CAT | Domain Name
Naming your company after your domain may seem obvious to some of you, but you’ll be surprised to learn that not every company website is named after the domain name.
Naming a website for a company after its domain name is important, for the simple reason that when people think of your company website, they’ll think of it by name. If your name is also your URL (ie, web address), they’ll automatically know where to go. For example, when people think of O2 Mobiles, they don’t have to wonder what web address to type into their browser to get there.
Imagine if your business (or website) is called “Nortal”, but somebody else holds that domain name. Instead, you have some obscure domain name called, say, “mybusiness.com”. What happens when your customers, recalling that Nortal has a product they want, type “www.nortal.com”? They’ll end up at your competitor’s website. One lost sale.
In the modern world of the Internet, where people automatically turn to the Web for information, it pays to have a domain name that reflects your site or business. There are just fewer things for your customers or visitors to remember. Moreover, you don’t seriously think that they’ll try to memories an unrelated URL just because you want them to, do you? The only people who’ll commit it to memory are your competitors who want to compare your prices.
What if you cannot get the domain name of your choice? It really depends on how committed you are to that particular name. If you have an existing brand name that you’re known for, you’ll probably not want to ditch that name just because you couldn’t get the domain name. After all, it took you a lot of time and money to establish that name. If so, you might simply want to try to buy over the domain name from the current owner. Check up the “whois” information for the domain, and contact that person listed to see if they’re willing to sell it. You probably should be aware that they are likely to want to charge a higher fee than you’ll normally get when buying new domains (assuming they want to sell it in the first place).
On the other hand, if you’re just starting out, you might prefer the cheaper alternative of trying to obtain a domain name first, and then naming your website (or business) after the domain that you’ve acquired. So if you’ve acquired, say, the domain name “Nortal.com”, then your website and business might be named “Nortal” or “Nortal.com”. I know this seems a bit like putting the cart before the horse, but that’s the reality if you don’t want to lose out on the Internet.
When you have decided to start online business, or want a website where you can post your thoughts and your photos. The first thing you will be looking for is a web page where you can post content. To start the website of your own you will need to register a domain name. Choosing the right name you’re your business or personal website is the most important part of starting website online. The options to choose the domain name are unlimited. Before you start you must know that there are country specific suffixes which are almost like having your country flag as an emblem called ccTLD’s or country code Top Level domains. If you live in United Kingdom that your UK suffix would be a .co.uk or .co domain, which identifies your domain as UK.
The United Kingdom Internet Registration Authority regulates the hiring out of – and the usage of domains in United Kingdom and reserves these domain names according to a set of rules and regulations which are set out to determine if you have the necessary presence requirements to have a UK based domain name. In a nutshell this means the .co.uk or .co domains are reserved for people living in United Kingdom. This has the advantage of showing your clients or the visitors who visit your website, that you are registered in United Kingdom and thus have a trustworthy business.
You have to pay annual fees for your domain name that you have registered. Eventually, if you do not re-register your domain name, it will revert back to the registrar and will be on the market again after 90 days so it is important that your pay your registrar on time to avoid any hassle. You can set your account to auto-renewal, provided your funds allow you to do this. It will ensure that you do not lose years of painstaking work, which can happen if you lose your domain name due to such an oversight. Your registrar is your point of contact for all these matters.
Finding a registrar of domains in United Kingdom is best researched on the internet. Here you have all possibilities and choices at your fingertips and it is easy to secure your domain through one of the online companies that advertise the registering of domains in United Kingdom. If you are looking for a domain name registrar in UK try one DomainExpress.co.uk that offer quality domain name & web hosting services at very cheap price and have good repute in the market.
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Under Fire, ICANN President Promises Major Changes
Comments off · Posted by Sean in Best Domain Extension, Best Domain Name, Domain Name, Domain Name Squatting, Domain Names Registration, Expired Domain Name, Multiple Domain Extensions, Old Domain Name, domain name theft
ICANN president and CEO Rod Beckstrom warned the public that the group can expect excitement, opportunity, uncertainty and threats in the days to come. ICANN is one of the key players in the function and accessibility of today’s global internet. They have been charged with the task of coordinating and segregating domain names throughout the world and managing the complex, demanding task of enabling IP addresses to recognize each other across cyberspace.
The coordination of individual IP addresses to specific domain names used to be a task of the US government. Since the government has allowed these operations to go private, a few kinks still have to be ironed out. While ICANN is unable to alter any content on the internet, their intimate control of the global web and much of its inner-workings has sparked some controversy. Beckstrom is aware of the ethical dilemmas and is optimistic about implementing major changes to circumvent them.
ICANN has been criticized for being a group that controls the Domain Name System while many of its key players and leadership positions are occupied by execs from the Domain Name industry. This creates a clear conflict of interest. ICANN is a not-for-profit group who is not supposed to represent or promote the financial interests of any parties. Chief criticisms have stemmed from the idea that power players on the ICANN team can exploit the group’s manipulation of the internet to serve their own corporate needs.
Other criticisms have come from the intimate access these supposedly neutral parties’ possess. This kind of power can invade privacy and lead to motives that are fraudulent . Risk for this type of abuse is wide open to corporate executives who act in a biased, self-serving way. Personal information and data can be used to illegally bolster profits. Any person or group who wishes to register their business as a top level domain name can become an accredited registrar by making an agreement with ICANN. Critics see this is as a clash of interested when the heads of top level domain names are themselves high ranking members at ICANN.
Beckstrom held a speech in Costa Rico where he declared that it is time to “tighten up the rules that have allowed perceived conflicts to exist within our board.” Beckstrom is adamant that the necessary changes needed to make ICANN a neutral public service can be achieved. If Beckstrom fulfills his stated intentions, he will “ensure that absolute dedication to the public good supersedes all other priorities.”
Domain · Domain Name Registration · ICANN · Risk · Security
30
If You Buy Domain Names, Consider This Clever “Misspelling” SEO Method!
Comments off · Posted by m.brown in Best Domain Name, Domain Name
Many web publishers will often try to buy domain names that target a particular keyword that they believe will prove profitable when they go to monetize the site in question. There are a number of ways to monetize a site, such as forms of paid ads, like AdSense, or other methods, such as affiliate sales, CPA offers, and the like, and for most of these models, having a highly optimized domain name is critical to the on-page search engine optimization (SEO) efforts that these models require. When the publisher decides to buy domain names, there are some things to consider. Right now the search engines still give extra weight to domain names that contain keywords for which the publisher might be trying to rank. Currently one of the strongest types of URLs that publishers consider when buying domain names for this method of SEO is known as an “Exact Match Domain”. That basically means that the domain is made up only of the keywords that make up the keyword phrase for which the publisher is optimizing. In other words, if someone was trying to optimize for “big blue widgets”, the domain name that that publisher would try for is “bigbluewidgets.com”. The problem with this method, however, is that if the keyword is popular, several people might be trying to optimize for it, and they all might be trying to get an “exact match domain” for it as well. One possible solution is to use different “generic top-level domains” other than a .com, such as a .net, .org, .info, and so on, which would yield “bigbluewidgets.net” or “bigbluewidgets.org” for instance, but even that approach is limited, and if the keyword is really popular, all the available top-level domains will get used up quickly. Also, additionally, while .com, .net, and .org are considered the best top-level domains for serious business and branding work, domains such as .info and so on are sometimes considered rather spammy, thus narrowing options even further. There are other ways of working around this limitation. For instance, a publisher might decide to add a value-added term to the end of the domain name as a suffix, such as “bigbluewidgetsGUIDE.com” or “bigbluewidgetsINFO.com” or whathaveyou (capitalized for clarity), but that might not always be practical, and there is still some debate as to whether the extra word and the end dilutes the strength and impact of the exact match domain. Well, there are two other effective solutions that a publisher can try, that can prove effective. The first is well known, that of putting hyphens between the words, so that “bigbluewidgets.com” becomes “big-blue-widgets.com”. While there is also some debate as to whether the hyphens dilute the EMD effectiveness, the method is generally considered to be viable. The other method is rather clever and innovative, and has tested to show good results. In essence, the publisher uses the EMD for the main keyword, but then will buy domain names with an extra, random letter added to the end of the name, so “bigbluewidgets.com” becomes “bigbluewidgetsV.com” or “bigbluewidgetsX.com” (capitalization for clarity). Here’s how this works. Google and the other search engines have very strong auto-correct qualities when it comes to working out keyword spellings and discerning string searches. In other words, among other things, Google is essentially one huge spellchecker (for lack of a better term). As such, it will assume that the errant letter at the end of the domain name (V and X in our examples) is a misspelling, and will correct for it in it’s search algorithm, treating it like what it perceives as the intended “bigbluewidgets”. You can test this for yourself. Enter a search string into Google with a purposefully misspelled word, and Google will either auto-correct for it, or provide a choice of search results with either the correct spelling or the misspelling. Likewise, it does the same thing internally when analyzing the keywords in a given domain name. Whether a publisher chooses to go this route, or try something less experimental is ultimately up to the person who will buy domain names for their sites, but definitely consider giving this a try. It has worked for a number of SEO experts in the past, and it might just prove to be the missing key to making your SEO efforts work.
Buy a Domain Name · buy domain name · Choose a domain name · Domain Name
9
Combining Web Hosting and Domain Name Registration
Comments off · Posted by Domain Express in Domain Name, Domain Names Registration, web hosting
The world of web hosting and domain name registration may seem large and overwhelming if you haven’t put together too many websites. Or it may just seem like more hassle than you have time for when your focus is on the day-to-day operations and success of your company itself.
This is understandable! Something that can save you time is choosing a UK hosting company that also offers domain names services in addition to the hosting itself. This is advantageous for two main reasons:
Firstly, it may very well save you money by buying both services together. It’s just like your internet provider or phone company: you will generally pay less for each individual service if you buy them together. As an added bonus, some web hosting companies even offer free domain names when you choose to host your site with them, which saves you even more money.
Secondly, it makes it easier for you. If you buy domain names from one company and host with another, you have to be in charge of transitioning domain name access from one company to the other. But if you buy a domain name through your UK hosting company, they’ll do it all for you. Less hassle, less time.
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Twitter + Domain Name + Website Content = A Strong Package
Comments off · Posted by Domain Express in Domain Name, Online Marketing, Successful Website, web hosting
You’re probably wondering: “What does Twitter have to do with my domain name or your website content?” The simple answer is this: separate elements of your online presence should not just relate back to your business, but should relate to each other.
Each of these three things plays a different role in the success of your website and your web hosting experience.
- Domain name is an important initial draw to the website: it sums up what the site is about.
- Website content fleshes out what you have to offer: it fills in the details and provides useful information.
- Twitter (and other social networking) builds the relationship: it’s a way to reach out to customers, and to let them reach out to you.
When you buy domain names (or receive free domain names from a UK hosting company, which some do offer), take a step back to make sure all of the elements of your company’s online presence will be aligned. For example, you should buy a domain name that clearly and succinctly relates to the content the website will contain. Your Twitter handle should be a close match to your domain name. And the things you Tweet about should be related to the things your website content addresses.
This may sound obvious, but you’d be surprising how many companies’ web presence are “all over the place” – be smart by thinking ahead and presenting a cohesive brand in everything you do, both online and off.
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Online Marketing: What Role Do Domain Names Play?
Comments off · Posted by Domain Express in Domain Name, Domain Names Registration
Domain names are an important part of any company’s online marketing effort. When you sign up with a web hosting company, you may have the option to buy a domain name to transfer to them, or to even receive free domain names as part of your UK hosting package.
Before you buy domain names to use, make sure you understand the value that domain name registration can provide to your business, and select your domain accordingly.
Here is why a domain name matters in online marketing:
- Domains describe your business to customers. If a customer sees your website in their Google search results, the domain name helps inform their decision of whether your website is relevant to their needs and whether your site will be trustworthy and informative.
- Domains describe your business to search engines. Part of search engine optimisation (a complex process on the whole) is domain name. If your domain name contains keywords that match your site and what you want to rank well for, this can help your site get seen by more users.
- Domains can help in offline marketing that draws people online and to your site. Choosing a domain name that is memorable and easy to spell can help make your radio, television, or print advertising more effective.
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A Word on Websites
Comments off · Posted by Domain Express in Domain Name, Domain Names Registration, Web Host, web hosting
As a business owner, you know it’s a good idea to have a website. Perhaps you’ve looked through domain names, read about web hosting, and maybe even gone through the domain name registration process and hired a UK hosting company. You may have picked out a template, put some information up, and got your site to go ‘live’.
But it’s important to take a step back and make sure you are doing things for the right reasons and going about it in a way that will actually benefit your business. Don’t buy a domain name and set up a site just because you think you’re supposed to have one. Websites aren’t valuable for the sake of being websites – they’re valuable because of the function they fulfill, for the role they play, and for the value they offer to your customers.
Think of it this way: your website is your business’ online presence. It needs to give customers a sense of what your business is like and provide useful information to them, even if it’s just as basic as a list of service you provide along with business hours and contact information.
There are plenty of ways to go about building the website itself: you can buy domain names directly, or receive free domain names from a company who provides your web hosting. But before you get too involved in the building process, step back and make sure that your goals for the website match your goals for the business, and that you stay true to who you are throughout each step of the process.
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Should You Include Special Characters In Your Domain Name?
Comments off · Posted by Sam Ford in Best Domain Name, Business Websites, Domain Name, Domain Names Registration, web hosting
When choosing a name for domain name registration, you’ll have many of choices to make. What keywords would you like to include in the name? Will you buy domain name rights to several similar domains and direct all of them to your primary domain? Do you prefer cheap domain names registration, or will you spring for a more expensive domain that will benefit your business in the long run?
If your “dream domain” is already registered, you’ll be faced with the question of whether to register an alternate version of it that includes special characters. Including special characters in domain name registration is something that some people recommend against, but others advocate. Here are the basics of what you need to know about this strategy:
- The only characters allowed in domain name registration are letters, numbers, and the “-“ character. Nothing else (such as _ ‘ ? : or an empty space) is allowed.
- Advantages of including “-“ between words is that it lets you register variations of successful domains, including popular keywords that are already taken.
- Advantages are that customers may forget the characters and end up visiting a competitor’s site instead of yours when they attempt to return.
buy domain name · cheap domain names · Domain Names Registration · Domain Search
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Creating a Successful Website
Comments off · Posted by Sam Ford in Domain Name, Successful Website
Creating a successful website is not as complicated as you might think. As with many things, you don’t need to work exceptionally hard or spend an exceptional amount of money to find success: but you do need a well-calculated plan to get the most out of your website.
First, you’ll need to create the site itself. You can buy domain name rights to any available domain, but first do a domain names search to find the best available choice. You may even be able to find more than one cheap domain name so you can optimize your site for multiple keywords.
Then you’ll need to find a web hosting company and build the site itself. If you don’t have your own web developer, you can hire one who specializes in sites just like yours. You’ll also need to populate your site with relevant, informative, optimised content.
Once your site is created, you’ll want to promote it in the way best suited to your site. If you run a local business that spreads through word of mouth, work on your social networking. If you are appealing to search engines, optimise your site appropriately. If you get successful, you can even decide to buy domain name rights to additional URLs and work on expanding your web presence.
buy domain name · cheap domain name · domain names search · local business · web developer · web hosting company