Here is a great little shortcut for Windows/Internet Explorer users:
If you are using Internet Explorer you can simply type in any word for a domain (like ROAT) and if you then press the CTRL key and the ENTER key at the same time it will automatically add the "http://www." to the front and the ".com" to the end of the word.
Try it!
Is there any wonder the .com TLD is the most popular domain when there are keyboard shortcuts like this?
Keep searching for that perfect domain name! Ron
This is part 3 in a series of posts where I will offer suggestions for ways to use your new domains.
A very simple way to use your extra domains is to use URL Redirecting (often called domain forwarding) to provide multiple ways for a user to access/find your main website.
URL Redirecting means you set your domain so that when someone types in a domain name in the address bar, they are automatically sent to another website. Usually, this is a free service provided by most registrars. If this service (and the email forwarding service) isn't free you should consider moving your domain to one that offers this for free (DirectNIC and GoDaddy for example).
So, if you have one website (such as www.ROATCorp.com) you could use all your other domains (such as www.roat.com, www.roat.biz, www.roat.info, and so forth) to URL Redirect to the main website.
One option you will want to consider when setting this up. Some registrars offer the option of URL Redirecting "with frames" and "without frames." If you select redirecting with frames the domain name that the user enters will show in the address bar. Redirecting without frames will directly send traffic to the original URL (the original URL will show instead of the one the users enters).
Until next time, keep searching for that next domain name! Ron
OK, I have this great new domain... now what? Part 2:
This is part 2 in a series of posts where I will offer suggestions for ways to use your new domains. In part 1 (previous post) I discussed the philosophy of using the email forwarding that usually comes free with your domain registration.
Another free way to use your domain (and one that may even make you some money) is to use a "domain parking" service.
Domain parking is a free service that allows you to generate revenue with your domains. It is available from a variety of vendors such as www.Sedo.com. This is often called "monetizing a domain". The parking vendor will use their advertising partners to display targeted and specific advertisements on your parked domains. When a visitor to your domain sees a targeted ad and they click on the advertisement link.... part of the click-thru revenue that is generated is paid out to you (the domain owner). For example, I own the domain name www.Klye.com and don't have a use for this domain right now. I have it parked and have it listed as a "last name" domain so the targeted ads all deal with names, ancestory, and so forth. When a visitor comes to this site and they click on one of the ads I get $.01 - $.05 per clicked link. Since this is a popular last name I get a fair number of unique visitors and some do click on ads that spark their interest.
While some vendors claim that owners of really good domain names can earn $100 - $300 a year using this domain parking concept... I would say the average earnings for most domains will be in the $10 - $30 per year range.
The key to generating good parking revenue will be in the domain name itself (a common theme in most of our domain philosophy posts)! Look back at some of my previous posts on domain naming philosophy and you will be able to see what names will generate traffic and lead to clicked ads.
Even if you make $10 - $15 per year from parking an unused domain... at least it could pay the renewal fees for the domain name itself. Consider this option for using your domain name. If you find it works, you may want to purchase additional domain names just for the purpose of parking them. Keep searching for your next domain name! Ron
OK, I have this great new domain... now what? Part 1:
This is part 1 of a series where I will offer suggestions for ways to use your new domains... and in turn may prompt some ideas for additional domain names you will want to acquire and use for your benefit. I won't be discussing the most obvious use option... creating a website... as I will assume you already thought of that! If you are waiting to create your website (for any reason) there are many other uses for your domains that will either be free or low cost. Some may even make you money!
The first option I always offer to someone when they purchase a new domain (if they don't want to move ahead on the website option) is to simply use the domain for a personal email address. Most registrars offer a free email forwarding service that will forward email going to YourName@YourDomain.com to any other email accounts you use such as your Yahoo or Hotmail email accounts.
The process of setting up this email forwarding is usually very simple. In most cases, you will login to the registrar and go to the domain management area. Then, choose the email option. You can usually select the email forwarding option and enter the email address where you want the forwarded email to go. Click the save button and you are all set!
So, how can you use this email forwarding? There are many options on how to use email fowarding. One idea is to have domains (and email) that are associated with a targeted marketing area. For example, let's say you are a realtor and own the domain www.CindiSells.com. You could setup the email forwarding for Cindi@CindiSells.com to do be forwarded to another email address. Now you could use that email for your general marketing efforts. If Cindi now wants to market to the just the city of Indianapolis she might buy www.CindiSellsIndyHomes.com and create an email address (that forwards to the other email address) using that domain. Next if she wants to market just to the neighboring city of Carmel she could buy www.CindiSellsCarmelHomes.com and do that same thing. Now, her marketing materials are more focused, more effective, and hopefully will result in more sales!
Think about how you could use this email forwarding option in your business. For the cost of just the domain (depending on the registrar of course) you can use this option. One final note, most of the time when I set up email forwarding (at least with the larger registrars) it only takes 15-20 minutes before the email starts forwarding! There is not a quicker way to utilize a domain.
As always, let me know if I can help you find and/or acquire that great domain name. Ron
Here is site that provides a free domain name analysis and estimated appraisal. I found the base values to be quite accurate and wanted to pass this along in case you were wondering if the asking price for a domain was reasonable or if you are wanting to sell a domain... what to ask for it.
Keep searching for that domain name and let me know if I can help! Ron
Acquiring your last name as a domain name has become very popular. Like most domain names... the .com TLD is the most popular and therefore is the hardest to obtain but you can still obtain them if you know where to look... and how to search for name variations that are still available.
The biggest use of a "last name" domain is for email purposes. Imagine having your firstname@lastname.com. How easy would that be to remember... or just how cool would it be to hand it out on your business cards? Beyond email use, creating a website around your last name is the next option... and is a great purpose for your domain name if you are a contractor, speaker, or consultant who uses your name as your brand.
Recently, I have acquired several lastname.com domains through the use of expired domain auctions and back-orders so good domains can still be acquired.
If you can't find your last name domain (or it is already taken) there are several options:
Using your last name as your domain and having it available for your email address is a great way to create a memorable/powerful email address (and website). Let me know if I can help you acquire your best domain name! Ron
Want a valuable domain name for your local business? Try adding a region-specific prefix to your business name or service and you will have a domain name that will increase your website traffic!
For example, take the city of Indianapolis. It is better known around this region (and actually around the world because of the Indy 500 race) as "Indy" and this lends itself nicely to using Indy as a catchy and memorable prefix for domain names. When you think of a business such as a flooring store... how would www.IndyFloors.com sound? How about a blinds store using www.IndyBlinds.com? The concept here is to use your region-specific prefix to make your business or service easy to remember and easy for those users who like to try domain names that seem logical (type-in traffic).
Currently, I own the following domains that use this concept:
These domain examples follow this domain philosophy exactly.
I would recommend taking your own region-specific prefix and add it to your business name or service... try to acquire that domain name and see if it helps your website traffic. I can't guarantee any traffic results... but if you choose the best domain name it probably will increase your visitor stats.
My only other recommendations for this domain philosophy, is to acquire the .com TLD at a minimum. The .com will be used by most type-in traffic visitors so you absolutely need that TLD. If you do get the .com TLD also consider getting the .net and .org to create a complete package of the domain name.
Let me know if you need any help creating or acquiring that great domain name! Ron
I purchased my www.roat.com domain from a previous registrant... and paid a fair amount of money to own it. Was it really necessary to obtain the .com domain... couldn't I just get by without it and use the other TLD's that were available (these are common questions I often get from clients)? My answer to those questions are Yes - it is necessary to get the .com TLD if at all possible and No - a business just can't get by without that main top-level-domain extension if they are to benefit from "type-in" traffic.
Before I purchased www.roat.com I already owned/used the roat.org, roat.ws, roat.biz, roat.info, roat.cc, roat.cn, roat.name, and yes... even roat.tv domain TLD's. In the beginning I felt good about it... and tried to send everyone to my roat.biz domain or one of the others. The problem I kept experiencing was... EVERYONE would still go to the roat.com website and I found myself continuously trying to explain why the website wasn't my company!
When talking with clients (and potential clients) I would always say "Go to my website at www.roat.biz" and then I would reinforce it with "don't go to the .com as that isn't my website... just go to roat.biz and you will see my information." Regardless of how I worded it I always wondered why they never commented on my site... at least not in a timely manner and not without my followup. Usually, when I did ask how they liked my site and the ROAT Corp Forum they would say "I tried to go to your website and got some other company... I couldn't figure it out... seemed strange that you would have your domain for sale like that."
I don't have an MBA degree... but I knew that wasn't good for business.
So, I purchased the domain... for the asking price... and yes, I am very happy I did. In just the last two months I have heard from several new customers... that they had heard of a "ROAT Corp" and simply went to their computer and typed in roat.com to try to find us... they ended up finding our site, got the contact information and then emailed me! Wow, validation!
In summary, get the .com domain if at all possible... and also obtain the other TLD's if you can... and you will benefit from the type-in traffic that your company brand is going for. If I can help with your domain name strategy let me know. Ron
What if... you had a great domain name and were seeing 300,000+ hits a month... and your business relied both internally and externally on this website for daily operations. Then, imagine if your contact information for that domain was not up to date and because the Admin and Technical Contact phone numbers and email were no longer valid... they were not getting the renewal emails from the registrar. Then, one day, you try to hit your website and it won't come up! Worse than that... you don't renew the domain during the "grace period" and then you lose the domain when someone else buys it on backorder. Is this a possible scenario? Yes! And this situation is more common than most realize.
In the past year alone, I have caught and corrected this scenario when I took over the management of several different websites. The reason I was able to catch this is because the first thing I do when I take over a new website is to login and check up on the registrar/domain name contact information. Usually, if the client is ok with having me transfer the domain, I will move it under one of my accounts so that I can monitor the domain (make sure it is renewed) and then verify that all phone numbers, addresses, and email information is up to date. Two of these websites (over the past year) were within a week of the expiration date! Fortunately, I was able to renew the domain and get the contact information updated and avoided a potential costly problem for the client.
So, my advice for any domain name owner is to:
Lastly, if you aren't comfortable monitoring/maintaining your own domain names consider having a company like mine take over the management of your domains to ensure the domain name remains valid into the future. Until next time, keep searching for that next domain name! Ron
What is the best length for a domain name? 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 characters (letters/numbers)? Does domain length really make a difference (yeah, yeah insert a joke here!)? When purchasing a domain name, length of the name is the second most important consideration (second only behind the TLD extension itself).
I believe domain lengths of 2-4 characters offer the best long-term value and are the easiest to remember... closely followed by domains that are 5-7 characters long. When you go beyond 8 characters in length I believe the value of the domain name is diminished with each additional character. Yes, the shorter domain names may cost you more money but like real estate costs... there are reasons why some "properties" are worth more than others. Shorter domain names are similar to "location" in real estate.
The other day I read an article that stated that all 2, 3, and 4 character domain names (with the .com TLD) were already taken. I doubt if this is 100% accurate but what that tells you is that if you want a good 2, 3, or 4 character domain name you are probably going to have to purchase it from an "aftermarket" domain sales site or auction. Still, these domains don't have to costs thousands of dollars (except 2 character and some 3/4 character domain names) but they will cost more than the $8.95 each that GoDaddy.com charges for an unregistered name. Personally, if you can find a 2, 3, or 4 character domain name that is available for a reasonable amount of money (and you can afford and justify it)... I would purchase and use it. Domain names of that length will offer the best domain name strategy as they are easiest to remember and will also maintain a higher resale value especially if they are a .com, .net, or .org TLD.
Over the last year, statistics have shown, the most desirable domain names have become those between 6-7 characters in length. The reason is that a 6-7 letter domain name can spell out most company names, words, and/or phrases and they are easy to remember. Another reason for the popularity of this length is the fact that most domains under 4 characters are getting more expensive to acquire. Still, when you think of how many phone numbers (7 characters long) a person can remember and use every day... it makes sense that you can benefit from a domain that is the same length as a phone number.
Domain names over 8 characters can still be valuable but only if they spell out something that is very easy to remember (and are easy to spell). A domain like www.TruckingBillboards.com is a domain that is easy to remember and spell so it works. Obviously, if an 8 character domain was just a combination of letters and numbers no one could remember it and the possibility of mistyping would be great.
One last strategy consideration regardless of domain length... I would avoid any domain name with a "dash" in it. Any combination of letters and numbers is fine if it is easy to remember and/or it spells out a name, word, or phrase (or an acronym) but dashes add a difficulty factor to the mix. Think about telling a potential visitor your domain name over the phone. When you speak/spell a domain name like abcd.com versus ab-d.com which one will be easier for a user to remember and type in? I would just avoid any domain name with a dash.
Until next time... keep searching! Ron
