Do You Really Know What A Domain Name is? Let Me Demystify It All For You
Whether they know it or not, all users of the internet, for whatever purpose, have typed in a domain name. A domain name is the familiar www.thisisawebsite.com that internet users type into their browsers to access a particular web-site. Nowadays domain names are a common sight in off-line advertising, whether the advertising is in newspapers, magazines, on radio, television, or on the sides of busses. Domain names are also known as URLs but for the purposes of this article we will refer to these features as ‘domain names’.
Domain names are always written in lower case letters, starting with ‘www’, although some links to a web-site page appearing on the same web-site, another web-site, at the end of an article, or within a blog, may require ‘http://’ in front of the ‘www’. The main part of the domain name is always written with no spaces, although dashes (-) or underscores (_) are sometimes used to separate words. Every home page domain name then ends with, usually, a 3 letter suffix, as explained more fully in the next paragraph. The 3 main parts of every domain name are separated by periods (.), which are always referred to as ‘dots’.
Every internet web-site has a page that ends simply with a dot (.) followed by, usually, a 3 letter combination of letters. By far the most popular combination is ‘.com’, but ‘.net’, ‘.org’, ‘.edu’, ‘.biz’, ‘.gov’, and ‘.info’ are also fairly common, depending on the type of enterprise the web-site belongs to. ‘.net’ and ‘.info’ are frequently used when the owner of an enterprise is very keen on a particular main name for his web-site, but the ‘.com’ version has already been taken by somebody else.
Obviously, although the internet now consists of billions of web-sites, all domain names must be unique. There are also new suffixes that are occasionally added. ‘.xxx’ is a fairly recent example of this in an effort to more easily distinguish web-sites of a pornographic nature.
Every web-site has a page name ending simply in ‘.com’, or ‘.net’ etc. This page is known as the home page. However, if the site has multiple pages, then each page must have its own unique name as well. This is achieved by adding a forward-slash (/) after the ‘.com’ (or ‘.net’ etc) and adding a page name. Again, like the main part of the domain name, the page name must be written with no spaces, although dashes (-) or underscores (_) are sometimes used to separate words.
Either in links or when typing a web-site address directly into a browser, the home page can be bypassed by adding the forward-slash and the page name, if it is known, to the domain name. Normally though, a user will not know the name of a particular page so he or she will have to navigate, using the menu structure of the site. to a particular page. However page names are often added to links, where the web-site designer wants the user to be directed straight to a particular page.
Occasionally the whole name is ended with ‘.html’, but except, in some links, this is not usually necessary. ‘HTML’ is the name of the coding language that is used to produce the vast majority of web pages.
Phil Ramage is a semi-retired self-employed accountant, spreadsheet guru & Internet marketer, living in Thailand with his wife of 30 years & an adopted beautiful little girl.
For a free downloadable e-book on domain names, visit:
www.todaysonlinemarketingsolutions.com/domain_names
(C) 2011 Philip Ramage All rights reserved
Things to Consider When Finding a Domain Name
If you are looking for a domain name, you probably already know that it can be incredibly difficult to find a .com domain. Especially when it comes to short domain names, those in the one or two word category, most of them are long gone. They have either been purchased by other companies or by someone hoping that someone else who is willing to pay a pretty penny for it will want to buy it.
So then people started expanding to .org and .net. While these domains are not as coveted as .coms, they are well recognized and respected. And yet, as .com addresses become rarer, these domain endings as well have become more and more difficult to get. As you continue to look around, you may start seeing different domain endings you have never seen before, like PayBox.me or Freedom.ws. What are these domains, and what do they mean?
Usually, like PayBox.me and Freedom.ws, the ending simply is referring to a different country, in this case Montenegro and Western Samoa, respectively. Finding these domain endings is often an easy way people try to get the specific and often shorter domain name that they are looking for.
But there are lots of questions regarding these unfamiliar domain endings. Will people see your URL and assume that your website is associated with some sort of scam? It depends. Many countries, such as Britain and Australia, run websites that are well known internationally, so their domain endings are becoming more and more common, therefore more people trust them instinctively.
However, these URL endings are often just as difficult to come by as .com. The much smaller and lesser known countries like Montenegro or Western Samoa have the availability they do, simply because they are unknown.
So, are they worthwhile? Well it depends on what your website is being used for. For example, if your website is not trying to attract new customers or clients, but is rather being used as an informational site for existing customers and clients, than it is probably fine. Your customers will already know and trust your business, therefore they will know and trust your website.
But if you are trying to use your website primarily to find new business, then you will probably want to stay away from these unknown URL endings. It is preferable to you to have the trust that comes from using a .com ending than it will be to have the perfect domain name. These days, people are used to hyphenated or lengthy domain names. It has just become part of the internet culture.
If you would like more info check out additional PayBox.me Scam and Freedom.ws Scam reviews.
Reselling Domain Names – A Get Rick Quick Scheme?
If you even have a slight interest in the domaining business, you know that reselling domain names can be a lucrative business. Many domain registrars and aftermarket services have made millions off the buying and selling of these names.
There are probably more individuals who have absolutely made fortunes picking up domains for cheap, say between $10 – $500 and selling them at rates of return that almost seem illegal.
I once picked up a domain that was free to register for $19.95 and sold it for $4K within 18 months. Try getting that rate of return at the bank or on the stockmarket. Unless you are prepared to sell something illegal, you won’t see that return on investment offered any place.
So with money to be made in this industry, it is no surprise that many people are buying and reselling domain names with the hope of making a killing. Nothing wrong with that – after all – it is the American way.
The problem is that the a lot of names being registered and listed on aftermarket websites are horrible. The end result – no one buys them and the names are either not renewed after a year or renewed for another year with the hope of selling them.
Sure, there are cases where not-so-good names have been sold for a solid profit. But resellers will make profits far more consistently by doing their research and buying relevant names.
By relevant I mean you only register domains that you intend on developing and reselling or domains that have the product or service keyword in them.
Developing a name into a website increases its valuable tremendously and doesn’t cost much to do either. Simply install a free WordPress blog on the domain, add some content and get backlinks to it. Sooner or later, the domain will start getting traffic so it.
So when you resell the name, you can show that it is getting search engine traffic – which makes the name easier to sell.
The alternative to developing the name is reselling domain names that have good keywords in them. So if you want to register a domain for the landscaping industry – look to register a domain that has the word “landscaping” and perhaps a geographic location. So “Nylandscaping dotcom” would be great for a landscaping business in New York.
There is a third alternative for profiting in the domain resale business. You could check out websites that specialize in finding hidden domain gems and offering them to investors at very affordable prices. You could buy a couple domains from those sites and resell them for a good return on aftermarket platforms such as Sedo and TDNAM.
The key of course, is being able to locate these websites.
Next, are you interested in reselling domain names for fun and profit? Buy domains from Pimp Domains – affordable, high quality names that you can resell for a great return. Most offers accepted. Visit:
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Watch Out For The Domain Appraisal Scam
In the spirit of the Nigerian 419 scam, for the past couple of years, the domain appraisal scam has been doing the rounds on the internet.
It is very easy for unsuspecting domain owners to get caught up in this scam. However, with the info provided in this article and a little common sense, the only thing one might lose is the few seconds it takes to read an email.
Here is how the domain appraisal scam works:
You are contacted with an email that goes like this:
Hello,
We purchase/resell domain names and developed websites. Now we consider your domain. What is your price?
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
xxxxx xxxxxxxx
CEO
xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx LLC
Now, if you respond with a price – say $5000, you’ll get another email like this:
Hello,
5000 USD? Ok
Did you use zzzzzzxxxxxx.com before? I think this is the best place for domain/money transfer.
Do you have an appraisal certificate?
Domain name is an investment for me. In other words I’m going to sell your name later and make a profit. If I overpay I won’t be able to make a profit in the future. It’s very important for you and me to know the current market value of your domain.
Of course, we must be sure that you are engaging a reputable appraisal company. I heard many appraisal companies often made inaccurate appraisals. I will only accept appraisals from independent sources I know and trust.
To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal companies in a forum. They recommended (some appraisal company dot com)
If the appraisal comes higher you can adjust your asking price accordingly. I also hope you can give me 10% – 15% discount of the appraised value.
After I get an appraisal from you we’ll continue our negotiations.
Hope we can come to an agreement quickly fast.
Looking forward to your response.
xxxxxxxxxyyyyy
Basically, if you send money to their recommended company, you might get some phony appraisal or you might not. Bottomline, you’ll that money you sent is lost. They’ll never fulfill their promise and continue negotiations or buy your domain.
Many domainers fell for the scam and sent money for the phony because they were so eager to sell their domains.
Most of the domain appraisal scams take on this format. Other clues include:
1. They’ll never address you by name. Email starts of with “hello”
2. They might be lots of grammatical errors in the email
3. They’ll always accept the offer you send no matter how high.
4. The email is purported to be sent by a “ceo”
One more thing to bear in mind. Most appraisals are worthless. A domain is worth what a customer is willing to pay for it. If you want an appraisal – don’t pay for it.
Do a search and find out what similar names have been sold for or post the name on a domain forum and get feedback from the users on that forum.
If you want to make the domaining business a profitable one, you must first buy well researched, quality domain names.
Next, to buy domain names that are well researched, top quality and affordable and that can be easily resold, visit:
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How To Buy Domains Names That Are Valuable
In the domaining business, one of the most frequently asked questions is, “how to buy domains that end users will recognize as being profitable?
It is not uncommon for some newbie domain investor to spend hours searching for the perfect domain name to register. Then when they stumble on free to register names that they feel are as good as the next Google – their heart start beating.
They whip out their credit cards and buy the domains, sure that within a short period of time, they will be able to resell the names for profit.
But for many newbies, that initial burst of enthusiasm fades fast as no one even signal interest in any of the names.
If this describe your experience, here is how to buy domains that will be more valuable than the ones you bought in the past:
1. In general – stay away from brandable names. It is important that you buy a name that an audience will understand as soon as they see it.
These kind of names tend to have the keywords in them and people are typing in that keyword in the search engines. These types of names, would be more valuable to an end-user
2. When you are just staring in the domaining for profit business – go easy on the number to names you buy. Read the domain name forums and read Dn Journal and find out what type of domains are moving.
3. From point #2, you should haves saved some money rather than throwing money at rubbish names.
Take some of that money and search through some of the names being sold at Snap Names. You could find some real gems there for as low as $69.
Sure, you can find a good free to register name for $10. But remember, the advanced domainer scan numerous names on a weekly basis so finding that great $10 domain name is getting harder.
Again, when you go to Snap Names – look for domains that have the keywords in them.
4. Avoid long buying long domain names or names with hyphens.
5. Buy only .Coms. Until you know more about the industry, avoid dotnet, dotbiz, dotinfo and the country extensions such as dotpk (Pakistan), dotin (India) etc.
You have a greater margin of error if you register only dotcoms.
Conclusion:
Knowing how to buy domains for profit is a skill that will improve with time. Read up as much as you can about the industry and learn from your mistakes.
If you want to get a good jump start into the business, only buy domains from websites that have waded through the crappy names and only offering the gems.
Next, buy domains cheap but high quality at http://www.PimpingDomains.com – Most offers accepted!