the .htaccess level. Others have even taken steps to automate this.
Blocking Users by Referrer Notes
A very useful feature of .htaccess is the ability to block users or sites that originate from a particular domain. When there are tons of referrals from a particular site with no single visible link to one's own site from the said site, the referral probably isn't a legitimate one. The other site is most likely hot linking to certain files such as images, CSS file or other file. The blocking access by referrer in .htaccess requires the help of the Apache module mod rewrite to be able to make out the referrer first. There is a fear that spam would still come in even as .htaccess continue to grow. Blacklisting certain referrers in .htaccess is another option, the effectiveness of which has been greatly diminished due to the ease by which spammers are able to register thousands of domains and rotate them as quickly as they are blacklisted.
The .htaccess generator to prevent people from certain IP addresses, domains or even countries from gaining access to a site or to specific folders can be used. The full IP address has to be typed to block a specific IP. The use of a partial IP address is required to block a range of IPs. Blocking a particular domain can be done by typing the domain without the www. The tail extension is to be typed when blocking a country.
There is no limit to the entries that can be added one at a time. The "add" should be checked after each entry while the generated code is to be copied and posted into a plain text file. This file is then named .htaccess. The "." Before the file name should be noted as well as the absence of any tail extension.
If there is already an .htaccess file in the root of the docs directory or the folder where it is to be applied, the generated code shall be added to the end of the current .htaccess file, taking extra care not to disturb the existing code. It will then be uploaded in ASCII mode.
The rel = "no follow" solution
A coalition of blogging and search engine companies have joined together to support an HTML attribute designed primarily to combat comment spam but have high potentials as well for effective use against referral spam. This attribute is known as the rel ="no follow" is being praised by many bloggers as the ultimate solution for the prevailing problem. The idea is simple enough with the hardest part being the matter of convincing the major players such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN to agree on it.
Tagging a link with rel ='no follow" attribute would prevent any contribution to the site's PageRank. This means that comment and referral spammers will not be rewarded for their illegitimate activities on websites that implement the attribute. The problem gets solved partially but this solution is unable to end it.
This truth is sought to be explained by the fact that it is impossible to reach a 100% adoption thus there will always be an incentive to spam. Spammers essentially do not care whether their techniques are specifically effective as long as they are generally effective. They need no particular reason to hit any site and will do so as their main target is the blogosphere as a whole. It is also quite unfortunate that the resources required to fight spam, particularly referral spam, is far bigger than the resources needed to create it.
Referral spam is an HTTP request. The client doesn't even need to acknowledge the response. All it may need is a simple packet with formatted text.
Spammers take pains to make a request look legitimate. The user - agent string would look very much like MSIE. It used to be that spam came from a single IP but things have definitely gotten more complex since then.
Filtering referrer IPs against spam blacklisting can also be done. Listing the referring URL in any section of a site's web stats should be avoided if the IP is blacklisted. Do not pursue query once a given site is identified as a referral spam host name.
About the Author
http://www.theinternetone.net

Google seems to look at the age of your domain so...

2006-12-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

Google seems to look at the age of your domain so...
by Mario Giordani

Anyone who has been marketing on the Internet for a while knows that without good, targeted traffic generating sales for you, you are dead in the water. No traffic, no sales, no money.
Let's talk about domain names. Many marketers out there who want to put something up on the web simply log on to their favorite domain register and start looking at what domain names might be available. After registering their catchy domain name, voila, another site is born on the Internet!
There is a better way to register your new domain: choose a soon-to-expire domain that's already been around, got abandoned, has backlinks on the major search engines and "used" to have a good amount of traffic when it was alive and kicking. For whatever reason, its owner abandoned the site, went out of business, checked out or forgot to re-register it.
I like to grab domain names before they expire for the simple reason that they risk a smaller chance of having their PR zeroed out by Google after expiration. Sometimes you can get away with "expired" domains without losing all the links that are still pointing to them. However, soon-to-expire domains seem to work best. Ideally, you will want domain names that are Dmoz or Yahoo listed. These can be as good as gold.
Make sure you do some background checking on the domain you intend to acquire so you know what the site's original content was all about. Use http://www.archive.org to research the site's history. For an expired domain, all you do is re-activate it under your name and take advantage of previous "bookmarks" and traffic originating from sites that linked to that domain. Sure beats a brand new domain with nothing but a wish and HTML appended to it.
Why start from scratch with a new domain name and optimized site that might take 6-8 months to get anywhere near the top of the Search Results? Some SEO experts say that Google's indexing and ranking algorithms consider the age of your domain as a form of age-filtering function. So it makes sense to purchase a domain name that's been past this 6-8 months age filter.
Google seems to like stability and time on the market. So, choose a domain name accordingly. If you have a domain that's been around for a long time, it shows Google that your site has stability and is unlikely to be a temporary, throw away site, possibly designed for spamming purposes such as mass-generated doorway pages.
Reference: http://www.rightclickwebs.com/seo/google-aging.php
After you've nabbed a soon-to-expire domain name, add the best "focused" content and keyword phrases to represent your new site. Also put the best keywords on your Title tag. Try to stay away from obscure domain names. Find names that are easy to remember. Keep the theme of your new site and target audience the same as what was previously on your new domain.
About the Author
#resource_html#

Choosing a Domain Name

2006-12-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

Choosing a Domain Name
by Cliff Posey

Domain names provide the identity of a website. Choosing a domain name for your site can be difficult. You will want to choose something memorable, something that reflects your products and services, and something that is seo friendly.
Because there have been millions of people who set to the task of choosing a url before you did, finding seo friendly domain names that haven't already been taken can be a bit tricky. This is why it is a good idea to work on naming your website and choosing a domain name at the same time.
Here are a few other things to consider when choosing a url for your website:
Branding One of the reasons that choosing a domain name is so difficult is the idea of branding. Your website name and your domain name are your brand, and they should be one in the same. Branding can be tricky because you are, in essence, establishing your website identity. You need a name that reflects what you will be promoting. For example, an informational website about debt will be best served with domain names that somehow mention debt, while someone selling books can have the option of choosing a url with a catchy name like Amazon.com or a name that describes the service, such as Bookfinder.com.
Length If you have already started researching domain names, then you have probably already heard several arguments about the benefits of choosing a short domain name vs. a long domain name. Both arguments have their points. A long domain name is generally more seo friendly and can better describe your products. A short domain name, on the other hand is easier to remember and easier to type into a browser.
When choosing a domain name, you can use up to 67 characters. This means that you don't have to settle for short, obscure, or abbreviated domain names. At the same time, it is unwise to use anything close to 67 characters. It simply leaves too much room for error when someone is typing in the browser name. A ridiculously long name will also make it difficult for people to share your website through word of mouth.
Hyphens Sometimes, when webmasters can't get the domain names they want, they simply add hyphens. For example, if discountbooks.com was taken, one could simply add a hyphen and buy the domain name discount-books.com. There are advantages and disadvantages to choosing a url with a hyphen. The advantage is that search engines can better distinguish your keywords, making your website a little more seo friendly. The disadvantage is that it is very easy to forget a hyphen when typing and you run the risk of sending your site's visitors to your competitor.
Top Level Domains When choosing a domain name, you also have to decide what you want your top level domain to be. While almost everyone wants to be a .com, that option may not be available to you. The good news is that there is nothing necessarily wrong with choosing other domain names that end in .net, .org, or even .biz.
About the Author
Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates http://webbusinesstoolsonline.com/. Cliff Posey has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses.

How to Profit from Expired Domain Name Registration

2006-12-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

How to Profit from Expired Domain Name Registration

After the dot com crash, expired domain names and expired domain name traffic have been a source of potential income. It is important to inexpensively obtain the automated tools required to track the thousands of domain name registration and abandoned websites that are removed from the domain registry and become available for purchase.
Expired domain registration and the expired domain name traffic associated with them have been only available to those who had an automated system and tools.
Now, automated tools and resources are available for identifying, appraising and even buying these domain names on autopilot.
Expired domain names are those that had previously been registered to another owner. These domain name registration are available to the open market because of non-payment of the domain name renewal fees. Such domain names are returned to the open market about forty-five days after the expiration date.
Many domain names even point to fully functioning websites while many are registered for speculation. These names are registered by speculators in the hope of obtaining a profit on the resale of the domain name.
Numerous other domain names are registered for website development, but do not appear online. In a number of these cases, the domain name owners do not follow through with respect to the website development and allow the domain registration to expire.
However, there are a number of expired domain names with fully functioning websites, receiving daily traffic from the search engines, links and banner ads. The expired domain names that get this daily traffic can earn revenues if these are redirected to another website or marketed with affiliate programs.
Earning Profit from Expired Domain Names & Expired Domain Name Traffic:
1. Buying for speculation - There is now a large and highly profitable market for reselling domain registration at present, and speculators are looking out for developing technologies and trends. Evolution is constantly taking place in technology and trends. There are markets, being watched closely right now, that are expected to grow exponentially within a short span of time. It should be a good idea to locate and register expiring domain registration that are related to new trends, technology and markets in order to earn substantial profits.
2. Buying expiring domain names and redirecting the targeted traffic - Targeted keyword domain names can help to get traffic from those simply typing in keyword rich domain names into the address bar and hitting the enter key.
3. Buying expired domain name registration and putting up generic websites - Using tools like easy website building software, third party payment processors, auto responders and other applications, even a novice could put generic websites online with keyword rich domain names that should appear in the search engine rankings. These websites can be built using expired domain names to drive traffic to them and the domain registration and the developed website could then be sold together with the domain name, as a value added commodity.
4. Buying expiring domain names of websites that are already online ? A number of expiring domain names are, actually, already functioning websites. The owners of these websites either did not renew their domain registration for some reason or simply stopped operating the website. In fact, quite often, these websites already have traffic from links to other websites, search engine rankings and even directory listings.
5. Buying expired domain names and using them for marketing affiliate programs - Affiliate programs are a good way to acquire an online business without even having a product. Affiliate marketers redirect traffic from the affiliate website to the website of the actual product or service and charge a commission or a fee when any of the redirected traffic results in sales. Affiliate programs have become an automated turnkey solution for a number of entrepreneurs, especially novices.
One can locate and register expired domain names that closely target the market of the affiliate programs and then draw that targeted traffic into the website with expired keyword rich domain names with content that satisfies the informational needs. Then the users can be led onto the sales page of the product.
Copyright ฉ Active-Domain.com's domain registration service. All rights reserved. This article may be reprinted freely as long as you provide an active link to our website at http://www.active-domain.com

The Importance of Having Your Domain Name

2006-12-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

The Importance of Having Your Domain Name
by Sumantra Roy

A question that I frequently hear is "Do I really need to have my own domain name?" The one word answer is "YES.". If you put up your site with some of the free web hosting services, the only company who benefits is the web hosting company. The last person who benefits is you. There are a number of reasons why having your own domain name is a must:
1) When you have your own domain name, the address of your web site will be of the form http://www.yourcompany.com/. On the other hand, if you put up your site on one of the free servers, the address of your web site will be something like http://www.somefreewebsite.com/yoursite/. Which of these two sounds more professional? Which of these two is smaller and is hence easier to remember? I leave you to make the judgement.
2) The only way to make money online is to build up credibility among your customers. Having your own domain name is the first step in doing that. Your customers will feel more comfortable buying whatever it is that you are selling if you have your own domain name. It makes your customers feel that they are dealing with a large, established company, rather than with some fly by night operator.
3) When you have your domain name, you can have multiple email aliases of the form alias@yourcompany.com. This allows you to assign different email aliases to different functions, all of them pointing to your actual email address. Hence, for example, for questions related to the products and services that you sell, you can have an email address like sales@yourcompany.com. For questions related to the newsletter that you publish, you can have an email address like editor@yourcompany.com. For comments/suggestions about your web site, you can direct your customers to feedback@yourcompany.com or webmaster@yourcompany.com. Having different email addresses for different functions not only makes it easier for you to filter your email using your email client program (Eudora Pro, Pegasus Mail, Outlook Express etc.), but also gives your customers the impression that yours is a large, established company with whom it is safe to do business.
4) Many search engines give a lot of emphasis to the home page of a particular domain, i.e. other things remaining the same, a home page of a domain will often rank higher for a particular keyword than any other page. When you use some of the free hosting services, your index.html page is the home page of your site, but not of that domain. Hence in these search engines, your site will find it very difficult to make it to the top 20 or top 30, let alone the top 10 for some of the really competitive keywords. Just think of the amount of traffic that you will lose if this happens.
5)Some search engines are now refusing to spider the web sites which are hosted by the free web hosts. For instance, if you have a site hosted by the free web hosts, you would, until recently, have got the infamous error message saying that too many pages have been submitted from your site if you tried to submit your site to AltaVista. While Altavista now says that "your URL has been submitted for processing" if you try to submit your site, rest assured that it will not spider any site belonging to many of the free web hosts even though it says that your site has been accepted. Can you afford that?
6) When your site is hosted by some of the free web hosts, you will find it very difficult to get it listed in a major directory like Yahoo!. Although Yahoo! will never admit that it won't add a commercial site which is hosted by one of the free web hosts, in practice, it will be a miracle if you can get your site listed by Yahoo!. Listing your site with Yahoo! is difficult enough even when you have your own domain. Don't make your task more difficult than what it needs to be. If you do not currently have a domain name, are you convinced that you need one right now? The small fee that you pay per year for your own domain name is peanuts compared to the benefits that you get. You can check out the availability of domain names and register new domains at http://www.1stSearchRanking.com/t.cgi?6214&webhosting/
Article by Sumantra Roy. Sumantra is one of the most respected search engine positioning specialists on the Internet. To have Sumantra's company place your site at the top of the search engines, go to http://www.1stSearchRanking.com/t.cgi?6214 For more advice on how you can take your web site to the top of the search engines, subscribe to his FREE newsletter by going to http://www.1stSearchRanking.com/t.cgi?6214&newsletter.htm
About the Author
None

Domain Names and Search Engine Optimization

2006-12-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

Domain Names and Search Engine Optimization

by Halstatt Pires

There are a lot of factors involved if you are considering building out a site with search engine optimization in mind. Your domain name is just one, but an important one.
Domain Names and Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization is simply an effort to get pages on your site to rank high in the natural or organic listings on various search engines with Google, Yahoo and MSN being the most important. Taking this approach to online marketing requires a lot of planning, patience and work. Unfortunately, many people get off on the wrong foot when the pick their domain name.
Selecting a domain name is often viewed as a simple process. Most businesses will simply use their offline business name or something off the top of their head. Others will try to pick something that is catchy, so visitors will hopefully remember the name and come back to buy more. If you are planning on pursuing search engine optimization, the approaches will not kill you. That being said, there is a better way to pick your domain.
One of the interesting things about most search engines is they put a significant amount of value on the words in the root of a domain name. By root, I mean the words between www and the dot com, net or whatever you are using. Simply put, even a moderate optimization effort will usually lead to the site appearing high under the phrase in the domain name. Given this fact, it is important to think long and hard about the domain you use.
One approach used by many people doing search engine optimization is to match keyword phrases and domains. The idea is to research keyword phrases being used by people in your particular field and then buy domains matching those phrases. For a simple example, consider the fact that many people search for "puppy names". If you want to build a site about puppies, you would ideally want to buy the domain puppynamesdotcom. Such a site could be optimized and obtain fairly high rankings with a moderate amount of effort.
Obviously, keyword phrases with tons of traffic have already been taken. This should not discourage you, however. Work your way down the phrases identified by whatever research tool you are using. You will be surprised to find that many of the phrases are available. Build a site on one of the domains and you should find your optimization efforts leading to successful results.
About the Author
Halstatt Pires is with MarketingTitan.com - providing internet marketing services.

How To Buy Expired Domain Names That Have A Huge Flow Of Existing & Targeted Traffic

2006-12-05T15:58:00.000-08:00

How To Buy Expired Domain Names That Have A Huge Flow Of Existing & Targeted Traffic

by Tuks Engineer

Have you heard of this relatively unknown stealth traffic tactic? Many niche marketing experts have been using it to create small and instant incomes every time they penetrate a new niche.
Using this tactic, it takes just a few minutes to switch on instant targeted traffic to your site.
The only cost is the $10 or so that it takes to register a domain name.
The tactic is purchasing expired domain names that have an existing flow of traffic flowing into them. The amount of traffic could be anywhere from ten to ten thousand unique visitors per day and this article will help you understand the basics of purchasing expired domains, some of the issues involved and the simple business models you can use to profit from this potent opportunity starting today.
The Expired Domain Free Traffic Loophole
I love loopholes. That's exactly what buying expired domain names is - a big traffic loophole. It works because over time a domain has been built up and a mixture of time, money and know-how have been ploughed into it. As a result, it draws in a good amount of traffic.
But now, for whatever reason, that domain has expired. Where once there may have been a thriving website pulling income in from various sources, it no longer exists. And it's up for grabs to the first person who recognizes what a potential goldmine it is.
Some expired domains, the highly valuable ones, have a huge blaze of traffic flowing into it on a daily basis. This tends to be because the domain has hundreds, if not thousands of backlinks as well as high search engine placement. Some are listed in the Yahoo and DMOZ indexes.
This means that if you can isolate domain names with high amounts of incoming traffic, you've just acquired a living, breathing potential online business for just a few paltry dollars (the cost of a domain name). You can then put together a simple model to start earning from this bustling traffic immediately using a mixture of contextual advertising, affiliate links and more. You could also find expired domains that are related to your existing sites and products and immediately redirect the traffic to your existing business model. There are certainly no shortage of ways to create positive results using expired domains.
Why Domain Names Expire
There are many reasons why domain names can sometimes be let go of. Here are a couple of examples:
People move on. They find other business opportunities which they plough themselves into.
The business that had registered and used the domain no longer exists. How Domains Slip Into Expired Status (And How Long You Have To Wait Before Snapping Them Up)
Domain expiry doesn't work quite like most people think. A domain doesn't just plop out of the previous owners hands on the expiration date. Instead, once a domain name passes this date, it enters a static period of 40 days during which the original owner can still re-register it. After this period, the domain then switches to another phase (lasting a further 35 days) whereby the owner can still re-register it (for a significantly higher fee than before). It's after this period that the general public can then get their hands on these expired domains.
How To Plug In Simple Business Models To Start Generating Immediate Profits From Expired Domain Profits.
Once you have a domain that has an incoming stream of profit from it, it's fairly simple to start generating an income from it immediately.
If you already have a successful model that is profitable, just redirect the traffic to it (assuming it is within the same niche).
If you've chosen a domain name that is new, here's a simple way of creating an income from it:
Create some content on the domain name subject. One to five pages of content is more than enough, but it must be highly useful to the reader.
Find some targeted affiliate programs - use Commission Junction or Clickbank to find them, and enter your affiliate links tastefully.
Add in your Adsense codes - to optimize your Adsense income make sure you're using the maximum number of ad units (3) and that your ads have the same look and feel of the page & text content.
Create an opt-in form to capture the email address of your traffic. Your aim should be to convert as much targeted traffic into opt-in subscribers as possible - this way you can approach your new subscribers with additional back-end offers (this is where the real money lies).
So there you have it - a simple way of buying up expired domain names that come with existing traffic flows, and a simple business model to use that flow for maximum profits.
About the Author
Tuks Engineer Has Helped Thousands Of People Set-up Full & Part Time Internet Businesses That Turn Profits. You Can Download His New Book, Expired Domain Fortunes, for FREE below: http://www.digital-resale-rights.com/expireddomainscomp.htm

Absolute basic information on domain names and web hosting for newbie webmasters.

2006-12-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Absolute basic information on domain names and web hosting for newbie webmasters.

by andaleb

Domain name, what the heck? Probably there is millions of people exists out there who doesn't know or indeed have no idea about what domain name is. They aren't jerks, just because they didn't need to know what domain name is. You can fall in that category; even if you don't why don't we give a second look at domain names? Domain name is a name that can identify a web site in the World Wide Web. In web there has to be a way to identify each different web site. So the easiest way was to give a name, just as like as we call each other by our names. But it is bit different from our names. Every name has something to add on, as you have probably visited www.yahoo.com you can see 'www' followed by 'yahoo' and 'com' separated by comma (.). Now 'www' stands for world wide web and .com .net .info are domains. With 'yahoo' together they call as domain name. Domain names can be may types like .com .info .co.uk etc.
Domain name registration. You have to register your domain name to create and publish a site in World Wide Web (internet). In the past it was extremely difficult to find out affordable domain name registration. All domain name registrars used to charge around $70 to register your domain name for 2 years. ituation has changed now. Many new company offering domain name registration at an affordable cost. Some will register your domain name for less then $15 for a year. Especially if you are registering multiple domain names for multiple sites for a number of years at the same time.
Domain name registration process can be confusing if you are a first time buyer. Literally there are number of terms to worry about. But according to many experts and even to those who have gone through the process of domain name registration said domain name registration process is such an easy and quick procedure. It is easy if and only if it is coupled with the effort and interest of both the domain name consumer and domain name registrars. About domain name consumers, it is indeed true that they play a great part in the domain name registration process since it is in their hands that the success of the domain name registration depends. Of course the domain name registrar play a part in the domain name registration process for the fact that they are ones who have the power to amend and control the domain names.
Web hosting. If you want to publish your website online then all you have to do other than registering a domain name is a web hosting. This is what you really should go for a good one. If you are creating your personal website just for fun then you better go to yahoo geocities. They are good for personal no cost websites. But if you are thinking for something rocking, I mean if you are considering your website for business purpose or to make money then trust me u definitely don't need to go for a free web hosting. Ordinary web surfers like me doesn't like ads popping up in another window while they are browsing a serious site. You can get really cheap deals of web hosting out there that can be great in value. Even if you are lucky enough you can find free hosting with good proving track record that they are really good. I have once heard about a hosting service that provides free hosting without any ads. All you have to do is post at least 50 posts to their blog to get the service working for you. And they are good if you can keep up blogging.
Disk space: Doesn't matter who you are hosting with just make sure you are getting enough disk space for your site. Disk space is like as same as your PC's hard drive the more disk space do you get the bigger site you can host online. Usually in MB (megabytes) or GB (Giga bytes).
Bandwidth: Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be retrieved still more your site within the bandwidth period. The bandwidth period is the length of time before your bandwidth is reset once again, usually reversal a month. Bandwidth is measured in MB and GB, corresponding disk space.
About the Author
andaleb is a webmaster sharing informations on domain names on one of his blogs http://domainnamez.blogspot.com/ http://mesotheliomafeeds.blogspot.com/

Picking a Domain Name - Fatal Mistakes to Avoid

2006-12-04T00:15:00.000-08:00

Picking a Domain Name - Fatal Mistakes to Avoid

by Sasch Mayer

It is a fact well known to those who know it well that choosing the right domain name can provide a huge asset to your online business.Occasionally however, it seems that the hunt for that perfect name leads some business owners to purchase domains which are open to misinterpretation or contain an outright double meaning.
For instance, we're all used to the large number of 'finder' sites which has sprung up in recent years (thepropertyfinder.com, thecarfinder.com, thefriendfinder.com, etc.).So when we come across a site named therapistfinder.com most of us will initially interpret this as a prime source for finding the nearest rapist, rather than a resource for finding therapists.
This is only a mild example of a double-entendre domain name; it can get much worse.
There once was (and still is) a company in the United Kingdom which specialised in warehouse storage solutions for medium and large businesses.Having been established under the rather sensible name 'Cumbria Storage Systems Ltd' in 1978, the decision was eventually reached to expand marketing efforts onto the internet.
I can only imagine what the debate about the new domain name must have been like:
"Right lads, we need a name for our new web site. It must tell visitors who we are and what we do and it must be short and easy to remember."
"How about CumbriaStorageSystems.co.uk then?"
"No, that's far too long, nobody will ever bother to type all that into their web browser."
"Hmmm... I know, CumbriaStorage.co.uk?"
"Sorry but that one's already taken and anyway it's still a bit long and nowhere near memorable enough."
"I have it! You said it has to be short, catchy and tell the visitor what our company does, right? Let's call it CumStore.co.uk.
"That is an outstanding idea. What a great name. Here, have a raise."
Although in all likelihood that is not how it happened, someone somewhere did think that CumStore would be the best possible name to represent the company online without stopping to consider that visitors might read something entirely different into it.
Whilst a quirky or innuendo laden domain name can generate interest and publicity on the internet, there is a fine line between things which have a positive impact and those which can actively harm your business.
Here are a few more domains which may not have been thought through properly:
1. oddsexchange.com2. powergenitalia.com3. whorepresents.com
Then there's one of my all-time favourites, a site which features 'MP3s and Hits'.How about mp3shits.com?
The fact is that the selection of a domain name for your new web site is something which needs careful consideration.So if you're looking for that perfect name, examine it from all angles to weed out anything which could be seen as, shall we say, counterproductive.
About the Author
A writer with well over a decade's experience, Sasch Mayer currently authors under contract to IceGiant Web Design in Cyprus.The IceGiant web site provides a wide range of quality web services as well as further, non-syndicated articles and tips.

Tips On How To Select Your Domain Name

2006-12-03T20:39:00.000-08:00

Tips On How To Select Your Domain Name

by Ba Kiwanuka

Changing your domain name once your site is well-established can turn out to be a very costly venture, so the solution is to select the correct domain name right from the get-go.
DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION
Not too long ago I used to preach and practice that you should "Never register your domain name through your web hosting company however attractive the deal might appear" Why? Because in the past it was not uncommon for web hosts to react somewhat angrily to the idea of you transferring those ooooh so delicious annual registration fees to a competitor. But times have changed, the web has matured, web hosting services have matured. Most recognize the fact that the big bucks come with providing quality service.
And what's more some very reputable web hosting companies provide some very attractive domain registration packages coupled with hosting.
So go ahead and take advantage of those cheap domain registration/web hosting packages just as long as the hosting company is well known and reputable. If you ever do find yourself in a domain transfer battle you can contact the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
Another thing to consider when registering your domain name is not to rely solely on your domain name register to ensure that the domain name you have in mind is available and does not infringe on someone else's trademark rights (unless you enjoy being sued). To be doubly sure your domain name has no trademark infringement issues, after conducting a search for its availability on your domain name register's website, you can also check at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) http://www.uspto.gov/.
When registering your domain name it's a good idea to register it for more than one year. The reason being that, other than the usual discounts you get for multi-year registrations from most domain name registers, Google (and perhaps the other search engines) consider multi-year registered domains as less likely to be spam sites. Consequently, right off the bat your site will have a search engine advantage (at least with Google), such as a shorter evaluation period in the Google Sandbox.
A final note about domain name registration; there are plenty of domain name registration companies out there, all eager and equally willing to register your new name. Domain name registration prices range from as little as $10 a year up to $35 per year and beyond. Generally there is little point in opting for the more expensive registers because you more or less get the same service. In fact some of the cheaper domain name registration companies provide better quality service.
However whatever service you use, make sure that your domain name is registered in your name. Some less scrupulous domain registration services have been known to register new domains with their own information. You can verify that your domain is registered with your particulars at: http://www.internic.net/whois.html.
THE DOMAIN NAME GAME So what kind of domain name do you want? Do you want to pick a domain name incorporated with a targeted keyword, or do you want to take the memorable-brand route that the likes of Google, Yahoo and Amazon (to name but a few) have done with astounding success. Well, if your website is going to be business related or involved in some form of commerce it makes sense to have a well-searched-for-keyword incorporated within the domain name. The majority of online businesses are still found through search engine queries. By and large though, a good rule of thumb is to incorporate the most searched for term (for your market) in your domain name.
The shorter your domain name the more memorable it's going to be. However you'll discover that most one-word/two-word domain names have been snatched up already. One alternative you've got is to hyphenate your targeted keyword with another word. The jury is still out about hyphens though, but most seo experts concur that hyphenating a string of words makes a long domain name more search engine friendly. The downside is that when it comes to word-of-mouth dissemination most folks won't bother including those pesky hyphens, with the resulting consequence that intended referrals to your domain could end up on your competitor's doorstep. So as you can see, the whole process of naming your domain is a fine balancing act.
CUTESY ARTSY DOMAIN NAMES There's a budding artist in all of us waiting for just the right moment and place to show the world we are the new Leonardo da Vinci. Be that as it may, but naming your domain is not the place to express that inner artist. Avoid cutesy names interspersed with numbers in place of words (e.g., 4 instead of for), they'll only confuse potential customers and torment you with heaps of regret somewhere down the road. In fact the best rule of thumb is to avoid numbers in your domain name altogether. However, if on the other hand your domain functions merely as a cyber-platform to let an uncaring world know you exist, then by all means let loose!
Bottom line, your domain name is your online identity, so try to choose something that is memorable, fares well with the search engines, and also inspires confidence and respect.
TO DOT.COM OR NOT TO DOT.COM These days there're more and more choices for domain name extensions. This is great news because it is getting increasingly difficult to find a good domain name ending in .com that runs under twenty letters (okay that might be a wee bit of an exaggeration but you get the point). However the drawback with using anything other than a .com extension is human nature. You see people are creatures of conditioning and habit, and given a choice of precisely similar domain names, (other than the extension) you can bet most of us will instinctively beeline for the domain name with the .com extension--Without question the .com extension is the most recognizable.
Also think twice before settling for a top level country code domain such as co.uk. Unless you are located in that region and ship primarily within the area, such a domain name could have a negative impact on your business. Think about it...a potential customer based in the U.S. or another part of the world is not going to relish the prospect of forking out a mini fortune for shipping and handling fees when they can easily find a more local competitor. In the same vein try not to regionalize your domain name (unless your business caters to a market found only within that region) because you'll probably lose potential customers who reside elsewhere.
On a final note, if you anticipate a lot of your traffic is going to come via word-of-mouth referral, you might consider registering similar domain names and redirecting to your main url (e.g. www.africasafarizone.com and www.africansafarizone.com) before cyber-squatters (people who register domain names in hopes of selling them for a profit) get wind of your growing success and beat you to it.
About the Author
Ba Kiwanuka is the webmaster of http://www.internetbusinessmart.com/ the website that provides marketing solutions and tips .More Internet Marketing Solutions

Domain Name Transfer Information

2006-12-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

Domain Name Transfer Information

by Elizabeth Ramer

So you have a domain name. Now what do you do with it?
Well, the obvious is to get it hosted somewhere. But how do you get it "somewhere"? How does one move their domain from one place to another?
Determine where your domain name is currently hosted
Domain transfers are without a doubt one of the most confusing things to a domain name owner, especially if you've never done it before and you don't have a clue as to where to start. Unfortunately it's a fact and we can't make it easy for you. But we can try to ease it up a bit.
The first thing you need to do is determine where your domain name is currently hosted. To do this you must do a whois search. Go to one of the websites below:
http://betterwhois.com/ http://allwhois.com/ http://completewhois/
For this example we will use http://betterwhois.com/. Type your domain name in the text box provided.
The who is database gives info about the registrant: administrative contact the technical contact and the billing contact, including addresses phone numbers and email addresses. This is available to the public.
We want info about http://notreallyadomain.com/ for this example.
This is what you will see:
Domain names in the .com, .net, and .org domains can now be registered with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net/ for detailed information.
Domain Name: http://notreallyadomain.com/ Registrar: TUCOWS, INC. Whois Server: http://whois.opensrs.net/ Referral URL: http://domainhelp.tucows.com/ Name Server: http://ns1.notreallyanameserver.net/ Name Server: http://ns2.notreallyanameserver.net/
Updated Date: 07-jan-2004 Creation Date: 08-mar-1997 Expiration Date: 08-mar-2006 The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .ORG, .EDU domains and Registrars.
So, in breaking a whois search down:
Domain Name-The domainname you have inquired about
Registrar-The registrar the domain has been registered with
Whois Server-Who is database this info was pulled from
Referral URL-The URL of the Registrar -who you need to contact in order to change the domain from one name server to the other: either by physically talking to them or using control panel access.
Primary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on
Secondary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on Two nameservers are generally used: if the primary nameserver breaks then the secondary can take over the primary nameserver duties until the primary is fixed.
Updated Date-When the whois record was last updated
Creation Date: When the domainname was created
Expiration Date: When the domain name expires
This domain was registered thru an Opensrs registrar/reseller. Scan the who is database you will usually find the Registrar contact info. In this case the info was towards the bottom:
Registration Service Provider: http://domainmonger.com/, service@domainmonger.com +1.425-821-8032 http://www.domainmonger.com/
We would then go to http://www.domainmonger.com/
Providing we have our userid and password we could login and change our nameserver info, contact info or any number of functions.
Once we have changed our name server info there is generally a propagation periodnas the internet as a whole updates with new dns information. For a new domain name, you can count on anywhere from 12 - 24 hours. For a domain name that is already in existance, and has already been moved, it can take anywhere from 12 - 72 hours. There is no definitive time, unfortunately.
There have been instances of propagation taking two weeks or more.
Here are some of the different Domain name registrars now available on the net.
Recommendations to keep your domain name maintenence hassle-free:
Never use your domain name as part of your email address on your contact email for your whois record. Use a web-based email like Yahoo or Hotmail. If you experience any kind of issue, you'll be emailed at your contact email, and if it's your domain name and it's broken, you're out of luck.
Use yourself as a technical contact on your whois record. Use a second email address as well. Hosting companies do go out of business, and this could hinder your access should you want to move the domain name.
Keep track of the email addresses you use as contacts, the userids and passwords. Keep track of your domain name - when you ordered it, when it expires. If you let the domain name expire, your website will not be accessible through the domain name. Keep track of any userids/passwords associated with domain name maintenence.
About the Author
Elizabeth Ramer has been working in the web hosting industry since 1997, and enjoys building computers in her spare time. Visit Flawebworks Web Hosting for web hosting and articles.