Domain
Name Brand Protection
When you create an
internet website for yourself or your business, it is imperative to
protect that by following all of the necessary legal steps involved
in this process. Part of this process involves registering the
trademark, designs, and domain name that you plan on using. These
things are how people will identify you, and you don't want anyone
else to use them unlawfully. In the vast expanse of the internet, it
is more important than ever to protect your intellectual property.
Sometimes people can get ideas stolen without being able to do
anything about it, simply because they did not protect themselves
properly. To avoid that happening to you, it is highly recommended
that you first choose a very unique name that people can use to
identify you. You should come up with a name that isn't in any
danger of being disputed later on because of its popularity.
If you think of some
of the most popular brand names in terms of just about anything, you
will see that while the name may be unrelated to what the business
is selling or the service they provide, it works well because there
is almost zero chance that they will encounter copyright problems
later on. A big part of protecting your domain is creating one that
is unique and differs from the norm.
In protecting your
brand name, you should definitely take into account the trademark
that you choose. Trademarks can be very territorial in the sense
that you only have domestic rights to the trademark that you
register, it is not internationally covered. Domain names however,
are covered and protected in every single country on the planet.
There are many different services you can use that will effectively
protect your domain brand name. Some of these services that you can
purchase include being fed information regarding which domain names
and trademarks are under attack and access to a legal team that can
help you with any issues you have. There are many lawyers who
actually specialize in these kind of internet brand name cases.
The main purpose of
using these kind of services is to make sure that nobody else is
trying to register domain names that are a little too similar to
yours. You will be able to know about anyone who is trying any of
these things right away so you can take care of it before it becomes
a larger problem. When using these services, you can also receive
information on domain names that are being altered. In this case
information is power, and the more you have the better prepared you
will be to deal with a possible legal dispute concerning your
trademarks or brand names. It always helps to seek the advice and
services of professionals who are considered experts in this field.
How Domain Name
Squatting Can Negatively Affect Your Brand
There's a
relatively-new, and highly troubling trend in domain name squatting
that can affect you and your business quite negatively: personal
domain name squatting. While in the past it was relatively common
for domain name squatters to buy up high-profile company names, in
recent years it has become more and more common for these same
people to buy up domain names that are the full names of important
executives and key personnel at large companies. These sites are
then promoted so that they show up on the first page of a Google
search for the name. Then the company attempts to sell the domain
name for a hefty fee, essentially extorting the personnel or their
parent business in order to regain control over their online
reputation.
Now, it's important to realize that this very likely violates
ICANN's code of use, specifically section 4b, which states that
someone has registered a domain in bad faith if: "(i) circumstances
indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the domain
name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise
transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is
the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of
that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of your
documented out-of-pocket costs..."
The thing is, while
this has become a relatively cut and dry issue when it comes to
actual trademarks, helping to push back the tide of domain
squatters, or at the very least making it easy for business to
regain their trademarked domains, in the case of personal names the
language is a bit more murky. While it seems apparent that
registering a personal name of a high-profile person for the purpose
of reselling it to them at a huge profit would violate the principle
of this rule, in practice it is much more difficult to show someone
was operating in bad faith - after all, thousands of people may have
the same name, unlike a registered trademark, which is explicitly
protected by statute.
Once someone has
access to your full name as a domain name, they can do quite a bit
of damage to your personal brand. Google and other search engines
give a great deal of weight to domains that are formed entirely of a
search phrase when determining the results for that phrase, so even
with minimal SEO a domain that is your whole name will likely show
up near the top of the search results. At its most benevolent this
will mean anyone searching for your name will find a parking page,
which reflects poorly on you; at its worst the site could forward to
pornographic material, material that reflects poorly on you, or a
competitor.
Of course, there's
a very easy way to guard against this sort of squatting: either hire
a reputable reputation management company, or go out and register
the domains that reflect your personal brand in any commonly-used
permutations. With the extremely low cost of domain registration,
this is an investment that will pay off for years to come.
Ehud Furman is the CEO of LookupPage.
With a host of products suited to improve online visibility
of businesses and professionals as well as a blog that
provides many tips on how to build your online presence,
LookupPage
exists to help you build your personal brand online.
Article
Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ehud_J_Furman
|
Selecting the Right
Domain Name - Increase Brand Recognition With Short, Catchy Names
When many people think
about setting up their own web site, whether for personal or
business reasons, they have a list of things they need to do. This
usually includes choosing a content management system to organize
and present the site and creating the look and feel. The importance
of selecting the right domain name is often overlooked choosing the
right name is not as easy as it sounds. This plays a very active
role in how well people can find your site as well as how easily
they can remember the address. An effective name is a crucial part
of the overall web site design.
When selecting the
right domain name, there are a few things to keep in mind. It should
be short and easy to pronounce. Many people try to be clever and use
a unique spelling or incorporate numbers and letters to create a
word. Although it is fun, it makes finding your site more difficult.
It is worth the time to sit down and brainstorm ideas. Start by
listing the five keywords phrases that best describe the domain you
want. If this will be a business site or one that is focused on a
particular topic, use words and phrases that relate to those
subjects.
Most businesses use
their name as their web site domain. This helps build brand
recognition. Once you have found the name that you think works best,
make sure there are no similar domains already registered to other
users. It is recommended that you do not use "the" at the beginning
of the name, plurals or hyphens when selecting the right domain
name. Web searchers usually cannot remember which combinations to
use. If there are already similar domains, then those will be shown
higher in search results at first. The dot.com suffix is the most
commonly used option.
If you want to increase brand recognition, and
web site traffic, choose a
domain with
this suffix as an option. Most users are still not comfortable using
dot-net or dot-org. Selecting the right domain name for your site
can be the difference between being found quickly and not being
found at all. Short, catchy names that describe what the site is for
or that contains your business name are the best way to increase
traffic to your site. It also builds recognition. Site addresses
that are easy to type and remember will increase your branding
marketing value.
Brand Protection For
Upcoming Dot Co Domain Launch
There are multiple
protective benefits to having a.co domain for your website. With the
upcoming launch of these new domains, there is much concern for
security issues. Once you learn more about how your website name
will be protected, you will be able to rest assured that you will be
completely covered. One of the ways which you are protected is
through what is called a rapid takedown policy. This ensures that
all of the harmful hacking tactics such as phishing, malware, and
pharming are put to a stop before they have a chance to do any real
damage to your website. These are typically major concerns for those
who own a.co domain name, and with this protection you will be able
to carry on business as usual without having to worry about such
harmful threats.
Having a.co domain
name means being able to have the kind of speed and efficiency that
you have always dreamed of without having to put up with the
constant threat of attacks against your domain name. You will also
be able to be notified when there are any domain names that are
close to the one you have already registered. This will prevent
anyone from trying to profit off the name you have legally
registered. With all of the security measures in place for this
launch, it will be a safer way to own a domain name and run an
e-business than ever before.
There are many
different.co domain names still available, so it is highly
recommended that you take the time to choose one that will separate
you from everyone else. Choosing a unique domain name will also
prevent any possible confusion regarding other domain names which
are similar and could already be registered. If you feel like all of
the traditional domains are taken, then you will certainly want to
invest your money into these unique and extremely secure domain
names that are becoming more and more popular with people around the
world.
By choosing a
secure.co domain name, you will also have access to a wide social
network that will help you to increase profit and expand your
business outward. You will get the kind of brand protection which is
required to keep your name safe and run your website and business as
smoothly as possible. When it comes to owning a domain name, almost
nothing is more important than ensuring it stays unique and one of a
kind. There are multiple security measures already in place for the
launch of these domain names, so you will know that your money will
not be going to waste. It is truly an investment for the future that
you will be glad you made.
Turning a Profit on
Domain Name Branding
Much is written about
researching, selecting, and ultimately deciding to buy a domain
name. When you are interested in creating a business website for
yourself, finding that one perfect domain name that's right for your
company makes all the difference in the world.
If you have gone
through this process of obtaining a domain name and UK web hosting,
you know how valuable the perfect URL can be to your business. It is
in this fact that much money can be made. After all, if you are
interested in the perfect domain for your site, that means that
others are interested in finding their own ideal domains as well.
What does this mean
for you? Well, buying, branding, and lightly populating a domain
that you see as a "good find" can be a smart investment. This is
more than just purchasing a domain name: it's branding that domain
name so that the new buyer is getting more than just a website
address. They're getting the perfect new home for their website, and
it's already furnished and ready to go.
Here's how you go
about making a profit on domain name branding:
1. Research the web
trends, both in terms of popular website types and popular up and
coming businesses.
2. Select and buy a domain name that contains essential keywords and
would, you think, be a highly sought-after website address.
3. Purchase basic UK web hosting, enough to create one or two pages
of website content.
4. Design that space and make the website look appealing, with
industry-appropriate colors and layout patterns. Designing a logo
and creating basic introductory content can also be helpful.
5. If the website contains a particularly popular and competitive
keyword, you may choose to do some introductory SEO work on the
site, to increase its search engine performance and make it even
more attractive to potential buyers.
In the steps above,
you see that you are buying more than just a domain name. You are
starting with that domain and creating it into a brand: by creating
an appealing yet neutral identity (so it can be used by whatever
company chooses to buy it and easy adapted to reflect their own
business), you are presenting the potential buyer with a quite
appealing product.
The way you make
money on this type of domain is by selling it to someone else and
charging a higher rate because of the work you have put into the
domain name. Remember, though, this is only profitable if someone is
interested in both the domain name and the branding you have done,
so choose your projects carefully to ensure a better chancing of
recouping your expenses.
Will a Keyword Rich
Domain Name Attract More Leads and More Sales?
am in the camp that
believe a keyword rich domain name is very effective part
of your overall search engine optimisation plan. I know some see
keyword rich domains as in some way spammy or not as effective as
use of or building a brand into your domain but there is no denying
the clout that using keyword rich domains have on your search engine
optimisation results. I personally think that a keyword rich domain
also shouts out relevance to any searcher on the web which in turn
attracts more clicks, notice how the searched keyword jumps out in
bold, I can certainly verify this from my extensive split testing on
Google Adwords PPC campaigns.
One word of caution,
don't go crazy stuffing keywords into your domain, limit it to no
more than three, use your common sense, you easily see how using
this technique if abused could justify the spam tag. One more
thought you need to determine whether it is a brand you're trying to
build or a you want to rank better in the search engines, I would
say that for the vast majority of people they need to focus on
keyword rich domains to help boost their rankings and to help
compete against those maybe more established brand domains.
Just to make my
point on the effectiveness of a keyword domain name, enter the word
search into Google you'll see a domain with search in it as the top
ranked site and Google the major brand at the bottom of the page,
you would imagine Google would rank top for the word search, this
shows how important a keyword rich domain is! Having said that the
keywords rich domain can turn into a brand with exposure and success
for example search for flowers and you'll notice that there are now
a handful of companies whose keyword rich domain has now become a
well known brand.
Now keyword domains
are more difficult to come by now so try hyphenating the words,
there is no evidence this has a negative effect, try also to use
other top level domains for example.org or.net or for example if
most of your business was in the UK the possibly.org.uk.
These are just a
few more techniques I believe will make your on-line business more
effective and attract more leads and more sales.
How Domain Brand
Protection is Right For Your Business
One of the most
important steps that you can take in creating and growing your
business is to engage in domain brand protection. Not only can it
influence the name of your business, it can add to your bottom line
as well. In the early days of the Internet, naming your site may
have been an afterthought. Today, it should be at the top of your
to-do list when starting up.
Simplifies the process
of finding you for clients and customers. In order to grow your
business online, or in the brick and mortar world, you need to make
it easy for customers to find you. If your company is known as Red
Designer Bracelets, then you should take the guesswork out of it for
the people who will be most interested in obtaining your products.
Adding a "dot com" onto the end of a company name is generally the
best way to accomplish simplification.
Leads to overall
branding initiatives that are vital to profitability. An important
step in branding is getting your name on everything, and by
everything, that includes your website names as well. Registering
every extension possible, or at least the most popular, and routing
them through the desired one, is the best way to accomplish this
task. Wherever your potential customers go, you want to be super
easy to find.
Gives the
impression of complete professionalism. If your site name does not
bear a strong similarity to your company name, then you are
automatically in danger of appearing unprofessional. When online
activities were not as central to everyday life, the impact may have
been negligible. However, times have changed and so has Internet,
and business, culture. Today, domain guarding failure says to your
potential clients and customers that you are a day late and a dollar
short from having a well run business.
Protects your
position from other individuals and companies. In the online world,
a domain can be worth thousands of dollars or more depending on how
profitable the business is. Securing popular names before the
companies, who are most likely to use them can do so has become a
lucrative endeavor in and of itself. Do not assume that you are safe
from getting yours sniped. If you run a profitable business, even if
it has a somewhat unique name, do not just assume that you are in
the clear, and that you can take the appropriate steps, "when you
get around to it." Securing your domains is almost as important to
the daily operations of your business. Act when you can, and make
sure to lock in other extensions that snipers may use to cause your
customers or clients confusion.
Domain brand
protection is of primary importance to 21st Century business
culture. Plan for the future, and claim your stake in the digital
world.
What to Do When
You're Domain Name is Already Taken?
What to do when you're
Domain Name is already taken can easily be fixed when you are
looking to brand yourself online. Ok, so you've found the perfect
business opportunity online and now you want to start branding
yourself so you can promote YOU Inc and your new business.
I am writing this
article because this is exactly what happened to me. Pressed with
the question of how I will brand myself when my domain name is
already taken. That's when I decided on the brand name Whois.
Branding YOU Inc.
Branding myself online and having my own domain name.com was
important for my business growth. When I attempted to register
SandyMoore.com it was already owned by another Sandy Moore, my
identity was gone, Oh NO! How was I ever going to rank on Google out
of about 1,150,000 results for Sandy Moore? Of course I would love
to be ranked on page 1 of Google and that's exactly where I am
headed. However, considering I have only ever used free methods to
advertise my brand I've had good success.
Find a Domain
Name
First find yourself
a domain registrar, there are many online to choose from. You can
check to see if your domain name is already registered by going to
GoDaddy or Crazy domains. Just type in the domain name you want and
see if it's still available. Here you will be given some other
suggestions if your first choice is already gone. I don't recommend
you go with most of these suggestions as they would most likely not
be great choices for branding your business.
If you are
desperate to have your particular domain name you can always look up
the who is for that domain and approach the owner and ask them if
they are prepared to sell. Quite often you will find that the domain
name is being parked or no longer used and this is a way for the
owner to make money from selling it to whoever wants it.
I can't emphasise
enough the importance of using your own name to brand yourself
online. After all, it is common knowledge that people join people
and not businesses. By using your own domain.com name to brand
yourself people will get to know you and trust you and therefore
will want to know more about you. Firstly through social networking,
email marketing, your blog site and all the articles you write about
your business or interests.
Domain Name Options
Here are some other options for domain name branding if your name is
already taken. Ok, let's say your name is John Smith and of course
johnsmith is already taken as it's a rather popular name. You could
choose a variation of your name. For instance you could choose
whoisjohnSmith, IamJohnSmith or Johnsmithonline, JohnSmithsWebsite
or pop in your middle initial JohnWSmith. So you see there are many
possibilities available to you even when your domain name has
already been taken by someone with the same name.
With over 25
years experience in offline direct sales Australian Born
Sandy Moore brings to the table a unique personal
perspective on the concept of the G.P.T business model.
Specialising
in personal Branding and Internet Marketing Education and
backed by a team of *topnotch* marketing professionals,
Sandy offers serious but struggling entrepreneurs a
step-by-step guide to replacing their income in 90 days or
less.
Sandy and her team are currently
experiencing high growth and you too can be a part of this
too. This cutting-edge turnkey opportunity would only be
suitable for a SELECT group of highly motivated individuals.
http://whoissandymoore.com
Article
Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandy_T_Moore
|
Affiliate Marketing
Tip - How to Choose Your Domain Name For Your Affiliate Marketing Site
If you are just
starting an online business and about to set up a blog or website,
don't make the mistake made by other new marketers in not getting
their own domain. You will know soon enough all the reasons but the
most important one I can now share with you is that without your own
domain you do not have control of your work. Moreover, you may one
day wake up to find your blog or website shut down for some reasons
and you lost all the work you have done.
With that out of the
way, how would you choose a good domain for your affiliate marketing
website:
1. Keep the name
short and easy to remember. This helps people remember it and able
to spell it and lessens the chance of misspelling it. All these help
people find your website fast.
2. Avoid double
letters in the name if this is possible so that people don't have
difficulty. It is always good to have your visitors get through to
your website at one attempt.
3. If you know you
are going to eventually promote a brand name, then avoid hyphens and
numbers. They certainly don't help to give any branding image.
4. Choose a unique
name and not an existing one and with a prefix word like "the" and
"my" added to someone else's domain. Again it does not help when you
promote your brand name and somehow does not look too professional.
5.Try to register
with only these three domain extensions: dot com, dot net and dot
org as they are what many people believe the best ones to have.
SEO Implementation
Starts With Domain Name Selection
Increase websites
popularity even before launching it online! Yes this is possible
with small steps starting from domain names. Most of people commit
this mistake when looking for domain name registration stress
more on registering a domain quickly than concentrating on the
domain "name" they select for the new business. It happens
mainly due to enthusiasm of getting the website "online" "live". It
is natural, although we can improve website popularity by selecting
a relevant domain name. Make a rough list of possible domain names
on a paper if possible discuss with colleagues. Brainstorming a
domain name is a good idea, it might take few minutes to come up
with domain name if you follow below steps::
There are few simple
points to consider when selecting a domain name::
1. Relevancy of
Domain Name::
Sometimes the
domain name we wish to register with is not available, so we adjust
our domain name to some less relevant name. To avoid this you need
to scramble some keywords, create a good list of possible keyword
combinations, check their availability. Keywords should be
representing something related to your website. Using relevant
keywords makes them search engine friendly.
2. Business
Related::
The website you
design represents your business online, the keyword can represent
the crucial factor or core words related to your business for eg:
hotel website can add up many words like delicacies.com, hot dishes,
spicy junction etc.
Eg: Suppose there's a website related to
shopping mall & assume the domain name to be "abc.com" there are
minimum chances of this site being displayed in first page of any
search engine result. But if we try combinations of hosting, web
hosting, host etc or anything close to it then there are 80% chances
of being noticed should represent something relevant to your
website, business or its purpose. Live example is the
www.ask4host.com
which uses the keyword "ASK 4 Host".
3. Search Engine
Friendly::
Each time a user
needs some information, service or products, its natural that he
searches it on search engine. There are some simple things to
consider from making your website to uploading it live on world wide
web.Applying the right words while selecting domain name is one of
the simplest, but important step of all. Search engines crawl all
the websites their contents, titles domain names etc. They help in
indexing the website index in search database so next time anyone
searches for hosting your site gets retrieved from database and is
displayed in search results.
4. Exceptions::
There are some
brands companies who are so popular that there is no need to change
there domain name eg: infosys Such websites focus on meta tags and
titles than on domain names. In this case, companies domain names
are same as their brand names.
Choose Your Domain
Name Carefully
After conducting
detailed Market research, and successfully determined your most
effective keywords/phrases; it is time to purchase a complimenting
domain name. Ideally, your final choice will be consistent with your
keywords, brand and marketing strategy. With that being said, here
are seven additional factors to consider, before purchasing a domain
name:
- TLD or Top Level
Domain: This is the extension that appears at the end of a domain
name, such as dot com, ca, net, org, etc. All other factors
considered equal, a dot com name will (often) sell for nearly four
times the otherwise equivalent domain; registered in any other
common global extension. Global extensions include dot net, org,
and info. The dot mobi extension, utilized for content to be
delivered to mobile devices, is rapidly gaining value and
popularity. Some country specific domains, such as dot co.uk and
dot de (Germany) are very prestigious, and can, in certain
instances, command high prices. It is hoped that one day the dot
tv extension will be used in connection with Internet enabled TV.
Until hardware, distribution, and media companies are able resolve
profit-sharing differences, sales of these domains will only
result occasionally in high prices.
- Number of Words:
Single "real word" domains (no misspellings or abbreviations), can
be enormously valuable; particularly when accompanied by the dot
com extension. Two word domains, without misspellings or
abbreviations, are also quite valuable if the domain name is
easily monetized, and the TLD is of high quality. The values
plunge when considering domain names with more than three words.
- Content: Domain
names containing misspellings, abbreviations, hyphens, special
characters not found on a standard keyboard, or other text
oddities often have very little value. Domain names containing a
phrase that is trademarked are very likely worth nothing. The
registered trademark owner could be in a legal position to
summarily confiscate the domain from you.
- Can The Domain
Name Be Monetized? Website monetizing is the process of converting
existing traffic into revenue. In this application, how attractive
is your domain name to motivated online consumers? Will the name
itself generate traffic? The extent to which a domain name can be
monetized, has a major influence on its value. Domains in the Sex,
Financial, and Health industries often top the list; in terms of
high value sales.
- Generic vs.
Non-Generic: Generic domains are generally more valuable than
non-generic ones. A generic domain name is one that contains only
real words (found in a dictionary), and has no contribution from
proper names (first or last). Popular generic dot com domain names
can be immensely valuable, and for the most part; are very
difficult to secure.
- Number of
Letters: Three letter dot com names, can be the most valuable;
even if they mean nothing. However, four letter dot com names
usually need to be pronounceable; to have any real value. They do
not need have to be recognized words, found in the dictionary. For
example, a cool sounding four letter dot com name, can promote
your company brand; even if they are created. When your domain
name reaches five letters or more, the value is driven by the
quality of the word or words (generic vs. non-generic, etc.). When
surpassing 8 or 9 letters, the value tends to decrease
substantially; unless the domain name is in high demand.
- Branding: Domain
names that are easy to say and remember, easy to type in, highly
reflective of predictable monetizable content, and/or generate a
lot of "type-in" traffic (people typing your domain name directly
into the address box in their browser, rather than finding your
domain via a search engine); are highly sought after. These domain
names have been known to sell for significant sums of money.
Choosing the right
domain name, is much like selecting a suitable plot of land; on
which to build your first home. It is an investment. Seek out a nice
neighborhood that is well priced, and shows real promise for the
future. Have confidence in the name that you have chosen.
Choosing the Right
Branding Consultants to Name Your Company
If you ever attempted
naming your new company or rebranding your business, then you
probably have an appreciation for the difficulty involved in the
process. It's not just brainstorming names, it's also creating a
coherent brand message, crafting a tag line, obtaining the matching
domain name, passing it through the trademark gauntlet, and the list
goes on.So
now you've decided it's a better investment of your company's time,
money and energies to let the pros do it. The question becomes just
who are the best branding consultants for the job? The answer
depends on a number of items, including:
• The size of your
firm (i.e. small start up or multi-national conglomerate)
• The number of
services you need (i.e. name only vs. name/tag line/logo/domain
name/linguistic check/global trademark availability, etc.)
• The amount of
your budget you are willing to invest (a few thousand dollars or a
few hundred thousand dollars).
• Your branding
strategy (creative/clever names; coined/invented names;
literal/descriptive names; positive connotation names, etc.).
• Your naming
criteria (i.e. must have the exact matching domain, must be
available globally, must have unanimous agreement among staff and
board members, etc.)
In general it's
best to use naming firms for these assignments vs. more generalized
marketing firms. For one, they specialize in nothing but naming and
brand development so they are familiar with the many challenges.
Secondly, they are not looking to push through the naming process in
order to earn your advertising budget - they are there just to brand
you. There are approximately 50 to 100 naming firms, mostly U.S.
based, to choose from. Most are listed on DMOZ.org. So there is your
list, now which one(s) to choose. Here are some rules of thumb:
• If you are a
start up on a more limited budget, go for the more boutique firms.
They will be able to work with you more affordably and turn the work
around more quickly.
• If you are a
larger company or going through a rebranding process, then ask about
the firm's previous experience and specific naming process. Get an
itemized list of the steps, time lines and just how the company
manages the process, (especially if you have multiple decision
makers.)
• Take a look at
their client case studies to see what type of names they have
generated in the past. Some naming firms are better at generating
invented/coined names (also known as "empty vessel" names) while
other firms aspire for more organic names. Some are great with
product names, while others do best with corporate branding. Find
the firm(s) that best reflect the feel and attitude you want in your
brand name.
• Obtain bids from
the top two or three naming agencies and compare them. The lowest
price is not always the best deal. Be sure you are comparing apples
to apples by reviewing what's included (i.e. name, tag line, logo,
domain name, trademark research, etc.)
• Review your
findings, check references or testimonials and go with your gut
feeling. Naming a company is part art and science, and each project
is a custom job. So work with the firm you feel best matches your
overall goals and objectives.
There is no one set
formula for naming your company, but by doing your homework; you can
find the best branding consultants to execute your particular naming
strategy. In the end, you will have a solid company name that can
serve as a platform for building your brand well into the future.
And with the right professional help, you may just end up making a
name for yourself!
Phil Davis is president and owner of
Tungsten Branding,
company naming
consultants specializing in brand creation, product naming,
tag line development, corporate identity and comprehensive
brand repositioning. Phil's client list includes PODS, Team
Logic IT and Sea Of Diamonds to name a few. His complete
client list and company naming philosophy can be viewed at
http://PureTungsten.com
Article
Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phillip_Davis
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How to Choose a
Domain Name
To decide what your
domain name should be first you have to know what you want your
website to do for you.
Do you know what i
mean? Start by answering these questions:
1) Do you want your
site, to build a Name for your Business?
or
2) Do you want to
be looked at by Google?
Well come back, if
you want to build brand for yourself or your small business the your
domain name should have your name or your brands name in it. Simple
right? But what happens if your name is already taken on the net?
What should you do? Well you can go with .net, .org., me.cc and more
but you want to try and stay with the.com.
So if you want
mycarstereo.com. and its taken then try my-car-stereo.com, do you
get the idea?
If you want to be
found by the search engines then I assume you want to get free
traffic, so let me start by saying that having a relevant domain
name will help with ranking, but your domain name by itself won't
get you the first spot on Google, Ok?
For you that want
to make your money online then i assume that you have a niche
market, then your domain name should include your main Keywords your
are trying to be found for, if you have a soup recipe site then you
want to have something like this souprecipes.com., if you find that
your niche is very competitive you might want to be more specific.
Use a key word tool
to find the recipe that gets the most searches like, cabbage soup,
chicken soup, potato soup, etc etc. Include one of those sub words
in your domain name like, cabbagesoup.com. Do you get it? They might
be less competitive and easier to get ranked for.
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Five
Tips to Choose the Best Domain Name For Your Business
Domain name
registration is one of the most basic requisites of setting up an
online business. Your domain name is your actual identity on the
web, through which users and search engines identify you.
It is always advisable
to take a good amount of time before finalizing on a domain name
Whether your website is personal use or for your business, its name
is something you should carefully consider.
The following tips
will help you make the right choice when it comes to getting a
domain name registered for your website.
· First and
foremost, shortlist the domain name registration companies that you
think are best suited to your requirements in terms of credibility
and service. In the end, opt for a company that provides the best
value and flexibility with its packages.
· Web users find it
difficult to remember a long or complicated web address. You should
always try and keep your domain name short and easy to remember. It
will help in getting your users back and also enhancing your brand
recall value.
· Try and
incorporate your most important keywords in your domain name. It
will make it easier for search engines to find your website and you
will also get a good opportunity to improve your rankings on search
engine result pages.
· Once you are sure
of the name that you want for your website, don't delay the actual
registration process. Even if your site is under construction, there
is no harm in getting the domain name of your choice registered at
the earliest. With so much competition all around, you never know
whether you will get the chance the next time. Also, get the domain
name registered for a long period of time, unless you have some
major changes planned for your business. One might argue that one
year registrations are cheaper; but, in the end, renewals end up
costing you more.
· When it comes to
choosing an extension, it is best to go for the most obvious choice
-.com. It might be the most expensive, but it surely is the easiest
thing for your users to connect to and remember about your web
business.
One smart thing that you could do is buying
your domain name from the company that is providing you web hosting
services. You will, in all likelihood, get a good discounted offer
in such a case. Aussie Web Host, the leading
website hosting
services company in Australia, offers great domain name registration
packages at exciting prices. Get your domain name registered with
this company if you want to avail uninterrupted, reliable services.
Some Ideas For
Choosing a Good Domain Name
Choosing a good domain
name for your website or blog is a extremely important, yet it is
one of the hardest decisions new internet marketers face.
One good rule to
follow when choosing a domain name is to always use a dot com
extension for your primary domain name. You may want to use a.net
or.us or some other extension for a redirect, but always use a.com
extension for your primary domain name.
That being said, it
seems like all of good.com extensions are taken. This is especially
true if you are trying to follow the advice of using keywords in
your domain name. If you do find a keyword that is available to buy
for your domain name, you will probably end up with a super long
domain name that is a pain in the butt to type in the address bar.
So what if you
happen to find a good keyword filled niche domain name like
poodletraining.com. You market your Poodle training website or blog
aggressively for year or so and it becomes successful then it
eventually reaches a plateau. Suddenly you realize that you want to
talk about a different type of dog. Well it would be hard to
generate interest about pit bulls on a poodle training website.
What is the
solution? Choose a generic domain name within your niche. If you had
a domain name that was about dogs in general then you could have all
of your niches in sub domain names.
I know dog.com is
not available but I will just use it in this example. Suppose you
had the domain name dog.com. Then there are a couple of ways to
branch off into several different niches under this one domain name.
One page or blog on
your site could be dog.com/poodle and another could be dog.com/pitbull.
Or you could have
one page or blog under dog.com/training and another under dog.com/health.
I think the first method would be more manageable because there are
tons of different types of dogs and each one would be a separate
niche.
Using a hosting
company with the Fantastico tool allows you to host multiple blogs
under one domain name. You can build up one WordPress niche blog and
then use certain plugins to put it on autopilot. In the meantime you
can build up another niche blog under your main domain name. If you
continue this method over time your site will eventually become an
authority site.
If you are an
animal lover you can make your domain name something more generic to
do with the word animals. Are you getting the idea?
You can use this
method to brand any domain name that you choose as an authority
site. If you want to brand yourself, then your name is about as
generic as you can get for a domain name. Then you can brand
yourself as an expert in different related niches by creating
different sub-domains in several different niches.
The Top 10 Art
Marketing Strategies - Brand Recognition
Art marketing in
today's world is more a science than ever before. With so many
different outlets, successful artists have learned to tap all of
these outlets and create their brand. Once an artist has created
brand they will be able to increase the value of their Art and
volume of Sales.
Art Marketing Strategy
of creating your brand has been difficult in the past. However this
is not the case in today's world of Internet Marketing. Using some
simple art marketing techniques you too can be successful. Let's
look at both some online and off-line art marketing strategies to
employ.
1. Purchasing a
domain name and creating a website is the primary way to start your
Art Marketing Strategy. In this day and age, most people go to
Google and other search engines to find things out and therefore
your online presence is very important. An important point is that
you may want to purchase your name as your domain name or the name
you intend to use as your artist name. This goes back to the
branding strategy is a must for today's artists.
2. Create a blog
about you and your art work. The primary difference between a blog
and a website is typically a website will contain your gallery,
contact information, some basic website text about yourself and your
art work, while your blog is used to talk about yourself and your
art and is updated on a regular basis. To use the blog effectively,
you should create three blog posts a week. These blog posts can be
from 100 to 300 words and can talk about what you did that week or
what project you're working on.
3. Join both online
and off-line organizations, forums and networking groups.
Contributing in online forums, in a positive and non-selling way is
a great way to build brand. Joining a local organization is also a
great way to create your brand.
4. Writing short
how-to articles and posting them either to your blog or to online
article directories is an excellent art marketing strategy.
5. Joining your
local community and provide some free services or training, will go
a long way to creating your image and brand.
6. Create a
newsletter that potential buyers can sign up for either on your blog
or your website.
7. Organize live
workshops either online or off-line.
8. Create an
e-book, showcasing some of your techniques, include pictures of the
art where the techniques were used and offer this e-book for free to
potential buyers who sign up for your newsletter.
9. Talk to the
local radio station to see if there's something you can do to help
them out or provide a service that will allow you to get some free
air time.
10. Contact an
event organizer or a charity to determine if there is a way that you
can contribute to a worthy cause with a genuine intention of helping
the cause or charity but with having the natural consequence of
building your brand recognition.
Tips For Registering
a Catchy Domain Name For Your Business Online
When you want to run
your business online, you should know that your domain name is your
company name and street address online. Exaggeratedly speaking, if
you can't register a catchy and attractive domain name, then it may
mean that it is very, very difficult for you to build a popular
brand on the Internet, even if you have expended great effort.
So, before starting
your online business, it is wise to spend a lot of time on choosing
a catchy domain name. Here are some guidelines to follow for
choosing a domain name that can help you promote your products
online:
Business
Brand
If possible, you'd
better register your domain name relevant to your company brand,
which is useful to promote your sites with the help of your brand
offline. But if the domain name relevant to your company has been
registered by others, for the long run, you should spend some money
getting it, which is nothing if you find that such a domain name has
helped you promote your products a lot.
Be Catchy
It is a fact that
there are lots of site online and the number is increasing day by
day. So, how to let your site distinguish from others, the answer is
a catchy domain name.
When selecting the
domains, remember to make it easier and easier and avoid spelling
that is easy to misspell. You see, if your domains make your
visitors make a spelling mistake, then these errors will take them
to other sites, even your competitors.
Keywords
In fact, this is an
important part of SEO. To register a domain name that contains the
keywords relevant to your business is a good choice. Usually, this
kind of domains are more friendly with search engines and can help
your sites gain higher ranking and quality.
For example, if you
have built a famous pizza company in your local areas, then it is
wise to choose one domain name including "pizzas".
If you have chosen
a perfect domain name, then it means that you can gain big success
on the Internet easily because your choice will help visitors
identify your business online.
How to Choose a
Domain Name
Selecting a domain
name is one of the most important decisions you'll make in setting
up your business. Your web address is a crucial part of your brand,
and might appear on all your off line marketing.
Objectives
• You will be able
chose an appropriate domain name and TLD for your product/niche
• Understand the Importance of Keyword Phrase in your Domain Name
Before you can
choose a domain name you need to have CHOSEN YOUR TARGET MARKET in
order to understand what you would pick for your domain name.
Having researched
your target market and customers and are able to describe that ideal
customer in one sentence you are ready to choose your domain name.
(For guidance on choosing and researching your target market see
separate article)
For a product or
service related domain name it is best to have a "Keyword Phrase,"
ideally in the front of the domain name. (If you are branding
yourself then a domain name with your real name would be needed).
Examples:
The internet has been used for a number of years and many of the
domain names you would initially want to use may not be available.
For this set of
examples for tropical fish; which is not available. I, Mark Walton,
used just my initials, my first name preceded by the word "by," plus
with and without hyphens, depending on the look I want and how short
I want it:
tropicalfishmw
tropical-fish-mw
tropicalfishmark
tropical-fish-mark
tropicalfishbymark
tropical-fish-by-mark
Using my full name
as in: tropical-fish-by-mark-walton, is adding too many words that
are not part of the keyword phrase.
I would consider my
full name: tropical-fish-by-mark-walton, if I was thinking of
'branding' myself or, if you already have a business, you would want
the URL: yourbusinessname.com for example or:
keywordphraseyourbusinessname.com
The example I use
"Tropical Fish." is already taken, so what could do?
This is when using
"hyphens","Other Words" or "Auxiliary Words." Would be useful to
retain your chosen "keyword phrase" within the domain name.
Auxiliary words
include: "here," "with", "byYOURFIRSTNAME," "byYOURINITIALS," "byYOURNICKNAME,"
"site," "101,""info" etc.
They are not part
of any keyword phrase, but when you do search for them there is a
greater chance you will find the keyword phrase domain plus an
auxiliary word available.
For example:
TropicalFishHere,
tropical-fish-here, TropicalFishByMark, BySimon, BySam, ByMermaid -
something that comes after the keyword phrase that you can add on
that makes sense, has human appeal, and has your keyword phrase
upfront so the search engines will see it.
Your domain is
important to the search engines that's why you want that keyword
phrase in there.
Additionally the
domain is going to tell somebody looking at it, what your site is
about.
Now, if it's
TropicalfishBymark.com, they're going to assume the sites about
Tropical Fish, and it should be.
Whilst most of the
time you'll have your keyword phrase in front. There could be some
exceptions.
For something
that's very, very competitive, like weight loss, obviously
WeightLoss.com is going to be taken.
But you'll notice
that, when searching for something like weight loss, that there are
actually words and phrases that rank very high, that have a lot of
searches for that exact phrase - they'll be in the top ten phrases
searched.
For Example weight
loss, weight loss tips, quick weight loss, weight loss program,
weight loss fast, fast weight loss.
You can do a quick
search for "weight loss" using this free keyword tool: I would
recommend Google Free Keyword Tool.
You can use those
extra words. You can combine phrases for example, "weight loss tips"
is ranked high, "quick weight loss" is ranked high, so you might
look for "QuickWeightLossTips."
In this instance,
you can actually put a word in front of the main keyword phrase,
only because it is a very commonly searched total keyword phrase.
REMEMBER From the
Internet perspective Your Domain name Is Not Going To Make Or Break
You - however, if you are trying to promote a particular brand image
then it is an important consideration.
There are a lot of
factors that go into getting a webpage ranked high and returned in a
high position in the search results.
The key point is
there are many factors that Google looks at so don't get too
stressed when you go to choose your domain name.
Try a search in
Google for Internet Marketing WITHOUT quotes and see how many of the
top 10/20, of the search results returned, have the phrase "Internetmarketing"
in their domain.
Do the same with a
Search with quotes as: "internetmarketing"
Do the same for your target market, your topic for your business.
Example: search for
"YOUR TOPIC" with or without the quotes and look at the domains that
show.
Try to get the
keyword phrase in front. Play around with the words after.
And again, I went through where there can be an exception for weight
loss.
Long Domain Names
Vs Short Domain Names
Ideally you do want
to keep the domain relatively short. However sometimes; as you have
seen with the above examples; you can't keep it as short as you
would like as a lot of those domain names have been taken.
But Google, the
main "Search Engine" do not put emphasis on a short domain versus a
long domain.
Ideally, you want
to see if you can keep it short, but with the internet being highly
competitive, your domain might end up being three, four, five words,
30-35 characters.
Which TLD
Extension?
".com" | ".info" |
".net" | ".biz" | ".org"
So that brings us to the extensions, what's called the TLD
extension. TLD is "top level domain".
There are a wide
selection including:-.com,.net,.info,.biz,.org - and lots of others,
.edu. (.edu, education, is only available to accredited
universities.); .net was intended for ISP's and other networking
companies, but there is no formal regulation of this, .org is
generally used by not-for-profit organisations but can give an
impression of size and importance.
The ".com" stands
for commercial this is the best extension you can get particularly
if you are marketing to a global audience. For a UK audience
the.co.uk is fine.
.com is what most
people are used to so when they remember your domain they might,
forget that it was "yourdomain.net" and go to "yourdomain.com"
However for the
search engines, as far as how Google views a.com versus a.net or
a.info, this has changed over the last few years but although know
one really knows, my understanding is Google puts very little weight
on whether or not a ".com" domain is used versus a ".net" domain for
example.
So if you know you
want a particular phrase or name and the.com is taken, you can go
for an alternative TLD ".net" ".info" or ".org"
Summary
Ideally have your
"keyword phrase" up front, use hyphens if you want, try to keep it
short - don't worry if it gets a little long.
The best extension
is likely to be ".com" or ".TV" for video sites as far as search
engines are concerned I believe there is no bias.
Expand your options
by adding the "Other Word(s)" or "Auxiliary Word(s)". Use the
auxiliary word after your keyword phrase, to give you options on
obtaining the keyword phrase you want upfront with a domain name
that is still available for you to purchase and register.
See what other
people are using for domains by searching Google with your keyword
phrase. See how many of the websites that appear on the first page,
the top 10/20 - see how many of those domains actually have the
keyword phrase in it. You'll be surprised at how many do not have
the keyword phrase in it.
Remember, your
domain is not going to make or break your business.
There's A Lot That Goes Into Making A Website Successful
Use Google Free
Keyword Tool
For domain names
and hosting I would recommend "Hostgator"
I wish you every
success.
Mark Walton
How Much is a Domain
Name Worth? Part 2
There are many
elements that have contributed to the value of a domain, and they
are changing all the time. For the foreseeable future, it appears
that domain names will continue to rise in value overall and could
be a great investment. In the past 11 years, I have owned and/or
managed over 500 domains. By comparison, I am not a big player in
the domain name game, but in my expenditures of both time and money,
I will share with you what I have learned in my experience.
This article does not
address websites, only and exclusively domains. This is important to
note as many domains for sale come with a website and it is
important to differentiate between the two, they are two separate,
independent things. It is also important to note that a domain names
value can be strongly effected by it's association with a website or
not. Let's say you see a domain name for sale, and it is only the
domain name that is for sale, not the website, and a measurable
amount of traffic is attributed to that domain. There may be a good
number of incoming links to the domain as well, contributing
positively to it's value also. If you pull the site away you pull
away the content, if you lose the content, you lose the links, you
lose the traffic, you lose the value. Be very careful in purchasing
a premium domain.
Some domain names
may have had a website attached to it previously, but are
independent now. You can see if a domain ever had a website by
visiting archive.org "wayback machine". If you purchase a domain
that used to have a website you have to be careful of what kind of
site it was. It may have been a complete disconnect from your
business or vision of what the domain means. This disconnect could
cost you thousands and take a lot of time to "undo". Check the
history of a domain name.
Here are some of
the major contributing factors in domain name value. In informal
order of importance and relevance to value.
Length. This is an
old one and has not changed. The shorter a domain the better,
generally speaking.
Keywords in domain.
This is a plus but not a requirement. I have seen it be particularly
effective for a very narrow channel or a singular brand, but it is
not a requirement.
.com still rules.
When you can't find the domain you are looking for with a.com ending
you may be tempted to go to a.net or.org, or God forbid a.biz,.us or
worse. It's not fair to say that you can't have a great website with
an extension other than.com, but I recommend going with a.com as SEO
best practices. Sometimes you can buy your.com version as a premium
domain, and it may be worth the extra money.
Existing traffic.
This is a sticky one. This is what I addressed above. A domain name
will only have traffic under 4 conditions:
Existing or
previous content that attracted traffic
Incoming links that
drive traffic and ranking due to "a."
Fake or PPC
traffic. Details of this is for another article.
Type-in traffic.
Very hard to measure.
Brand-Match. This
is one of the smartest ways to establish a good domain at a cheap
price. You are able to choose any brand name you want for your
product and many times able to find the.com version of it for less
than $10.00 per yr. It is important to mention that when using this
strategy you should support the domain with very a strong
multi-media marketing campaign, the two work well together and
increases your chances for success with both the brand and the
domain.
Existing traffic to
a domain is probably the biggest element of value. It can also be
the most complex. Buying a domain that someone else owns is like
buying a used car, but worse. There is no singular source for
finding out the history of a domain like there is on a car, a VIN
number. The only historical data you can find on a domain is very
limited. There is no way to know what the previous owner did to
drive traffic to that domain. It could all be legitimate but there
are unlimited ways to drive fake traffic to a website. Fake traffic
is invisible to a domain buyer and can also inflate the value.
Buying and
transferring ownership of a domain is another thing and best fit for
another article. This can be tricky and you can get ripped off
easily if you are not careful.
Be very careful
when spending money on a premium domain, I recommend using a
professional domain name broker and dig up as much info as you can
on the domain yourself.
How to Choose a Good
Domain Name - Tips and Tricks
How to choose a good
domain name - Now, this is a big topic, but here are some tips:
- In order of
priority: .com,.co.uk,.net. If possible, get all 3.
- An aged domain is
better than a new one, as Google ranks older domains higher. You can
buy an aged domain from several sites online. But don't worry, a
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