Can a Little Guy Battle the Gurus in the Game of Domaining?
By Jim | February 4, 2008
You may think that thousands of people are flocking online daily to seek out their rightful place among domaining giants who have created a virtual empire of passive profits.
But while they may be looking into it, many prospective domainers are too intimidated to actually do anything to stake their claim. The primary reason? They don’t know how to go after that domain name with a unique slant or have the large monetary resources to buy a “super premium” domain name like porn.net that sold recently at a Snapnames for $400,000.
Many newbie domainers believe that if one person is already successfully selling domain names, then there’s no room at the top, so they drop their dreams and return to the shackles of a 9-5 daily grind in corporate America (or elsewhere in the world).
Is it possible for an unknown to break out onto the scene and become a hit based on what they know that’s better or different from what Big Guy Guru has to say? Of course it is.
But in order to do this, the domainer has to come onto the marketplace with insurmountable confidence so that his or her target aspirations will become successful.
A guru isn’t someone who knows better how to do something. A guru, in the domaining world, is someone who did it in an original fashion and/or someone who has been earning a living steadily online for a long amount of time and therefore knows his or her “stuff.”
A little guy may be new to the world of domain names, but that doesn’t mean he or she hasn’t worked online for months or years to learn the ropes. If you were able to come online and learn domaining well enough that it allowed you to succeed in a short amount of time, then that makes you a guru in your own right.
Many people are, in fact, turned off by the word “guru” and get bored of reading about someone’s expertise. Fresh is a good thing in the world of domain names, so before you throw in the towel and call it quits, make sure you at least give your dreams a shot at success - the world of domain names isn’t really that hard. Find your niche and stick to your guns, there is still earnings to be made!
Remember that enthusiasm boils over - so if you believe in your skills and domain marketing, then it doesn’t matter what niche you’re targeting for your efforts – your custoemrs will soak up your attitude and carry the torch for you into the realm of profits and guru status yourself!
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Free Domain Names
By Jim | February 4, 2008
Without a domain name, a person does not have a suitable way to find a website. The only problem is domain names cost money. Granted, if a person is operating one or two sites, the cost of a domain name, (which ranges from $1.00 to $35), probably isn’t too steep. However, what if one is an avid marketer, making profit from hundreds of sites? Even the minimum in domain name fees can add up. This is why Internet marketing gurus might want to consider signing up for free domain names. Three types of free domain name exist: third level domain names, first level domain names with lesser used extensions and first level domain names with traditional extensions.
The first type of free domain name is known as a third level domain name. This is a domain name that is commonly distributed by free web hosting companies or affiliate programs. Yet, there is a downside to this type of domain name. This downside involves the first level domain name, (usually the company’s name), having to be a part of the third level domain name. For example, consider a website created with Geocities.
If a webmaster chooses ‘web hosting’ as their third level domain name, the following would be the syntax: Geocities.com/webhosting. Such a domain name is not very convenient for potential visitors, so webmasters may want to consider redirecting these types of URLs to other versions of free domain names.
The second type of free domain name is a first level domain name that contains an extension that is not as popular in the Internet world. Examples are the types of free domain names offered by Dot.tk or Free Domain.co. The extensions offered from these companies are .tk and .co.nr, respectively. These are far from a .com or a .net, but they are not as cumbersome to use as a third level domain name. The main key is going to be making sure the initial domain name is short and easy to remember, so potential visitors won’t be as offset by the unusual extension.
Finally, there are free domain names with extensions that are more commonly used such as .com or .org. To find these a person has to do some sleuthing. Sometimes individuals will offer them for free, since they were about to expire anyway. A person can try to find these situations through message boards dedicated to webmasters. Other times companies will offer these types of free domain names because they are getting free ad space. What happens is every time the free domain name is used, a pop-up ad will show up on the person’s website. This is how the free domain name company gets their revenue.
In conclusion, free domain names can be an excellent alternative for someone needing domains for several websites. The best ones are those in which a person can get a first level domain, though a third level domain name is better than nothing. To sign up for a free domain name, one can search for free domain name companies on the Internet.
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Get Traffic with Expired Domain Names
By Jim | February 1, 2008
One of the greatest difficulties in being a new webmaster is trying to acquire traffic. This is because trying to build legitimate traffic requires both time and money. How is this so? Well, if a webmaster is trying to obtain traffic through search engines, they will need to spend a great deal of time with link-building and content creation. If they are trying to get traffic through a pay-per-click program, they will have to invest hundreds to thousands of dollars if they want to take advantage of a high-performance keyword. However, there is another alternative that can allow a webmaster to get tons of traffic without having to invest too much in time or money. It involves purchasing expired domain names.
What is an expired domain name? An expired domain name is a domain name that never got renewed by its owner. This could be for a variety of reasons such as disinterest in the original website, lack of funds or something more serious, such as an owner’s death. Whatever the reason when the renewal fees aren’t paid, the expired domain name sits out in cyberspace still functioning as any other domain name. There is just one difference… an expired domain name doesn’t have a website attached to it, so it instead points to a 404 error page.
Indeed, it is a waste of traffic when an expired domain name points to a 404 web page. Many domain name companies have realized this, which is why quite a few sell expired domain names either through a regular, upfront sale or through an expired domain name auction - we here at AJL Domains specialize in expired domain name auctions. The prices for these domain names can range from less than $100 to over $10,000 - although it is becoming increasingly very difficult to catch an expired domain name worth a large sum of money. Some of these sales may even include a website.
So, how does a webmaster know if an expired domain name is worth buying? First, they need to check to see the Google page rank of an expired domain name. To do this they need to download Google’s toolbar and then type in the URL of the expired domain name. The toolbar will then let them know what the page rank is. If the page rank indicator is gray, the expired domain name must be avoided since this means the site has been banned by Google. Otherwise, it should be okay, though webmasters should also take into consideration the actual number associated with the page rank. If the number is between 6 and 10, they should strongly consider buying the expired domain name.
Secondly, webmasters need to find out the Alexa rating of an expired domain name. The Alexa rating determines how much traffic has actually gone to a domain name. If a website has not received a significant amount of traffic, it will not have an Alexa rating. To determine the Alexa rating for an expired domain name, webmasters need to visit Alexa.com.
Finally, webmasters need to see how many websites are linking to the expired domain name. To do this they need to put the command link: followed by the URL of the expired domain name into a search engine. If a lot of links are returned, this is a sign that the traffic coming to the expired domain name originated from legitimate sources.
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How to Balance Domaining with Home Life
By Jim | January 31, 2008
Working at home has its own challenges that differ from working moms and dads who leave home each day and enter the business world separate from their residence. It doesn’t matter if you’re a work-at-home parent or if you don’t have kids, the challenge remains in the fact that you are solely responsible for the running of your domain name business, so it needs to be done efficiently.
Parents are often plagued by more work at home pitfalls than those without kids, just because kids bring a new element into the mix that stirs up more opportunity for interruptions and sometimes means less space is available for the work area.
The first thing you want to do when trying to balance your home life with your domaining business is carve out a space that is dedicated to your ‘net marketing endeavors. It doesn’t have to be a lot of space – as long as you have a corner spot to place your computer and other online accessories that you use.
It’s best if you can have a space where you can go to work on your domain ventures without distractions, but this isn’t always possible. Personally, I need a quiet space to concentrate, especially if I am in “shopping” mode searching for domains to resell. If the noise is too much, you might consider setting off-peak hours, such as working only when the rest of the household members are in bed and you can concentrate on what you need to do.
Many domainers love the flexibility they have in working from home and on the ‘net. If the kids have a soccer game, you’re free to shut down the computer and take off on a whim. If your spouse wants to take off for a weekend, then being a domainer allows you to take your laptop with you and log on to check in from anywhere there’s an Internet connection.
If you’re just now considering a domain name business, and want to find an option that will deliver the most balance to your home with the least amount of intrusions, then you might consider parking domains.
Parking is one domaining option that produces a nice passive income. If you choose the right generic domains and park them, it can turn out to be a decent income and return on investment (ROI) with minimal effort. For example, I have a domain name, www.CashLendingCenter.com that is earning me around $20 per month because of the high paying keywords.
Let’s do a little math. Just one of my parked domains earns me around $20 per month. There are 12 months in a year so that is $240 per year. Not a bad return on a $7.05 investment, wouldn’t you say? Take 10 domains earning an average of $20 per month and park them and no you have $2,400 per year for a $70.50 investment. Need I say more?
Working at home takes balance - balance will come about through time, so take all precautions to automate your systems and outsource certain tasks to others.
I’ll write more on parking on a later date, I didn’t want to get too off track with this post. I get a little carried away sometimes when I start talking about parking domains!
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Domain Name Basics for The Newb!
By Jim | January 30, 2008
What the heck is all this domain name stuff and why do we have them anyways?
Without a domain name, websites are specified by an IP address.
What is an IP address?
It is an identifier that is used by computers or humans to determine the location of a server or website. However, for humans, an IP address, (which is expressed in a numerical format), can be difficult to remember. This is why domain names were invented. With a domain name, a human can locate a website through more user-friendly words or phrases. And although numbers can be a part of a domain name, they usually do not make up all of it, like what is seen with an IP address.
In terms of format, domain names have several parts. The first part is known as the URL, which stands for Uniform Resource Locator. The URL tells the browser what the domain name is going to point to. This will usually be ‘http’, which means the browser can expect to locate a hypertext document. In layman’s terms this means webpage. In the rare cases the URL is not ‘http’ it may be ‘ftp’, which means file transfer protocol. A webmaster would opt to use ftp if they would like visitors to download files from their server.
The second part of the domain name will be “www,” which stands for “World Wide Web.” This phrase lets computers and humans know the site the domain name is pointing to is indeed from the Internet. It is followed by the actual domain name, which can be a combination of letters, numbers or phrases. A good domain name will be short, memorable and most importantly, search-engine friendly. In fact, good webmasters tend to concentrate more on a domain name’s effectiveness with SEO, (or Search Engine Optimization), than they do its creativity. To do this they make sure to choose a domain name that has a widely searched keyword.
The final portion of the domain name has what is known as an extension. This lets a person know a little bit more about a website’s origins. For example, take .com, the most common domain name extension. It stands for ‘commercial’, and was originally intended for organizations in that vein. However, now the extension is used by virtually anyone looking to create a website. And this is for good reason, since most web surfers will think about the .com before they would think about .org, .biz or .net. Yet, don’t think the other extensions can’t become memorable either. Consider Wikipedia.org which is a wildly popular website despite its .org extension - see my other posts where domain name extensions are discussed more at length.
Domain name extensions can also specify things on a geographical level. An example are country-based extensions such as .fr, (which stands for France), or .jp, (which stands for Japan). They can also be state-based, such as .ca, (which stands for California). Both can serve as excellent tools for localized Internet marketing.
To get a domain name, a person can either: 1) get one from their web hosting company, provided they offer that service or 2) get one from a separate domain name company. Price-wise things will vary with both options, though typically the cost will range from $6.50 to $35.
Here at AJL Domains we offer great generic domain names at very reasonable prices. Take a look around at our names for sale and auction and don’t hesitate to contact us!
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Are Dot Com Domain Names Over Rated?
By Jim | January 29, 2008
When it comes to domain name extensions, most people are familiar with .com. Because of this the average webmaster is scrambling to get the perfect .com domain name. Some may even forego registering a potential goldmine of a domain name in favor of getting a less popular .com. Yet, there are dozens of other domain names available, some of which have gained popularity despite not being a .com. How can a webmaster determine if their site is going to be in such a league without the traditional .com?
First, a webmaster needs to evaluate the purpose of their website. If their website is designed to simply direct people to an affiliate page, then it won’t really matter what extension it has, since they are only going to visit it once anyway. However, if a website is designed for repeat visits, people probabbly won’t care, let alone notice, that the site does not having a .com extension. Sites that contain updated information, games and message boards tend to be the type of sites that get repeat visitors.
Secondly, webmasters need to consider the memorable nature of their domain name. If a webmaster is able to create a witty domain name hack, such as del.icio.us, and their content is good, it may not matter that they don’t have a .com. As a matter of fact, I have a couple of good domain names for my other business that are .net’s and receive a lot of traffic because they are developed well.
A good site that can allow a webmaster to register “unconventional” domain name extensions is New.net. This site offers extensions such as .family and .law. By looking at these extensions, webmasters can start pondering ideas for their own domain name hacks. If they need help, they can always type the word or letters used in the extension in a keyword analyzer or search engine.
Thirdly, webmasters need to determine whether or not a domain name with an unconventional extension will rank higher in search engines than a domain name with a traditional one. In fact, consider the above-mentioned example of del.icio.us. Honestly, how many people are typing such a domain name in their browser? While it is certainly memorable, all of the periods associated with it are annoying. Yet, the site still has a high search engine ranking, which is probably how it’s getting its traffic.
Surfers visit it from the search engine, bookmark it and never again have to be associated with its unique URL. This is the type of success a webmaster wants to emulate. Indeed, if a domain name is keyword-rich and memorable, webmasters need to definitely go for whatever extension is available for it.
Of course, this is not to say that a person must be limited to just domain name. If they want to still use .coms after using other extensions they can. In fact, the more domain names that point to a site, the more likely a search engine bot will index it higher. So, ultimately, with this strategy, webmasters will have two domain names they can work with. They can use the one with the unconventional domain name in search engine marketing in hopes of getting indexed high, while the other one can be used in printed media, where people are more likely to be concerned with the type of URL they are entering in their browser.
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Hyphenated Domain Names
By Jim | January 28, 2008
You think of a perfect domain name. It contains a keyword that is found in search engines, has no trademark issues and is memorable for website visitors. You try to register your domain name with a domain name company. It appears to be taken. So, you put a hyphen in it. That version of your domain name is not taken, but should you go on and invest in it? This article will explore what webmasters need to consider if they are deciding to use hyphenated domain names.
First, they need to think about their website visitors. Most people are not accustomed to using hyphenated domain names. Even if they like a website, it may be simply a matter of forgetting to include the hyphen. If this happens then the unhyphenated version of the domain name will be what receives traffic, which is definitely not what a webmaster wants. Of course, if a domain name is not hyphenated in the first place, then such an issue would never arise.
However, a hyphenated domain name that is keyword-rich has a higher chance of getting a good ranking from a search engine than a non-hyphenated domain that is not SEO optimized. A higher search engine ranking might outweigh the initial disadvantage of how inconvenient a hyphenated domain name is. This is because if a website has a high search engine ranking, people won’t need to type in the domain name in order to access it. They can simply click on the listing given in search engine results. And if they like the site, they will bookmark it, an action that is preferable, since it shows they are really interested in what the site has to offer.
Webmasters should also consider whether or not their domain name is more understandable if they use a hyphen. Consider the unusual domain name molestationnursery.com. This is actually in reference to a website that talks about mole nurseries, not molestation. Yet, what will most website visitors think if they saw the domain name in that manner? Including hyphens can make such a website much clearer.
It would also be better for SEO, since search engines would index mole-station-nursery.com with keywords related to moles.
So, basically, there are advantages and disadvantages to using hyphenated domain names. If a webmaster thinks their domain name is going to bring them a lot of search engine traffic, they should go for it. And in some cases, a hyphenated domain name is necessary to make its meaning easier to understand.
Otherwise, webmasters should try their best to create non-hyphenated domain names, since these are the types of domain names that rule the Internet world. If they are having trouble coming up with a better domain name, they can consider using a domain name generator. Many domain name companies provide rudimentary domain name generators if a selected domain name gets turned down. Webmasters don’t have to settle for these type though, since there are more sophisticated domain name generators that can offer even more suggestions.
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Is the Playing Field Leveling? Domain Name Tasting
By Jim | January 27, 2008
A good domain name not only makes people more likely to visit a website, but it can also increase search engine rankings. This is because search engine bots index websites based on keywords found both in its content and domain name. Yet, how does a webmaster know if their domain name is going to be profitable? Usually most don’t until they put it into practice. Hence, there is the practice of domain name tasting.
What is domain name tasting? Domain name tasting is the process of registering a domain name and seeing how much traffic it brings to a website during whatever grace period the domain name registrar offers, (which is normally five days). If the domain name brings in a lot of visitors, the webmaster will keep it. Otherwise, they will cancel their registration and get a refund.
Does this sound interesting to you? Well, before you decide to do domain name tasting for your site, first consider the ethics of the practice. Domain name companies lose millions of dollars every year due to domain name tasting. While some may not feel sympathy for them, if domain name tasting continues without any legal restrictions, DNS enterprises may strike back by making their prices higher. Such a consequence would also hurt customers who intended on buying the domain name outright.
Another ethical dilemma involved with domain name tasting is the issue of good domain names not being eligible for more serious customers. Some may feel that in a system of free capitalistic enterprise, domain name testers have every right to access however many domain names they can. Yet, if they aren’t really going to buy them, why shouldn’t these domain names be available to individuals who may need them more? Many would argue it is better to sell a domain name to a company that is serious about using it as their brand than selling it to a person thinking they can use it to get quick traffic.
It is also important to keep in mind that a good domain name is not a sole indicator of whether or not a site is going to be successful. Domain name tasters are fooling themselves if they think their practice of domain tasting is what has brought about their success with website traffic. Granted, an expired domain name might have a little bit of traffic associated with it, but to get one that is of value, a person would have to pay hundreds maybe even thousands of dollars. Many domain name tasters wouldn’t have the funds for such a domain name, so they may instead deal with cheaper ones. And most of these cheaper ones probably do not have their own traffic stream.
Indeed, the type of website that gets a lot of traffic is one that has: a decent domain name, keyword-enriched content and lots of inbound links. Even if one doesn’t see anything ethically wrong with domain name tasting, doing it may not accurately reflect whether or not a domain name is valid. In fact, if a person does domain name tasting and their website did not have the other elements that make for proper traffic-building, they could potentially be throwing away a domain name that could be a gold mine in the future.
Keeping the above information in mind, Google has implemented their way of trying to pust a stop to the Domain name tasting practice. Google announced in January 2008 that they would exclude names so no one can generate advertising revenue while domain name tasting — the online equivalent of buying expensive clothes on a charge card only to return them for a full refund after wearing them to a party.
I believe this will free up the domain name market and level the playing field for others interested in obtaining top quality expiring domain names, giving them a fair shake at purchasing them.
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AJL Domains Posts More Great Generic Domain Names For Sale
By Jim | January 27, 2008
Here is another nice selection of generic domain name auction on sale right now including:
JustCountryMusic.com
CashbackSystem.com
CheapTicketsDeal.com
CheesecakeOutlet.com
HealthQuoteOnline.com
GoldBrew.com
HomeBasedMerchants.com
OvernightForLess.com
TastySpices.com
The above domain names for sale all end on January 28, 2008. See our domain name auction page on this website to place your bid.
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Trademark Infringement & Domain Names
By Jim | January 27, 2008
Many webmasters erroneously believe that just because their domain name registrar says a particular domain name is ‘available’ that it truly is. This is not necessarily so. Even if a domain name is physically available, it may not legally be open for use. Why? It’s because there might already be a company that has the rights to the keywords used within the domain name.
If this happens yet the webmaster claims the domain name anyway, they are at risk of losing it through a domain name arbitration proceeding. They could even be charged with trademark/copyright infringement if things get really ugly. For this reason it’s best to make sure the keywords used in a domain name aren’t protected for someone else. This article will explain how webmasters can make such a determination.
First, webmasters need to check and see if their chosen domain name resembles any existing trademark that is on the books. They will want to do this before actually investing any money in the domain name. To search existing trademarks, webmasters can visit the website of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office which is USPTO.gov. From here they can search a database that contains current trademarks as well as those that are pending.
If a domain name is similar to a registered or pending trademark, webmasters need to evaluate whether the domain name is still worth taking. Usually, if a site is not selling the same types of merchandise or services that the other business is selling and the trademark is not popular, a webmaster probably won’t get into legal trouble if they decide to go on and register the domain name. To be completely sure, webmasters can run the domain name by a trademark attorney. It shouldn’t cost too much for an hour consultation.
Of course, if a webmaster would prefer zero percent risk, they can simply try to think of another domain name. When they go about doing this, they need to be more generic and less creative in what they come up with. Using search engine keywords for a domain name is one such strategy. Webmasters can also look into using dictionary terms. If all else fails they can take a generic term and combine it with a term that is less likely to be taken, such as their first and last name.
Either way, once a suitable domain name has been chosen, webmasters should consider getting it trademarked themselves, especially if they are using it to help brand their business. With an official trademark, a webmaster has more legal power should another company try to take them to court. And since there’s no shortage of domain name bullies, (companies that try to steal profitable domain names from smaller enterprises), a webmaster should use all legal avenues available to protect the rights of their business.
In conclusion, by checking whether or not a domain name has keywords that are part of a trademark, webmasters lessen the risk that they will have legal problems in the future. If there are problems, and a domain name arbitration proceeding does not rule in a webmaster’s favor, they can turn to The Domain Name Rights Coalition.
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