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Bank Of America Investment You've seen them before and wondered what the heck they were thinking: small businesses with domain names like "http://reallylonganduniquebusinessname.biz". Half-out-loud you say: what, was "http://reallylonganduniquebusinessname.com" taken? A new advertising technique of "illegal" casino websites helps prove that your snickering is absolutely justified.

Having relevant "keywords" to support your domain name is also an important consideration and will enable customers to find your online business effortlessly through Web based search engines. Another excellent marketing tactic you should consider is to have multiple URL addresses (including your domain name) point to the very same Web site. This is very simple .....This will allow you to keep your legacy domain name, business names conduct commerce and are listed in the search engines, significantly increasing your Web site's overall traffic."

Investment Opportunity Cheapskates and Johnny-dot-Com-Lately's

Design isn't the only consideration when creating a web site. Make sure you have a respectable domain name, preferably your business name. Think jdoe@mycompany.com versus jdoe@yahoo.com. A good domain name offers credibility to your company and makes it easier for customers to find you when searching the web. You can find out more about registering your domain name online.

Banc Of America Investment If you've consulted for small business websites as long as I have, you have probably encountered more than a few whose owners decided to save three dollars at Godaddy by buying a dot-biz domain name. Or a dot-net, dot-info, or dot-whatever was on sale that week.

Banking Investment Whatever it is, forget trying to tell them that they may have lost out in thousands of dollars of business from type-ins. That is, from all the people who will type in the dot-com version and get an error message--or a parked domain advertising naughty-naughty pictures. Nor should you tell them that everyone who knows a dot-biz from a dot-com knows that the former is usually offered on sale and is the beast-mark of the most extreme kind of penny-wise-pound-foolish cheapskate. The obviousness of the truth of the observation will only make them hate you more.

GoDaddy.com is the world's No. accredited domain name registrar for .COM, .NET, .ORG, .INFO, .BIZ and .US domain extensions. Name Intelligence, Inc. 2005 Copyright ® 2008 GoDaddy.com, Inc. All rights reserved. What's a Domain Name Want a Web site Personalized email How about an easy, affordable way to promote your business, class reunion or favorite hobby A unique, memorable dot com domain name is the first step to doing all this and more. It's your 'address' on the World Wide Web, and along with your Web site, serves as your 'online identity, ' reflecting your purpose and personality. Friends, family, can type your domain name into their Web browser and visit your Web site.

Investment Solution Strategic Then there are the netrepreneurs who wanted that keyword-perfect domain name so badly that they took a dot-biz, dot-org, dot-cc, or dot-what-the-heck-does-that-stand-for? when the dot-com version was already taken. You know what I'm talking about: a one-man-band bookstore that buys the "book" domain with the Vatican's top-level domain extension because Barnes & Noble has http://book.com, and every other possible variant was also already taken.

Related Topics for Business. A podcast series designed to help the small business owner build a successful online presence. How do you decide on the right domain names Once you have your domain name...Web hosting considerations. Design and the successful site. What do you need to know about developing your site .

Investment Banking Services Again, don't bother telling these people they're just sending type-in traffic to Barnes & Noble. You are arguing against a cottage industry. Pitcairn Island, population under 100, has its own top-level domain name extension. No doubt they can cut back on their rare coin and postage stamp production thanks to the hundred bucks (US, not Pitcairnian) per domain paid by wishful Johnny-come-lately's. And GoDaddy is no doubt raking in the credit card digits from .us domain names that are worth their weight in gold pixels. This is the web version of small business owners paying thousands to put their kids in their TV commercials. If you're a business consultant, you correct their error at your peril.

Bank Investment Why Casino Sites Know Web Businesses Need Dot-Coms

Alternative Investment In case you have some justification for a dot-whatever lurking in some self-destructive corner of your brain, let me write this as clearly as possible. For a US or international business, the only suitable domain name extension is dot-com. Nonprofits can get by with dot-org, schools with dot-edu. Non-US country-specific businesses can use their own national domain name extensions. No, my fellow Americans, there is no justification for dot-us, even if your shipping area does exclude Canada and Puerto Rico and military addresses to boot.

Online Investment Services Why? Here's solid evidence the dot-whatevers are so bad.

Accompany Essential Investment 1) Type-in traffic.

Investment Company Yes, many people really will type in the dot-com version of a non-dot-com business website. I discovered powerful proof of this once after I saw a television commercial for a website with educational information about gambling. Curious how they were making money on this deal, I typed in the domain--and found a website with actual gambling right on the homepage, which would be flagrantly (though perhaps technically) illegal for me to use. Only later did I realize that the TV commercial had advertised the dot-net version of the domain, and I had typed in the dot-com version. The dot-net version has the educational material.

Investment Management Solution How would a no-membership-fee content website--with little to no advertising--recoup the expense of television advertising? Only if a vast number of the visitors to go to the money-generating dot-com version.

Investment Management Services 2) Prestige

Guide Investment Stock You may think I'm completely off-base and a business's domain name choice is none of my dot-biz-ness But the fact is those opinions are my opinions, they're not going anywhere, and if you want to impress me, a dot-whatever domain name won't do it. And I'm certainly not the only one who feels that way. Maybe you can just devote your dot-whatever website's homepage to refuting the snickerers like myself?

Investment Manual Solution 3) SEO

Investment Stock True snobs, search engine algorithms are suckers for anything that smells of respectability--and dot-whatever does not smell like that. How often do you see a high-ranking dot-whatever business site? The irony is that many dot-whatever domain name owners hope that having the keyword in their unique domain name will help them in search engines.

Essential Investment Solution In the end, I have to admit there's one good thing about the snobbery against the dot-whatever domain names. They provide a way for web business consultants to sort out the serious inquiries from the slush, just by looking at the "from" address.

Catalogue: Internet Business | Domains
Title: Web Business: What's In A (Domain) Name? For Casino Sites, A Lot By: Joel Walsh

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