Domain Network

Owning your own domain name is the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to increase the professionalism of you and your business, virtually over-night. Understand that in network marketing, or any business for that matter, you are selling yourself.

In actuality, people are much more concerned with YOU, than they are about your network marketing business opportunity. I do not care if you have the greatest business in the world.

If you don’t successfully position yourself as a leader in the eyes of your prospects, you will go no where.

With this in mind, understand that you are constantly being judged, sized up, measured, and compared to other potential up-line partners. People want to work with winners. They are attracted to leaders.

It is a survival instinct that is a part of our very DNA, and you cannot escape it. But you can also use this to your advantage! So what does all of this have to do with registering a little domain name?

Well it is simple. It’s all about professionalism. If you do not even know how to register a simple domain name, how can you possibly expect other people follow you to financial freedom?

But there is much more to it than that. Having your own domain name is crucial for self-branding, tracking your advertising results, and ensuring that your prospects successfully make it to your site instead of someone else’s, but after writing this guide, I realized there is much to this process than meets the eye.

Personally, I will spend hours and even days selecting the perfect domain name that meets all 5 of my exclusive criteria which allows me to find a domain that protects my brand from competition, pulls in maximum traffic from advertising, and gets listed in the top search engine rsults. (Just to name a few of the considerations I put into play).

Ok, enough of my soap-box chit-chat. I am glad you are here because we are going to completely change the image of your business in about 30 minutes, so let us get started!

95% of network marketers who actually register a domain name put very little thought into the actual domain selection process. Not me.

I will spend hours or even days selecting the right domain name because I am always thinking five steps ahead of the average business owner, and that is what I am going to teach you how to do as well.

Three reasons you need to own at least one domain name: First is the increased professionalism it gives to you. Having your own domain names does not necessarily put points in your professionalism column because it is an expected practice today.

But not having one, will definitely hurt your image.

Again, because having one is an expected practice today. Let’s say that you were one of my cold market prospects and you did not know anything about me at all. I have your contact information, so I decide to send you a quick introductory email from my address which is: bigboymike429787@aol. (Not a real email address).

What would your first impression be? Do I sound like a professional business owner? A successful CEO? A leader?

Or do you picture some big college dropout making $8.00 delivering pizzas? The truth is irrelevant. I am being judged by that email address the instant it arrives in someone’s inbox.

On the other hand, how would your perception change if my email address had my company name in it?

Now you are left with two options. The impression you get is going to be either positive due to the professional nature of the name, or neutral because the actual domain names themselves are neutral in meaning.

You can avoid negative stigmatisms because they are generic domains. The second advantage to having your own domain name is that you can now have a personal email address that is not dependant upon a 3rd part provider like AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, Excite, or GMail.

If you have your own domain name, you can choose any address you would like, and the e-mail address will include your domain name.

Finally, the third advantage to owning a domain name is that you can use what is called a “redirect.” In network marketing, we often use replicated website addresses or affiliate links in our businesses.

These are usually fairly long web addresses that are difficult to give out over the phone, or place in advertising pieces.

Most of the time your domain name will include numbers, phrases, and often your name. The bottom line is that it does not look professional. You are losing business just because of the web link itself.

Let me count the ways this will cost you. 1: Anytime you give someone your domain name or link with additional information in it like your name or ID number, people will automatically erase the extra part and go straight to the primary domain name just out of curiosity. It happens all of the time.

The bottom line is that you stand to lose out on that business. 2: You cannot put a website address like that in an advertisement of any kind. It means DEATH to your results.

Why? People are not going to remember the number at the end of your web address. Not only will people do exactly what I stated in #1 and leave your ID number
off so they can go to the primary site, but anyone who actually spends money on an advertisement, and does not even bother to set up a real domain name with a redirect obviously does not have a clue as to what they are doing.

Which means you will only attract leads who are even less savvy and less professional than the person who placed it. When I see an ad with a full link like that only one word comes to mind: “amateur.” Which means I would not even bother responding to that ad for that reason alone.

3: You are just asking for trouble if you try and give out a long link like these to a prospect over the phone. Chances are they are going to spell it wrong or leave a piece out.

Try giving out a link like this on a conference call and you are going to lose professionalism along with all of the listeners who could not write it down correctly no matter how many times you were asked to repeat it.

URL Redirect. So like I said, the third advantage to owning your own domain name is that you can use what is called a “URL redirect”, or “domain forwarding.”

This simply means that you can instruct the company that is hosting your domain name to “redirect” all traffic coming to your domain (A), to site (B). This is like telling the post office to forward all of your mail to a new address because you just moved to a new home.

Instead of advertising your long link with your name, numbers and codes etc., you would instruct your hosting company to take all traffic coming to your catchy domain name (that you came up with) and have them sent to your long affiliate domain. That way you can market your catchy domain name.

Your “redirect” domain name that you come up with should have something to do with what it is you are selling. It should be easy to spell, say, write down, and remember.

If you don’t have your own “redirect” domain name for your on-line business, you losing a lot of good customers and prospects to smarter competition.

As your domain name is the name and address by which you’re known online, it’s the basis of your online identity. So it’s important to create the right domain name for your business. First we’ll look at how to choose the right domain name for your business from various companies who offer domain name registration in the UK.

Your domain name must be unique. Other than that, you have a lot of leeway in your choice. When you go onto any domain registration website, it would prompt you with a choice of similar possible web domain registration options. It can be anything between 2 and 67 characters long. Only alphanumeric characters and hyphens are allowed. Hyphens are not allowed at the beginning or end. You can use upper or lowercase characters, but it’s best to stick to lower case. If you were to choose longer domain names, sometimes you would be able to buy them from cheap domain registration companies, or if you were to buy a complete web hosting package, the domain registration company could offer you free domain registration.

Next you have to choose a top level domain (TLD) which is the extension at the end your domain name. Your options are .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .ws, and country-specific ones such as .uk. Most experts recommend going for .com or your country specific extension.

So what makes an effective domain name? Firstly it shouldn’t be too long as you want your customers to remember it easily. There’s less chance of someone making a mistake when typing it into a browser. If your company name is well known, you could incorporate that into your domain name. However, the trend nowadays is to base domain names on keywords relating to your product or service. This is a key component of search engine optimisation and search engine marketing.

After choosing your domain name you need to check if it is an available domain registration offered by any web hosting company. Many domain registration companies offer this service free of charge on their web sites, where you can get sometimes also find free domain registration. You simply enter your chosen name and it will search the domain registration databases and tell you if that name has been taken. If so, you can tweak it and check the new version for availability. Cheap domain registration is available by companies that include their company name in the URL, at times; it is possible to get them free from free domain registration companies. Domain hosting registration is a simple process, this can be done within minutes on any domain registration website and you could be online within minutes. Domain name registration in the UK has just recently started to take off, so there would be a lot of companies offering cheap domain registration and also free domain registration as promotional offers. This generally involves filling out a simple form on their web site and entering payment details. Costs range from $8 per annum and up depending on the TLD. You can also register for longer periods such as five years.

Domain registration is straightforward procedure but one that requires a lot of care. Fortunately, many firms exist to help you with the process. Some firms offer free domain registration but this is usually part of a domain hosting registration package. For domain name registration in the UK, there are many cheap domain registration firms around but look for one with a good track record. Your web hosting company and some web design companies offer domain registration services. The best deal of all can often be to entrust all your web site needs to one online marketing agency.

As an expired domain name entrepreneur, you may face a number of difficulties and hassles, especially while finding a suitable expired domain name from a large inventory of names. In many cases, you may need to register yourself with an expired domain name searching service to find good domains. In the long run, this exercise will not only prove costly, you may also end up wasting precious time and energy. Above all, you may never find an expired domain of your choice, as the service that you acquire will not provide the best results for your money. Under such circumstances, the only hope for you is to choose a good expired domain script set, to search for a wonderful domain with your own effort. Expired domain script is that wonderful tool that will assist you in grabbing best domain names, before your competitor actually clinches them!

An expired domain script gives you several advantages and benefits, when compared to commercial search and seek type of services. Here are some of the notable benefits of using an expired domain script:

a) Most of the expired domain scripts are usually browser based and you need not use the tool as software
b) An expired domain script is very simple and easy to use utility that does not take too much time to install
c) An expired domain script is ultra quick and lightening in finding the best looking expired domains
d) It can integrate and gel with the overall look of your site, by using convenient headers and footers
e) It can check multiple domain simultaneously, within a few span of minutes
f) With this tool, you can just paste a set of domain names and check their records
g) Expired domains script will also allow you upload a text file of domain names
h) You can also limit the number of searches to have a sense of flexibility
i) You can also sort out the results, based on the nature of extension
j) You can also set search parameters, based on the nature of domain extensions
k) An expired domain script is very easy to control and manage
l) You can also see the whois server and check for the ownership
m) With an expired domain script, you can check the expiration date, domain name status and other relevant details
n) Another unique feature of an expired domain script is the ability to check the leap year data, by using the internal calendar
o) All those domains that expire soon will display themselves in a red color and you can take action on the highlighted items with out wasting any time

An expired domain script is easily available in the market; you can either purchase them through a vendor or use the available service by paying a fee. Another alternative is to create the scripts with your own effort, if you know how to deal with the intricacies of software programming.

On an average, more than 20,000 domains get expired everyday, and this figure is slowly increasing day by day, as more numbers are starting to expire almost on a regular basis. The expired domain name market is also becoming a lucrative proposition to people, who wish to set up a lucrative online business. Apart from selling expired domain names, you can also use expired domain traffic, either to sell it or use it to develop your web site.

There are two ways through which you can use targeted expired domain traffic to set up a viable business.

* You can purchase an expired domain name and sell it along with its expired domain traffic to someone, who is looking for a domain that can provide immediate results.

* You can also register an expired domain name for a year or so and develop a web site over it, advertise and pool together targeted traffic.

However, creating targeted expired domain traffic with your web site takes a long time, involves spending lot of money and putting in considerable effort. Though selling such a web site can get you huge profits, there are chances that you may loose you patience while waiting for the D-Day!

It makes a clear sense to lay your hands on an expired domain that has a big pool of expired domain traffic attached to it. Webmasters have the habit of detecting and pinpointing highly lucrative expired domain traffic out of a huge list of expiring domains. When you buy an expired domain with well established expired domain traffic, you can get several benefits like:

* A top place in many of the well-known search engines and web directories

* A number of back links that can promote your web site to others

* An access to many types of promotional and advertising channels

* Use the existing expired domains with well established expired domain traffic, as an invaluable sub domain to further develop the business.

Before buying an expired domain name, make sure that you check out the name for its targeted traffic. There are several online software tools that will help you critically examine an expired domain name to check, whether the domain in question has accumulated any traffic in its previous avatar. Once you seek out a good and productive domain, you can increase your profits without having to spend more money.

The most common way of obtaining targeted expired domain traffic is to contact people who have lists of expired domain names attached with a list of loyal subscribers. By chance, if the source from where you are intending to buy expired domain traffic has a large list of subscribers, then you contact the source, with a request to send an email to the contacts in the list, giving them valid reasons and explanations to check out your site and look at the contents. It is also possible to convert your one-time expired domain traffic into frequent web site traffic. To achieve this goal, you may need to ask your site visitors to sign up for a regular newsletter or an auto-responder series.

One would think that registering a domain is the first step when setting up your website. This is not quite true. Hopefully you had done your research first to identify your niche keywords, in other words, the primary key terms that people are looking for in relation to your business.

Your domain name should reflect what your site or your business is about. It should be descriptive and easy to remember. If you can register your domain name by using your best niche keyword you will also score a few points in trying to get your site high up in the search engine rankings.

Just note, however, that while this was especially true a couple of years ago, the prevalence of garbage made-for-adsense type of sites to try and register a domain name with keywords in have led to this factor being overused and abused. Search engines are wising up to the fact that a domain name like www.red-widgets-blue-widgets-purple-widgets-cheap-widgets.com might not really be a real business and you should therefore be careful not to STUFF your domain name with keywords.

Here are some tips to choosing a good domain name:

1) If your company has a distinctive name that you use in your marketing campaigns, and if your company is well known among your customers it is best to try and register your company name as your domain name. For example, it will be better for Standard Bank to register standardbank.co.za as opposed to bankingservices.co.za. Branding yourself as a company that provides a specific service is very important.

2) But if your company does not have such a strongly branded presence in the market, or if you are offering a product or service that you specifically want to market through the internet without even HAVING a company, then a descriptive name might be a better option (e.g. www.health-products.co.za)

3) Hyphens are easier to read in print, are easier to ‘understand’ by the search engines (remember that a key linking strategy is to have text links contain your targeted keywords. If your domain name is legible to search engines and it is used to link to your site, you score some points since your keywords are already contained in your domain name), and gives you more choice. The negatives about hyphens are that they are difficult for people to hear! You will probably have difficulty in spelling out your domain name over the phone or in conversation when it contains hyphens.

It is also true to say that a name without the hyphens are also seen as being more professional (often the hyphenated name is seen as being a bit johnny-come-lately as well as spammy due to the reasons mentioned above). Search engines are also getting more and more proficient in understanding text that are embedded within domain names (even without the hyphens) and using a hyphenated site purely so that the search engines can understand them is probably not necessary these days.

4) But a good piece of advice is that when you register a domain name is to register as many variants (with hyphens as well as without hyphens) and as many domain extensions (.com, .net, .info, .biz) as you can afford. Registering domain names are really not that expensive and you will be protecting the investment into your company and your website brand. Remember that there are unscrupulous domain squatters (typo squatters) out there that will register variants of your domain name to either try and sell it back to you at a high cost, or to try and capture some of your traffic.

5) It is extremely difficult to come up with a good .com domain name these days. Most good domain names have been taken already. Here is a good resource page that contains a list of language tools that you can use to try and mix and match words or portions of words to come up with a good domain name. http://marcusvorwaller.com/blog/archives/2005/08/09/how-to-find-a-great-domain-name/

6) If you are located in a country other than the United States, always try and register your domain name with your local Top Level Domain extension (e.g. .co.uk, .co.za) since the local version of Google will give preference to names with extensions matching your own country.

7) Always try and register your domain with an independent registrar and NOT with your hosting provider. If you ever want to move your website to another hosting provider, it will just be easier to do it if your domain name registrar is also not your hosting provider. You might find it more difficult to get your website away from a bad hosting provider if they have control over your domain name as well.

Worried for your Website Domain Name? Then not to worry!! Our complete guide will illustrate you the most perfect steps to choose domain name. But before doing so it’s very essential to understand what domain name stand for!

Just as a person requires a name to hold a unique identity in this world, the same way website too needs a unique name to hold an identity in the form of domain name, so that it can be easily and efficiently bulletined.

Here, a domain name stands for the name given to our website that makes it easier for the visitor to locate the pool of data we want to show to the world. There is wide range of domain names floating in the world of web, but the best four are .com, .net, .info and .org. Besides, those the rests are .co.uk, .org.uk, .plc.uk, .com.au, .me.uk, .ltd.uk, .biz, .in, .name etc.

The domain name for a web site should be enduring and comfortably remembered by anyone. If web sites keep its domain name altering frequently, it becomes difficult for the visitors to remember and relocate it. Also, it is not easy for a visitor to remember a domain name that is not easily spoken in words. Thus, there are few important items to be considered while choosing a permanent domain name and that can rank your website perfectly.

Apply English words- One should apply simple and business focused keywords for domain name. If possible use a combination of English words for your domain name, like webguide.com, and try to keep the total domain from becoming too long.

Address a unique name for your domain- If you will create a unique name like zap or vexat you will have a greater chance of getting a shorter domain name. And everyone can easily remember even that domain name.

Domain Extensions- There are many domain suffixes to choose from for a given name, i.e. .com, .net, .org, .info, .us etc. Try to choose the best extension.

Generic Name- It is very important to note, that your domain name should match to your brand name or product name. The very name that you use to advertise your product is the name that you will want for your domain, because that is the first thing that people will try in their browser. It is also the easiest thing for them to remember, and whatever that is easily remembered, will be more likely to be tried out than the obscure domain name.

Hyphenated Names – Domains containing hyphens are difficult to remember, spell and pronounce. So, if you register a domain containing hyphens, make sure that you also register the corresponding domain without the hyphens. Once you do that, you can simply redirect visitors from the domain without the hyphens to the domain with the hyphens.

Plurals- Very often a domain name will be free in the plural but not in the singular form. It’s a personal choice, but if your preferred choice of domain name is not available you might be stuck.

Thus, by applying aforesaid segments we can build a permanent and a faultless domain name with equal ease and perfection. As our domain name can take us to the top of the business scenario.

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There are countless unknown junk websites, hosted by free web hosting services or Internet Service Providers, without their own domain names, which are just there but not doing any great business. And there are many well-known websites, commercially successful, whose very domain names rake in tons of money.

It is likely that a few of the former variety are doing some profitable marketing, but the chances of successful marketing by those with their own domain name get multiplied. For some reason, over the years, people have developed a prejudice against websites that have not got their own domain names. Most of these cannot win any customers. With a professional look, which accompanies companies with own domain name, business naturally prospers.

To appreciate better how important domain names are for promoting business on the web, let us understand what domain name actually do rather than what they actually are. Every computer connected to the Internet is allotted a unique number, rather a unique string of numbers, called the Internet Protocol (IP) address, for its website identification.

This number is not based on the geographical location of the computer, for one thing. For another, it is dependent on the web hosting companies that provide their service to the computer concerned. That is the number is changeable, not fixed forever. Unlike the IP addresses, domain names are easy on the mind and, once registered, remain unchanged. Domain names of prosperous companies have become Internet household names. If your website is successful, the popularity of your domain names grows, which in turn drives your business better.

Structure of domain names
A domain name has at least two parts in its structure. Take hp.com as an example. The suffix (.com ) is known as the top level domain and the prefix (hp) the subordinate level domain. Top level domains indicate the areas of interest or activity of the websites registered under them.

For instance, .edu is for websites related to education and .gov to government agencies and so on. So when you think of a domain names for your business, you will typically want it to be under a .com because it is the easiest to remember. However, with the incredible number of domain names out there, .biz, .tv, .us among others, have been introduced as new top level domains.

What is most important is your choice of the subordinate level domain for your domain names.

Here comes the role the keywords play in your choice. If you know that search engines locate your website more easily when your domain name is keyword-related than otherwise, you will chose a domain name that earns your website a high page rank. Your business will thus succeed better if your domain name is more search engine friendly.

Make your domain names short, simple and sweet for making at once memorable and easily visible to search engines. Do not use spaces and symbols. They are not allowed. Only letters, numbers and dashes are permitted in domain names. Also, always remember to renew your domain name registration before the it expires.

Domains expire constantly and on a consistent basis throughout the day and night. Under usual circumstances, an expiring domain is kept on hold for a period of about 45 days, before the concerned registrar announces it for public sale. Domain name come up for sale everyday, as hundreds of expire almost regularly. Domain expired recently is a term assigned to those domain that become expired within the last day or so.

A domain expired recently is a hot commodity and a potential money spinner, depending on its previous status and viability. Owning a domain expired recently can provide you several notable benefits and advantages, and when you manage them wisely, they can lead you to earn a good amount of profits. There are several ways and methods that you help you find a domain name expired recently.

The best way to find a domain expired recently is to search over the internet, where you can lay your hands on a number of mouth-watering offers for a large range of expired domains. However, the flipside of working this way is that you may need to pay for the services that are rendered to you.

Under such circumstances, the best advice would be to search for that domain expired recently and make an outright payment to purchase it instantly without wasting any time. This action will help you save the money you spend on internet searches that demand you coughing up money for the services.

Buying a domain expired recently will work wonders, when the domain you choose has close relevance to the objectives of your business; in fact, you can eliminate all other possibilities, if you know what exactly you need for your business. When you know what you want from your expired domain, you can start from a point, where the searching becomes easier and result-oriented. To search for domain expired recently; write down a few critical keywords based on your business goals and start making a search, which eventually will allow you to find good domains.

Finding domain expired recently demands you quick action and response, as your competitors would certainly be doing to find their own domains. With the level of competition for expired domains, you will need to work very hard to zoom-in on the name quickly and later register it before others do. Domain expired recently is a virtual source of treasure that has the ability to transform your online business to a stream of income over a period. Finding a domain expired recently is not at all a difficult task, as long as you use the right type of tools and search methods.

Expired domain industry is just like a regular manufacturing plant, where you will find different types of expired domains entering the marketing conveyor belt on a consistent basis. It also means that almost every expired domain that enters the market is domain expired recently and this phenomenon happens right thorough the entire day and night.

First and foremost is that the Internet is not pass?nd experiencing a downward trend. The fact is its still growing at an astounding daily rate. Most people modern day are computer savvy and a very large majority now actually research a product or information online before making a decision to purchase. If you’re thinking about starting or expanding a business opportunity on the Internet the time is right. The first step is to register your business name, even before you complete building your a website.

Some of the most basic and understood reasons for wanting to register an independent domain name are as follows;

1. Unique identity. Many search engines will no longer list redundant affiliate Websites as they see them all as simply the same Website which would inundate and clutter their directory. Additionally, Internet surfers are not looking for replicated sites and would search using a service that provides the best and most varying information for a customer’s valuable time. With a personal domain name however, you get Websites listed in search engines, increased exposure and subsequently generate more free traffic and sales for the site you work so hard to put up in the forefront.

2. Professionalism. Customers seek out professional companies offering quality products and services. A personal domain offers and presents a professional image, prestige, and invaluable credibility. A personal domain allows the webmaster to customize, add, alter, include or delete and present their products and services in the manner they specifically choose.

3. Another words, Control. The Webmaster (you) have complete control as to what your site looks like and what information it contains.

4. Short, sweet address. Instead of having to advertise long, hard-to-remember URLs, you, can create an easy-to-remember domain name (e.g. www.MyBusiness.com). From there, building a Website with links to your Gateway(s) or, in the case of affiliate sites you wish to promote is a simple matter. You can easily set a personal domain to automatically redirect (referred to as “URL forwarding”) to a favorite Gateway or any other site. For example, you could advertise a name like www.OurBusiness.com, but when your prospects enter that URL, they’ll be automatically be redirected to the Gateway of your choosing.

5. A Permanent address. With a personal domain, you and your family or business can have permanent, lifetime e-mail addresses that you’ll never have to change. Likewise, you’ll be able to create exactly the e-mail addresses you want (e.g. YourFirstName@YourDomain.com, Info@YourDomain.com, MyBusiness.com, Support@YourDomain.com, etc.).

Like everything, not all similar services and products are created equally. You do in fact get what you pay for. Domain registrations can go from $1.99 up to and exceed $30 annually. Check the fine print and be sure you know exactly the benefits each registrar has to offer. There is some pretty common ground out there among the competition.

Some offer you hosting as well (a place to park your Webpage). Web hosting packages include storage, email accounts, domain and more services to consider for your complete business needs! Some sell you a domain name at a highly affordable rate but you might just be sacrificing the ability to transfer your new domain name to another hosting service so again, read the small print if you have other plans and services already in place.

Many domain services allow you to keep your contact information updated easily by using their Domain Management System. You will also be able to renew your domain name and update the Domain Name Servers (DNS information). By using your unique username and password established when you registered the domain name with their company.

The domain registrar that I personally use has some unusual features such as Word Wizard which allows me to use the name of a major city or state as part of a domain name to make it memorable. The Word Wizard combines my keyword with either category to create a domain name. Then to there is a function called Domain Twist where if you are having trouble coming up with an available name, the Domain Twist takes words and gives them a twirl to come up with variations of the original name. A function that I particularly like is in an instance where if you already own a domain name that you registered using another registrar you can save money by taking advantage of their low transfer price. An added benefit to transferring your domain to the service I use is that they will also add one year to the original registration term you had with the company you are transferring you domain name from.

They also let me search and register a maximum of 30 domains at one time and register variations of my primary domain names to avoid confusion and copycat sites. Best of all now that we all deal with international customers (and I have personally not found it anywhere else) is the ability to create domain names in Korean, Japanese, traditional and simplified Chinese characters. This function means the name you create will work just like any English-character name in that you can enter it into your browser and be taken to the corresponding website.

So, in a nut shell we talked about the advantages of registering a personal domain name and covered some limited information about the services domain registers offer. Most importantly, we addressed some unique features offered by the domain registrar I’m thrilled to be associated with and just had to share. You can find out more about my domain service that I’m excited about by visiting the link I placed in the resource box following this article. But in conclusion I’ll say for the third time, read the fine print to ensure they offer you everything you need as well.

Do you want to start a Website? The first step is to choose a domain name. Whether you are a Programmer, Web Developer, Tech Guy, or if you want to start up a website to feature your family tree, the entire process starts with choosing a domain name.

The next question would be, “What’s the right domain name?”. The answer is, depends. For example, if you are the person above who wants to build a website for your family tree, then the answer is that the choice of a domain name really doesn’t matter. Why? Because you don’t expect lots of people to visit your website, your site is probably only something you are going to share with your relatives and friends, to let them know about the latest goings in your family. In a case like this, it does not matter whatsoever if you find a domain name like “ourfamilytree.com” or not, since most likely you will only be giving out the website address to a few friends and relatives.

In the above example, you could call the website anything you wanted to, “familytree.com” or even “saripallifamily.com” or something even as silly as “checkmysite.com”, which really has nothing at all to do with the content of the website itself. The point is that in a case is, there is no need to get lot of visitors to the website other than friends and relatives, so there is no real harm in naming the website ANYTHING, because you will be giving out the website address to a select few people. BUT……

What if the website is for online business? What if I do want it to attract more people?

I think you know the answer; it helps to have a domain name that mirrors your site or business. If your website is about dog care products for example, do you really expect the average web surfer to remember the URL if it is named “buntyaurbubly.com” or some other unrelated name? The best way is to find a domain name that directly mirrors your business, whether it is the business name itself or related to the nature of business. If you take the above example, a dog care products website should have a domain name like dogcare.com or dogcareproducts.com, something that immediately mirrors the domain name with the theme of the site. It’s all about branding, and making a lasting impression on the target audience or customers.

You can find domain names by checking the WhoIs database on the internet. While there are a number of places to do domain registration on the internet, I am listing three of which I have personally used.
1. www.godaddy.com
2. http://hosting.rediff.com
3. www.networksolutions.com

You can buy domain names from any of the above 3 links. After searching the domain name, the results given will instantly show whether or not the domain name is available, and if so, give you the option to immediately register it. If not, several alternative domain names will be proposed, to help you find a domain name which would be close to your requested domain, or possibly giving you an acceptable alternative domain name to register instead.

Alternative there are sites which would offer you free domain names and/or free domains and/or free websites and/or free domain registrations…etc. All such sites would provide you a domain name for free but would place their Advertisements on your website and earn money from those ads. If your website is a personal website and you don’t plan to do business or make money with your website you can always go with such sites.

1. http://www.dot.tk
2. www.freedomain.co.nr

You can’t register free top level domain names like .com, .org etc but your can register yourwebsitename.tk.

In my next blog, I will discuss strategies for choosing a domain name, long or short, hyphenated or not, and generic or brand names.