When it comes to web development, one of the most difficult things to do is the lay out.
Designers especially the newbies go frantic on how to go about it. It has to be attractive, engrossing, user-friendly and functional. Thus, unraveling the secrets will definitely bind the website.
So, what are these layout secrets?
Together let us unfold them one after another…
1. Centering it all is no good. The secret is doing the contrary and not centering everything. The latter will just make the page disorganized, strewn and drab. The alignment may also seem weak and wanting.
2. The use and mastery of contrast is indispensable. Contrast is one thing that makes the page attractive. The use and mastery of it in color, value, size and weight will greatly affect the site’s appearance and edge. In fact a typeface may appear bigger with the use of contrast in color. The latter can also affect the look of organization of the page. At a glance, a page may appear organized or the exact opposite. That is the secret of contrast.
3. Apply deviations if necessary. Most of the designers practice nowadays is to develop a ‘uniform-pages’ look. They try to use same background colors and other peculiarities to establish similarities to the homepage or other pages. But the fact is that viewers can be easily bored with that scheme. Viewers always want something new and by giving them a repetitious work, they are pissed off and transfer to another site where they can feast both their eyes and mind.
Placing lines in between contents also manifests division. Instead of using these lines, use blank ‘buffer zones’. This way what are created are invisible lines to make the effect subtle.
4. Do not forget that functionality is the king of web development. Moreover, keep the content and information full, tight and pretty useful. Use the space, don’t waste. Only leave a small percentage for blank spaces. Use the space cleverly in order for the website not to look crowded at the same time loose. Multiple columns are also advisable in order to maximize space.
These four topmost secrets in page layout are so crucial that to break them may spell disaster or the end of your precious site.
Sabtu, 24 Desember 2011
3 Ways Coaches Can Use Their Site To Get More Clients
Trying to get clients can seem like a catch-22. In order to hire you, they need a strong sense of what you do. But to get that sense they need to work with you first! It's because of this hurdle that direct selling or direct response methods like cold calling or placing ads don't work. Those channels don't get you clients directly. So how can coaches deal with selling the unknown? Make it known and use your web site to do it!
Coaches have a big challenge when seeking clients. They are selling the unknown.
By unknown, I mean that most people who can benefit from coaching, whether it be business coaching or personal coaching, either never heard of it or don't really understand how it works.
When people work with a coach for the first time, there usually comes a point when they say “a ha!” and are better able understand the value they can get.
So trying to get clients can seem like a catch-22. In order to hire you, they need a strong sense of what you do. But to get that sense they need to work with you first!
It's because of this hurdle that direct selling or direct response methods like cold calling or placing ads don't work. Those channels don't get you clients directly.
Dealing with this challenge can be frustrating for many new coaches. They really want to help their clients succeed in their business or in their life, but getting the prospect to sign on the dotted line doesn't happen as often as they would like.
So how can coaches deal with selling the unknown? Make it known and use your web site to do it!
Here are 3 ways:
1 – Write web site copy in terms of “what they do know.”
Prospective clients can relate to their pains and troubles. Their pains and troubles might include not having enough time in a day, trouble sleeping at night, or not making enough money.
They can also relate to where they want to be in the future. Some examples could be having lots of income, having peace of mind and having a happier life.
So when you are writing about your services, be sure to start with things your prospect already knows about, such as their pains and their desires.
Additionally, case studies and testimonials of others you have helped would further your prospect's understanding of what you do. These examples are most effective if they are written in terms of initial problems and end results.
By explaining what you do in terms they know directly, you better communicate what you do. When prospects clearly see what they can get from working with you they are more excited and more interested in working with you.
2 – Give away free information.
Compile an article or report that is helpful to your target prospects. Choose a topic that is directly related to their problems or situations. Then make that report available on your web site for download.
This strategy has a lot of value:
• Everyone likes free helpful stuff, so they will take action to get it.
• Once created, giving it out takes almost no time to do.
• It tells the the prospect that you know their about their business, thus making you a good choice for helping them.
• Sending people to your web site creates another relationship building “touch.”
• People can refer this report to other people, increasing your visibility.
3 - Give away a free online assessment.
Create a series of questions on your web site. Then invite your visitor to answer them in return for a score and an interpretation of that score. This gives them helpful information about themselves and gives them a sample of what you do.
This technique has a lot of value similar to the report idea. It's free, doesn't take a lot of time or money to implement, it is automated, it gives value, and it can be referred to others.
Additionally, you can determine which prospects have stronger needs based on their responses. With that information, you can target your sales efforts towards them and increase your closing rate.
In conclusion, use your web site as a tool for educating your prospects. Doing this will gain more trust and grow the relationship until they eventually become your paying client.
Coaches have a big challenge when seeking clients. They are selling the unknown.
By unknown, I mean that most people who can benefit from coaching, whether it be business coaching or personal coaching, either never heard of it or don't really understand how it works.
When people work with a coach for the first time, there usually comes a point when they say “a ha!” and are better able understand the value they can get.
So trying to get clients can seem like a catch-22. In order to hire you, they need a strong sense of what you do. But to get that sense they need to work with you first!
It's because of this hurdle that direct selling or direct response methods like cold calling or placing ads don't work. Those channels don't get you clients directly.
Dealing with this challenge can be frustrating for many new coaches. They really want to help their clients succeed in their business or in their life, but getting the prospect to sign on the dotted line doesn't happen as often as they would like.
So how can coaches deal with selling the unknown? Make it known and use your web site to do it!
Here are 3 ways:
1 – Write web site copy in terms of “what they do know.”
Prospective clients can relate to their pains and troubles. Their pains and troubles might include not having enough time in a day, trouble sleeping at night, or not making enough money.
They can also relate to where they want to be in the future. Some examples could be having lots of income, having peace of mind and having a happier life.
So when you are writing about your services, be sure to start with things your prospect already knows about, such as their pains and their desires.
Additionally, case studies and testimonials of others you have helped would further your prospect's understanding of what you do. These examples are most effective if they are written in terms of initial problems and end results.
By explaining what you do in terms they know directly, you better communicate what you do. When prospects clearly see what they can get from working with you they are more excited and more interested in working with you.
2 – Give away free information.
Compile an article or report that is helpful to your target prospects. Choose a topic that is directly related to their problems or situations. Then make that report available on your web site for download.
This strategy has a lot of value:
• Everyone likes free helpful stuff, so they will take action to get it.
• Once created, giving it out takes almost no time to do.
• It tells the the prospect that you know their about their business, thus making you a good choice for helping them.
• Sending people to your web site creates another relationship building “touch.”
• People can refer this report to other people, increasing your visibility.
3 - Give away a free online assessment.
Create a series of questions on your web site. Then invite your visitor to answer them in return for a score and an interpretation of that score. This gives them helpful information about themselves and gives them a sample of what you do.
This technique has a lot of value similar to the report idea. It's free, doesn't take a lot of time or money to implement, it is automated, it gives value, and it can be referred to others.
Additionally, you can determine which prospects have stronger needs based on their responses. With that information, you can target your sales efforts towards them and increase your closing rate.
In conclusion, use your web site as a tool for educating your prospects. Doing this will gain more trust and grow the relationship until they eventually become your paying client.
3 Steps To Your First Small Business Website
Who is your target audience? How will your target audience find you? How will you convert your visitors into sales? Three questions you should be asking yourself when putting together your first small business website.
When planning your first small business website, there are three essential questions you should ask yourself:
These questions sound obvious, but it's amazing how many people don't bother...and then moan that "our website doesn't bring us any business".
1) Who is your target audience?
Give a great deal of thought to your target market. Who do you want to attract to your website? Why? The answer to that is more than likely to sell them something - a product, a service, or an idea perhaps.
Claiming that your market is anyone and everyone is far too vague, and your website will lack focus, and fail to maximise its potential. Ideally you should be aiming to create a niche.
2) How will they find you?
Creating a niche will also help you with the search engines, and drive hot leads to your site.
Consider what keywords your target market might type into a search engine to find you. Actually do the searches yourself. Who comes up in the top 30? Because that's where you need to be. Are your competitors there? Look at their sites. Do they work? How can you improve on them? Identify something unique about your business that sets it apart from the rest.
Those keywords - or keyphrases to be more accurate - need to be incorporated into your pages of your site - in the page titles, in the headings, and in the internal links.
Be specific with your keyphrases. They will be less competitive than the more general single word searches, and will more accurately target your market. You may have to localise or specialise to get in that top 30 - and the top 30 is where you need to be to drive traffic to your site. As I am sure you are aware from your own experience, if you haven't found what you are looking for in the first 3 results pages, you look elsewhere.
The key to achieving high search engine rankings is building inbound links to your web pages - that is pages on external websites that link to pages on your site. Crucially this link acquisition should be a natural growth - where inbound link count increases at a gradual pace. The pages that link to yours should be relevant, on-topic and ideally contain the same keywords - especially in the linking text. Search engines rank pages based upon their reputation - your ranking will be determined by what other (preferably high ranking) pages say about your page.
3) How will you convert your visitors into sales?
Don't just tell them what you do or sell. Tell them why they want it (yes, want - not need). Offer incentives, freebies, discounts - anything to get that dialogue started.
Current research indicates that the human brain makes a judgment about a web page within a twentieth of a second! That doesn't leave you very long to make an impression. So, make sure that you have your Unique Selling Point (USP) clearly visible on your home page - and preferably prominent on every one of your other pages. After all, it's not a given that the home page will be the first page that the visitor sees, particularly if they have found you via a search engine.
Then make sure that you list your bullet-pointed guarantees. Visitors have to understand why you are different from the rest, and why they should deal with you and not your competitors. And as we've discovered, they have to understand this pretty much instantly.
Lastly, make sure that your site has a funnel-like structure. Identify your important pages - usually the "call to action" or purchase pages - and make sure all roads lead to those pages. Your internal links - like their external equivalents - should describe the target page. If you sell blue widgets, don't call your products page "Products", call it "blue widgets", and make sure that the links pointing at this page also say "blue widgets". This will not only help the search engines identify and rank the most important pages in your site, it will also lead your visitor to that all important conversion.
When planning your first small business website, there are three essential questions you should ask yourself:
- Who is your target audience?
- How will your target audience find you?
- How will you convert your visitors into sales?
These questions sound obvious, but it's amazing how many people don't bother...and then moan that "our website doesn't bring us any business".
1) Who is your target audience?
Give a great deal of thought to your target market. Who do you want to attract to your website? Why? The answer to that is more than likely to sell them something - a product, a service, or an idea perhaps.
Claiming that your market is anyone and everyone is far too vague, and your website will lack focus, and fail to maximise its potential. Ideally you should be aiming to create a niche.
2) How will they find you?
Creating a niche will also help you with the search engines, and drive hot leads to your site.
Consider what keywords your target market might type into a search engine to find you. Actually do the searches yourself. Who comes up in the top 30? Because that's where you need to be. Are your competitors there? Look at their sites. Do they work? How can you improve on them? Identify something unique about your business that sets it apart from the rest.
Those keywords - or keyphrases to be more accurate - need to be incorporated into your pages of your site - in the page titles, in the headings, and in the internal links.
Be specific with your keyphrases. They will be less competitive than the more general single word searches, and will more accurately target your market. You may have to localise or specialise to get in that top 30 - and the top 30 is where you need to be to drive traffic to your site. As I am sure you are aware from your own experience, if you haven't found what you are looking for in the first 3 results pages, you look elsewhere.
The key to achieving high search engine rankings is building inbound links to your web pages - that is pages on external websites that link to pages on your site. Crucially this link acquisition should be a natural growth - where inbound link count increases at a gradual pace. The pages that link to yours should be relevant, on-topic and ideally contain the same keywords - especially in the linking text. Search engines rank pages based upon their reputation - your ranking will be determined by what other (preferably high ranking) pages say about your page.
3) How will you convert your visitors into sales?
Don't just tell them what you do or sell. Tell them why they want it (yes, want - not need). Offer incentives, freebies, discounts - anything to get that dialogue started.
Current research indicates that the human brain makes a judgment about a web page within a twentieth of a second! That doesn't leave you very long to make an impression. So, make sure that you have your Unique Selling Point (USP) clearly visible on your home page - and preferably prominent on every one of your other pages. After all, it's not a given that the home page will be the first page that the visitor sees, particularly if they have found you via a search engine.
Then make sure that you list your bullet-pointed guarantees. Visitors have to understand why you are different from the rest, and why they should deal with you and not your competitors. And as we've discovered, they have to understand this pretty much instantly.
Lastly, make sure that your site has a funnel-like structure. Identify your important pages - usually the "call to action" or purchase pages - and make sure all roads lead to those pages. Your internal links - like their external equivalents - should describe the target page. If you sell blue widgets, don't call your products page "Products", call it "blue widgets", and make sure that the links pointing at this page also say "blue widgets". This will not only help the search engines identify and rank the most important pages in your site, it will also lead your visitor to that all important conversion.
Jumat, 23 Desember 2011
Who Registers Domain Names?
A domain name registrar registers domain names. A domain name registrar is a company accredited by ICANN or by a national ccTLD authority or both to register Internet domain names
A domain name registrar registers domain names. A domain name registrar is a company accredited by ICANN or by a national ccTLD authority or both to register Internet domain names.
ICANN or Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a nonprofit organization that is responsible for IP address space allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management and root server system management functions.
The late Jon Postel created ICANN in 1998 in response to a policy statement issued by the US Department of Commerce. ICANN has authority over gTLDs (Generic Top Level Domains) that include .com, .net and .org. The organization does not have authority over ccTLDs (Country Code Top-Level Domains), which include .ca (Canada), .uk (United Kingdom), .us (United States), .in (India), .de (Germany or Deutschland), .fr (France) etc.
The board of ICANN is comprised of nineteen Directors, and nine At-Large Directors. Directors serve for one-year terms and are succeeded by At-Large Directors. The At-Large Directors are elected by an at-large membership organization.
ICANN has taken various measures to oversee the domain-name registration system's transition from government hands to private hands and to coordinate its decentralization and the integration into a global community.
A company chosen by ICANN to register and manage domain names on its behalf is a designated registrar. There are several domain registrars offering domain registration services. Some of the top domain name registrars include Go Daddy, Network Solutions, eNom, Tucows, Melbourne IT, Schlund.de, Register.com, Wild West Domains (Part of Go Daddy), Moniker Online Services, and DomainDoorman.
A domain name registrar registers domain names. A domain name registrar is a company accredited by ICANN or by a national ccTLD authority or both to register Internet domain names.
ICANN or Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a nonprofit organization that is responsible for IP address space allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management and root server system management functions.
The late Jon Postel created ICANN in 1998 in response to a policy statement issued by the US Department of Commerce. ICANN has authority over gTLDs (Generic Top Level Domains) that include .com, .net and .org. The organization does not have authority over ccTLDs (Country Code Top-Level Domains), which include .ca (Canada), .uk (United Kingdom), .us (United States), .in (India), .de (Germany or Deutschland), .fr (France) etc.
The board of ICANN is comprised of nineteen Directors, and nine At-Large Directors. Directors serve for one-year terms and are succeeded by At-Large Directors. The At-Large Directors are elected by an at-large membership organization.
ICANN has taken various measures to oversee the domain-name registration system's transition from government hands to private hands and to coordinate its decentralization and the integration into a global community.
A company chosen by ICANN to register and manage domain names on its behalf is a designated registrar. There are several domain registrars offering domain registration services. Some of the top domain name registrars include Go Daddy, Network Solutions, eNom, Tucows, Melbourne IT, Schlund.de, Register.com, Wild West Domains (Part of Go Daddy), Moniker Online Services, and DomainDoorman.
Whois
Whois is a TCP query tool which allows users to sort through a database to find information about the owner of a IP address or domain. These searches are done via the internet, and were originally conducted with a command line interface. However, much of this equipment has been greatly simplified, and information can be accessed from multiple databases. Whois is used by a number of adminstrators.
Whois is a TCP query tool which allows users to sort through a database to find information about the owner of a IP address or domain. These searches are done via the internet, and were originally conducted with a command line interface. However, much of this equipment has been greatly simplified, and information can be accessed from multiple databases. Whois is used by a number of adminstrators.
Originally, Whois was used by system administrators who wanted to look up information on other system adminstrators using their IP address or domain. The use of whois lookup has evolved, and it is now used for either benevolent or corrupt purposes by people who are not system admins. The information within Whois is stored in one of two ways, and these are thick or thin. When a thick method for storing information is used, a single whois lookup server will store all the information for a operator.
With a thin model, the name of the whois server for a operator that holds the full information on the report will be looked up. If the information which is pulled up is not understood, the data from a thin lookup may be used as well. One of the problems with the whois lookup is that there is no clear distinction on how to tell the thick model from the thin. Much of the information for .com and .net domains can be found using Whois thin, while lower level domains such as .org operate on a thick model. A good website with information on whois can be found at whois-it.com.
When the internet first broke away from ARPANET, DARPA was responsible for handling all the information related to domains. The use of whois became widespread during the 1980s, when it became more standardized. Because whois was controlled by one institution, all the information resided on one server, and finding information was relatively easy. Though DARPA handled registration on Whois up until the end of the 1980s, this was eventually transferred over to third party institutions by the end of the 1990s.
As of 2005, ICAAN now handles whois. Despite the popularity of whois among many web users, there are a number of problems. Privacy is an important issue among many people today, and some feel that programs like whois allow blatant violations of privacy. Because the telephone number and address of the person owning the domain is available for any one to see, this can lead to a number of problems. Many spammers use the email addresses found in whois lookups, and can use this information to send spam to users.
Another problem with whois is the global appeal it has. Because it is based in the US, few countries use it, and this may come as a blessing to those who don't want their personal information falling into the hands of even more people. The whois lookup servers do not have the ability to tell which text is being used to process requests. There is also no centralized list of whois servers, and those who choose to write whois programs will need to manually look for individual servers.
Whois is a TCP query tool which allows users to sort through a database to find information about the owner of a IP address or domain. These searches are done via the internet, and were originally conducted with a command line interface. However, much of this equipment has been greatly simplified, and information can be accessed from multiple databases. Whois is used by a number of adminstrators.
Originally, Whois was used by system administrators who wanted to look up information on other system adminstrators using their IP address or domain. The use of whois lookup has evolved, and it is now used for either benevolent or corrupt purposes by people who are not system admins. The information within Whois is stored in one of two ways, and these are thick or thin. When a thick method for storing information is used, a single whois lookup server will store all the information for a operator.
With a thin model, the name of the whois server for a operator that holds the full information on the report will be looked up. If the information which is pulled up is not understood, the data from a thin lookup may be used as well. One of the problems with the whois lookup is that there is no clear distinction on how to tell the thick model from the thin. Much of the information for .com and .net domains can be found using Whois thin, while lower level domains such as .org operate on a thick model. A good website with information on whois can be found at whois-it.com.
When the internet first broke away from ARPANET, DARPA was responsible for handling all the information related to domains. The use of whois became widespread during the 1980s, when it became more standardized. Because whois was controlled by one institution, all the information resided on one server, and finding information was relatively easy. Though DARPA handled registration on Whois up until the end of the 1980s, this was eventually transferred over to third party institutions by the end of the 1990s.
As of 2005, ICAAN now handles whois. Despite the popularity of whois among many web users, there are a number of problems. Privacy is an important issue among many people today, and some feel that programs like whois allow blatant violations of privacy. Because the telephone number and address of the person owning the domain is available for any one to see, this can lead to a number of problems. Many spammers use the email addresses found in whois lookups, and can use this information to send spam to users.
Another problem with whois is the global appeal it has. Because it is based in the US, few countries use it, and this may come as a blessing to those who don't want their personal information falling into the hands of even more people. The whois lookup servers do not have the ability to tell which text is being used to process requests. There is also no centralized list of whois servers, and those who choose to write whois programs will need to manually look for individual servers.
You Need Your Own Domain Name
A unique domain name. That's one of the first and most important steps that a new home business website builders must consider. All too often, you see websites created with a free host with a domain name that includes the free host company's business name. If you are planning to market your website and internet business as a professional entity, then you really should buy your own domain name. Your domain name gives potential customers an idea of what is inside your website o...
A unique domain name. That's one of the first and most important steps that a new home business website builders must consider. All too often, you see websites created with a free host with a domain name that includes the free host company's business name. If you are planning to market your website and internet business as a professional entity, then you really should buy your own domain name. Your domain name gives potential customers an idea of what is inside your website or online store. Owning your own domain also lends an air of 'permanancy' to your business and reputation.
Other reasons why you should buy your own domain name rather than use a free one from a free host:
If you change hosts, either voluntarily or otherwise, your domain name will go along with you and your customer's will not need to be contacted with a new web address.
A good domain name that describes your business or product helps prevent visitors from being confused and clicking on to someone else's site to shop.
Remember to keep your domain short and easy to remember, something easy to spell and pronounce. My first blog domain name was, and still is, too long - 6 words - with hyphens between each word. It drives me nuts to type it, so I can only imagine how visitors feel if they have to type a long winded web address. Cutesy spellings like adding a Z in place of an S in a word is only confusing, and will quickly loose it's cuteness. To help search engine users find you and increase your traffic, do some keyword research before deciding on a domain name. Keep in mind that you can always register more than one domain name directed to the same website. You can use .com, .net, .biz and protect your website from others of the same kind who register their sites with less popular extenstions.
How do you go about registering your own domain name? The host that I use, Homestead , provides the service as part of the package, for a small extra fee to register. You can buy domain names at other hosting companies. Find them by doing a Google search for 'domain registration' or other similar quearies.
A unique domain name. That's one of the first and most important steps that a new home business website builders must consider. All too often, you see websites created with a free host with a domain name that includes the free host company's business name. If you are planning to market your website and internet business as a professional entity, then you really should buy your own domain name. Your domain name gives potential customers an idea of what is inside your website or online store. Owning your own domain also lends an air of 'permanancy' to your business and reputation.
Other reasons why you should buy your own domain name rather than use a free one from a free host:
If you change hosts, either voluntarily or otherwise, your domain name will go along with you and your customer's will not need to be contacted with a new web address.
A good domain name that describes your business or product helps prevent visitors from being confused and clicking on to someone else's site to shop.
Remember to keep your domain short and easy to remember, something easy to spell and pronounce. My first blog domain name was, and still is, too long - 6 words - with hyphens between each word. It drives me nuts to type it, so I can only imagine how visitors feel if they have to type a long winded web address. Cutesy spellings like adding a Z in place of an S in a word is only confusing, and will quickly loose it's cuteness. To help search engine users find you and increase your traffic, do some keyword research before deciding on a domain name. Keep in mind that you can always register more than one domain name directed to the same website. You can use .com, .net, .biz and protect your website from others of the same kind who register their sites with less popular extenstions.
How do you go about registering your own domain name? The host that I use, Homestead , provides the service as part of the package, for a small extra fee to register. You can buy domain names at other hosting companies. Find them by doing a Google search for 'domain registration' or other similar quearies.
Your Domain -- Just the Facts!
Your domain identifies your business in the eyes of the people searching for the product or products you are selling on your website and in the eyes of the search engines. So, is choosing a domain important? The answer is yes. I hope to enlighten you to some important elements to creating and owning a domain name.
Your domain identifies your business in the eyes of the people searching for the product or products you are selling on your website and in the eyes of the search engines. So, is choosing a domain important? The answer is yes. I hope to enlighten you to some important elements to creating and owning a domain name.
What Is A Domain Name
What is a Domain Name? Your website has a unique address called an IP address. The domain name--in essence, is the IP address with a naming convention. It is far easier for people to remember a name instead of a bunch of numbers.
Creating A Domain Name
Many people new to the Internet and to the Internet Business, do not realize the importance of a Domain Name, they just think they can put up any creative name and people will come. If you're lucky, that may be true, but in truth, your creativity should incorporate the following tips:
When creating a domain name, you should keep in mind the following tips:
1. If it is possible, go with a ".com" extension. This is the most common, and easier for people to remember. In my case, no .com was available, so I opted for the .biz. Since I'm in a business of affiliate marketing -- I felt it perfect for my needs.
2. The name itself -- Do not use dashes or numbers in your domain name--it is hard for people to remember, unless it is central to the theme of your site.
3. Keep your name as compact as possible -- the fewer words in the naming/description of your website will makes it easier for people to remember your site name, and that is definitely what you want.
Protecting Your Domain Name
Once you have your domain name, and your website is flourishing -- you must protect your domain.
So how do you protect your domain? At the end of the year, the registrar will send you a notice that your domain name is about to expire. Inadvertantly, you may be thinking, that they just want your money, and they can darn well wait til the date it is due to get your money! Well, I wouldn't do that. There is a very legitimate process called "drop catching"-- that can easily destroy all your hard work in one instance.
Drop Catching
Drop catching is a legal process by which people can quickly grab domain names that have expired and use the link to create a website consisting of advertisements -- or worse yet, resell them to make a profit off of your hard earned traffic. So, it is wise that you do not wait til the last minute to pay your registration. You do not want to log-in to your site, to find an error, or find out that suddenly you are no longer in business.
The rules of the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), gives domain registrars 45 days after the expiration date to notify the website owner that their domain name is going to be dropped from the registry. After the 45 days, you have a 30 day grace period, then your domain is up for grabs. However ..
Some domain services have created an auction process for expired names, such as GoDaddy.com, that begins the auctioning of domain names in as little of 30 days after the expiration date, to prospective buyers. However, GoDaddy.com does state to the prospective buyer in the auction process, that the original owners still have the option of reclaiming their name.
What's in a name? If it's a domain name, it can be your future online. So choose wisely, and protect what you worked, or have been working for -- a business online.
Your domain identifies your business in the eyes of the people searching for the product or products you are selling on your website and in the eyes of the search engines. So, is choosing a domain important? The answer is yes. I hope to enlighten you to some important elements to creating and owning a domain name.
What Is A Domain Name
What is a Domain Name? Your website has a unique address called an IP address. The domain name--in essence, is the IP address with a naming convention. It is far easier for people to remember a name instead of a bunch of numbers.
Creating A Domain Name
Many people new to the Internet and to the Internet Business, do not realize the importance of a Domain Name, they just think they can put up any creative name and people will come. If you're lucky, that may be true, but in truth, your creativity should incorporate the following tips:
When creating a domain name, you should keep in mind the following tips:
1. If it is possible, go with a ".com" extension. This is the most common, and easier for people to remember. In my case, no .com was available, so I opted for the .biz. Since I'm in a business of affiliate marketing -- I felt it perfect for my needs.
2. The name itself -- Do not use dashes or numbers in your domain name--it is hard for people to remember, unless it is central to the theme of your site.
3. Keep your name as compact as possible -- the fewer words in the naming/description of your website will makes it easier for people to remember your site name, and that is definitely what you want.
Protecting Your Domain Name
Once you have your domain name, and your website is flourishing -- you must protect your domain.
So how do you protect your domain? At the end of the year, the registrar will send you a notice that your domain name is about to expire. Inadvertantly, you may be thinking, that they just want your money, and they can darn well wait til the date it is due to get your money! Well, I wouldn't do that. There is a very legitimate process called "drop catching"-- that can easily destroy all your hard work in one instance.
Drop Catching
Drop catching is a legal process by which people can quickly grab domain names that have expired and use the link to create a website consisting of advertisements -- or worse yet, resell them to make a profit off of your hard earned traffic. So, it is wise that you do not wait til the last minute to pay your registration. You do not want to log-in to your site, to find an error, or find out that suddenly you are no longer in business.
The rules of the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), gives domain registrars 45 days after the expiration date to notify the website owner that their domain name is going to be dropped from the registry. After the 45 days, you have a 30 day grace period, then your domain is up for grabs. However ..
Some domain services have created an auction process for expired names, such as GoDaddy.com, that begins the auctioning of domain names in as little of 30 days after the expiration date, to prospective buyers. However, GoDaddy.com does state to the prospective buyer in the auction process, that the original owners still have the option of reclaiming their name.
What's in a name? If it's a domain name, it can be your future online. So choose wisely, and protect what you worked, or have been working for -- a business online.
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