Domain Name Registrations

A Dirty Little Secret Of Getting Your Domain Name Cheap

2009-03-14T09:04:00.001-07:00

If you're new and scouring the 'Net for a place to register your desired domain name, you'll likely come across websites charging anywhere from $35 a year to as low as $1.99 a year. More often than not, you'll choose the lower-priced one because it's cheaper.

There are literally hundreds of places where you can register your domain name with. There are so many around it's enough to make your head spin.

But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. And to whom you're registering and managing your domain name with is no exception.

What many people who wish to "put up a website" don't know is they might have little control or "say" (or even none at all) over managing the domain name they registered. While it's a reality many people don't know and probably don't care about this, what they don't know can and might hurt them.

Whatever their reasons and busines models, many domain providers will give you a limited degree of control and access to the domain name and your website hosting. However, they can retain full control and even ownership of the domain name itself.

It's well and good if you're having a relatively good experience with your chosen company for your website hosting and domain name needs.

But if you're not happy with them and decide to cancel and transfer, then that's where the unwanted headaches might occur.

Nowadays you virtually agree to your provider's terms the moment you sign up with them. Depending on the circumstances and the terms, they can deny you access to your domain name and even prevent you from transferring it to another provider of your choice.

If that happens, it can potentially cost time, money and effort to try to regain the domain name. And you don't have any assurance whatsoever you'll be successful in getting it back.

When browing through your potential list of domain providers, don't be afraid to ask any and all questions you have regarding how they handle domain name issues. Their answer to your questions can help shape your decision as to whom to take your chances with.

A Guide To Sell Your Domain Name Quickly

2009-03-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Everyday I read this question on different forums how I sell my domain quickly? To me earning huge income from domain and selling it quickly are two different things, and you have to select one. Many newbie register a domain in the hope that next day someone will purchase it in two million dollars, which is obviously nonsense. If you are not successful in domain business, forget everything you learn about domain trading so far and start a fresh in a scientific way. Now I explain the whole thing step by step.

Domain Acquisition

Always try to backorder an expired domain instead of registering a new one. Expired domains are already listed on search engines and most have some traffic so you can sell them on high price. If you have registered a new domain the maximum sale price of this domain will be 60$. Domain name is a highly fluctuating market so it doesnt mean that above rule is always applicable.

Never ask too much for your domain

If you want to sell your domain on an auction never ask too much in the beginning. Your customer will freak out when he will see the price tag of 10000$ for a domain which has no traffic. But there are some exceptions to this rule especially if your domain is already receiving 100,000 hits a month then ball is in your court you can demand anything for it. Domains with low or now traffic as I said shouldnt ask too much in the beginning.

Sell domain and website together

In domain name industry supply is far much than demand. Selling website with domain add a good value to your domain. If someone wants to start a forum first of all he will purchase domain name, hosting and setting up forum application. But if you are giving everything in a single price there is highly possibility of your domain sale.

Sell Domain as a package

Sometimes including different kinds of goodies with domain work really well. Few days before I sold a domain name. I included my reseller package with it which contain ebooks, scripts and software and sold whole stuff in 50$ within a week of domain registration.

Words are most important

If you are going to register a domain, make sure you have proper combination of words. For example, I registered a domain learnwinvista.com two days before everyone can easily remember it but if I use words such 456vis.com or vistre34.com I am sure it took me many months to sell this kind of domains. So domains which can be remembered easily has great chances of sell quickly

Where to sell domain name

Here are few places where you can sell domain name

http://forums.digitalpoint.com (Recommended)

http://www.sitepoint.com (They charge for domain listing)

http://www.webhostingtalk.com

http://www.sedo.com (Not a suitable place if your domain price is less than $300)

Payment Mechanism

I hate to mention this but if you want to sell a domain you must have paypal account. This is the only way to receive payment instantly.

AdSense Sites: Can Beginners Make Money with AdSense Sites?

2009-03-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

If you are in Internet marketing or have been reading the ads all over the Internet about how to make money from your website you can't have missed all the talk of AdSense. This is one of Google's main revenue generators and over the few years it has been around has made quite a few early adopters a lot of money.

Google makes a percentage of the cost of the ads and the website owner where the ads show up makes the remaining percentage. The AdSense ads are actually the ads placed through Google's AdWords Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising program.

Unfortunately as with all good things it seems, the money making potential seems to have diminished for the majority of those trying to make a go of AdSense as a viable money maker. That is not to say you can't make money off the AdSense program, it's just not as easy as it apparently was. Unfortunately I was not one of those who made good money off AdSense ads.

Regardless of all the ads promoting really big money from AdSense and the fact that there are still people collecting big profits from it, let's look at it through the eyes of someone just getting into the program in earnest. Someone like many of us that do not have a large source of traffic, or maybe even no traffic to sites we want to add AdSense to. In many cases we might have sites made specifically to be monetized with AdSense. Is it worthwhile to have sites specifically designed to make its income from AdSense ads? I say sites because it is not logical to think someone with a site that does not yet have a huge amount of traffic to believe they can make lots of money from a single site with AdSense on it.

Not going into details, the Google AdSense program is where a website owner has joined the AdSense program and allows Google to place AdSense ads on their website. When a visitor to the website clicks on an AdSense ad the website owner makes a few cents to many dollars from that click. How much you make is dependent on several factors such as the market the ad is trying to capture clicks from, the efficiency of the ad, the keywords the ad is focusing on and other factors. Certain types of ads almost always pay more per click than others. Insurance, loans, and finance ads pay a lot more than an ad for garden tools or gift baskets or paper plates, etc. would pay.

Real Life Example

I decided to give AdSense a try and see if I could make an average of $5 a day from a site designed to be monetized with AdSense ads. The sites are essentially sites with articles on them based on the theme of the site. I wrote some of the articles but purchased most of them. Articles to be added to the sites in the future will be mostly purchased due to lack of time to write articles myself. They are the content of the sites. The sites are mostly written in html, although I do have a few that are php coded sites.

On the pages with the articles are the AdSense ads, usually three blocks of ads on a page. The sites are small with most being about nine to 15 pages total. Adding articles on a regular basis will slowly build up the sites over time which is what the search engines want to see. I started with twenty new AdSense sites and three older blog sites I already had, plus two new portal sites that had no traffic going to them. All sites were monetized with AdSense.

The AdSense sites cost nothing, but the few articles on each site cost about eight dollars each. Articles can cost from about twenty-five cents to fifteen dollars or more depending on the source and quality. The lower cost articles require considerable rewriting so as not to cause your article to be considered a duplicate article and incur a so-called duplicate content penalty.

Allowing for placing five articles a month on a site plus some miscellaneous costs like hosting, domain name, software, and potential maintenance costs, a fifty dollar monthly cost per site is incurred. Yes you could write all or most of the articles yourself, but that is not practical if you have many sites and is very time consuming. So I am discounting that solution as impractical if you have many sites. So to break even on these types of AdSense sites each site needs to make about $50 a month. Thats an average of $1.70 a day.

A measly $1.70 a day, that should be easy for a site to make. Maybe it is, but it is heavily dependent on the traffic to the site and the corresponding clicks on the AdSense ads that result from it. To put things in perspective, look at the results of my twenty AdSense sites, three blogs, and two portal sites. All sites except the three older sites have been up slightly over three months. I started getting a few links to each site just this past month.

Real Life Terrible Results

Only last month did I start getting links to any of the sites. I am averaging about $1 a day from all twenty-five sites together. Thats about $25 a month total, far less than break even cost. I just checked today and have made $50.55 for this current month, month four for most sites. That's about one twenty-fifth of what I need to break even for the sites. Half the money came from the twenty AdSense sites, with the rest from the other five sites. There are still two more days left in this month.

I believe the results will continue to improve as long as I add articles and get links to the sites. It is a long way to go until the sites break even, if they ever do, so I am not holding my breath. Although these results are terrible, in my opinion, it must be mentioned that I am doing this part-time and only recently has there been an effort to get links to the sites. If it had been a full-time effort (and it could easily have been) then the results would seem even worse. I have totally ignored the effort (which has been considerable) in getting the sites up and working properly, correcting and adding the articles and revising the links for each new article I added to the site.

I do have software that would easily generate such sites, but decided not to use it due to leaving footprints and having the sites considered spam sites by Google or the other two top search engines. From the looks of it right now it's too early to make an accurate judgment as to whether the sites will be worthwhile. I tend to think the effort is too great the way my sites are set up now and the cost of the articles too high to make a decent long term profit. I figure I need to revise how the articles are added and probably get the cost of the articles down a lot more, to less than half what I am paying now to have a fair chance to break even, let along make a profit.

Is AdSense Worthwhile for Beginners?

So the question, can beginners make money with AdSense sites cannot be answered yet with any accuracy from my results so far. On the surface it appears the answer is no, not if following my route. Only if extraordinary amounts of traffic can be obtained does it look like my sites will make any decent money from AdSense. Probably another, a better approach, will be necessary and a lot more pages with AdSense ads on it will be required to be able to make any significant money. I suspect I will need at least 50 to 100, or more, articles per site to have a fair chance of creating a small part-time equivalent income from the sites.

If you consider an average cost of six dollars for an article, and that is a very low cost for a new article, and still the same five articles a month, with just half the estimated ten dollars monthly miscellaneous costs being only five dollars, the thirty-five dollar monthly cost per site still is difficult to conceive making even that much from the poor results experienced so far. Only time will tell whether the effort will be worthwhile.

I am already changing my html sites so they will be easier and faster to add the new articles. Unfortunately that may cause me to effectively start over with my AdSense earnings since the links will be different and any pages already indexed will have to be re-indexed again since I am changing the sites little by little to php sites. I did something similar several months ago to a single larger site and even months later over 500 of those original pages were still indexed even though they had been off the site for many months.

If you agree it's difficult for a beginner to make money with AdSense or if you have made a worthwhile AdSense profit in a short time period please enter your opinion on www.cackel.com if you would like to share your success or failure. I would like to see other views on this topic, especially those who have made a decent return on non-directory type AdSense sites within a reasonably short period of time.

Copyright © 2007 Charles Harmon

Art and Jazz

2009-03-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

I’d like to tell you about Visionary Artist, Irene Nowicki’s new web site and some of her shows.

Irene’s new web site, Rainbow’s Edge Gallery, is at: http://www.rainbowsedgegallery.com/ or: www.artbynowicki.com or: www.artbyczarnecki.com, which are the three (current) domain names for her site.

Rainbow’s Edge Gallery features Irene’s original oil & acrylic paintings, prints and art note cards which can be ordered through the Google pay system. Irene’s art works are offered in various categories which include: Jazz, Figurative, Modern and 3-D/Construction.

The Jazz Gallery offers works that are inspired from being involved with music, musicians and Jazz festivals such as the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, Pismo Beach, CA - Jubilee By The Sea, San Diego Jazz Festival, Sun Valley Swing ‘N’ Dixie Jazz Jamboree, Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee, Bix Jazz Festival and many others. Irene has written that: “This piece “SAXMAN” was the beginning of my venture into music/musician abstract paintings which all started by attending jazz festivals with my sax-player husband, Jim Richardson. The theme material seems endless given all the aspects of music and instruments, etc. and I foresee a lot of paintings on this subject.” And it turns out that Irene has produced over 200 works for her Jazz Gallery so far. The Jazz festivals and performances we attend provide ample stimulation for yet more ‘Jazz’ images.

Following is the Artist’s Statement from Irene’s recent solo show, JAZZED, at Orlando Gallery in Tarzana:

The inspiration for these paintings comes from attending Dixieland Jazz shows where my husband performs. I was moved by that “foot stomping, hand clapping, knee twitching, head shaking, feel good” music and decided to use “Dark Humor” to interpret and depict the fun and absurdity of Jazz language in my paintings.

“SAX MAN”, the very first painting in this series, represents the “illusion” of Jazz: fun–not perfect! I was feeling the abstraction of Jazz and seeing it on my canvases. “This is right!”—It felt good, as each image appeared….combining realism and surrealism. The base drum, in “THE BEAT”, explodes with energetic enthusiasm while the coronet plays on with carefree abandon! The vibrant play of its colors demonstrates all the wild and joyous magic of artistic improvisation. In “BOOGIE WOOGIE”, the couple’s heads are lost in the music while their feet dance to a different beat! “CANARY” is sharing her soul with us. “MORNING AFTER” is what it is! In “TRIANGLE”, the piano man pines for the singer, the singer longs for the banjo man and the banjo man is oblivious to all but his music. “PATCHES” is the comic absurdity of Jazz. “CONEY ISLAND WASHBOARD” and “AMERICAN JAZZ” came after fateful September 11!

Welcome to my sphere of Jazzed out Art.

“The gods are laughing at us.” ~ Irene

Of Irene’s paintings, others have written:

Valley-based painter, Irene Nowicki, takes the viewer to the outer limits of her genre. Nowicki creates a world where biomorphic surrealism is king.

In these paintings, Irene pushes around blob-like forms and extroverted color schemes. The sum effect is often an illusionary sense of three-dimensionality, with ambiguous objects flung into murky spaces. Elsewhere, more of a sense of pure, flat design prevails.

“T. TIME VIOLET” depicts a squirming, gelatinous organism set against a background pattern of purple leopard shin. It puts us in mind of early ‘70s graphic sensibility, as if this is art influenced by lava lamps and micro-close-up films of cell division.

The focus of "THREE LANTERNS" is on the evocation of dreamlike dimensions., where visual relationships are fluid and reality is moot. We get glimpses of references to familiar images, whether hints of floral subjects or the rationality of architectural space. But they remain hints, teasing the eye into unfulfilled interpretations that playfully invite the viewer to fulfill from their own creative imagination.

This is Irene’s bio:

Though mostly self taught, Irene’s formal art education includes private instructions and studies at Pierce College where she received the Leventhal Achievement Awards in both Fine Art and Graphics. Additionally, Irene has attended art classes at Every Woman’s Village, studied under Bert Miripolsky, and attends on-going workshops.

“I OPENED THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION AND THE VISIONS FELL OUT”

“Ever since I can remember, I have lived in two worlds: the practical left brain of logic and the mystical right brain of creativity. My Art is the bridge between these two worlds that expresses what I am. My visions are Infinity trying to share itself. The Messages in the art come from beyond my finite self. Some are vague, some are crystal clear. I love using bright colors in order to share my joy in being alive..I am a true artist¾the full circle of Creator-Creation-Observer. In sharing my paintings with the public I let go of my Visions and set my sprit free”.

Irene’s paintings have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the Daily News. “Irene is a Visionary Artist who blends psychic abilities with her natural talent as a fine artist to channel these unique images.” says Joshua Townsend of the T.V. show: Performing Artists From Around the World.

Much can be said and has been said about Irene’s work by very gifted and articulate writers/speakers, but we believe that the impression on the viewers of Irene’s pieces is all that really matters – you either love them and want them or you don’t. So we invite you to go to Irene’s web site and have a look for your self and hopefully order some of Irene’s works to enjoy over and over.

Jim Richardson ~ spouse of artist, Irene Nowicki
http://www.artbynowicki.com

Bath Bombs: How I Organized Bath Bombs by Eve LLC.

2009-03-14T08:56:00.001-07:00

My niece gave me some bath bombs as a gift. I loved them and decided to learn how to make them. Once I learned how to make them, some people wanted to order them so I decided to open a small home-based business.

This is the process that I used:

1. Find your passion.

I loved the way the bath bombs made my skin feel. I loved the pampering, relaxing, and good for the soul type feeling I got when I experienced my luxury bath.

2. Read everything you can.

I went to a lot of bookstores and bought many books on the subject. I visited the library and borrowed books. I read eBooks, browsed websites, looked at online databases, and anything else pertaining to my subject that I could find from authoritative resources.

3. Use the Internet and online databases that are available to you.

I used the Internet not only to learn how to make bath bombs but also studied many companies. I especially learned from soap supply and fragrance oil sites. Many sites list their recipes online for you. I visited other bath bombs sites to see how they operated. I reviewed the credentials of some of the people and realized there are plenty of online folks willing to help.

4. Get yourself a mentor and track your successes.

I was lucky, my niece taught me many things about oils, properties of ingredients, labeling, packaging, reputable companies, and marketing ideas. Many sites have FAQ or a contact us section that you could use if you dont have a mentor. Keep notes and track your successes so you remember what works for you.

5. Refine your skill and test your product.

My family and friends agreed to use my product. I wanted feedback to know that

I was making a quality product and that no one had any trouble with the ingredients irritating their skin. I tried and adapted many recipes until I perfected a process that worked for me. I used many bath uglies before I finally learned but thank goodness they still worked the same as the pretty ones. I practiced shipping and packaging to distant relatives and friends and made sure that a quality product survived the shipping process.

Even with some breakage, the quality was still there.

6. Local county and State assistance.

I went to the local Chamber of Commerce and had a class there. I studied information

and decided to apply for a Doing Business As (D.B.A.) at our local courthouse. I applied as a Domestic Limited Liability Company through Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth and for a Sales Tax License through the Michigan Department of Treasury.

7. Store and organize your websites.

Backflip is the site that I use to store and organize my websites. I set up categories for companies, ingredients, colorants, mentor tips, practice ideas, recipes, and wiki.

8. Use friends, family, and templates to set up your business keeping records.

Free templates were used to create invoices. I adjusted mine to collect for Michigan taxes and add the shipping costs. My friend helped me set up some spreadsheets for orders, expenses, and charts. I created folders as documents for lists, line fragrances, retired fragrances, fragrances to be considered, labels, etc. My daughter designed packing slips for me and helped me select fragrances and names for the bath bombs. I keep these documents in a 3 ring binder with plastic pocket protectors for collecting invoices and receipts. I printed my own business cards with Avery stock and my computer.

9. Register for a domain name, build a website, and consider a wiki.

I used Yahoo to register for a domain name and make a starter webpage. I used geocities and my email provider to create more elaborate websites. All sites have my email as the way to contact me for orders or inquiries. The template provided for the website worked fine for me. It listed my mission, information, product, news, and related links. Customers order through email, I email them an invoice, they pay with a check (no charge cards), the check clears, and the bath bomb order is shipped using flat rate USPS boxes. I recently created a wiki and am learning how to use that.

10. Enjoy.

I have enjoyed creating BBE. I am still learning but thought I would share the process this far in case someone could benefit with turning their own hobby into a passion. I learned from so many people and wanted to pass it on to others.

Behind the Scenes of Setting up a Website

2009-03-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Taking the plunge and deciding to set up a website can be a daunting process if you aren't already experienced in domain purchasing, hosting requirements, dns delegation etc. In this article I am going to attempt to familiarize you with some of the concepts and clarify some of the jargon.

There are quite a few manual configuration requirements to get a domain even started in the right directon of being available to the public. Three things have to be considered initially to secure your virtual block of dirt. The three requirements are as follows.

1. Your initial and ongoing cost to own the domain name of your choice subject to availability.

2. Who is going to host the website for you and the ongoing costs associated with having your site hosted.

3. Domain Name Redicrection. A service that can answer requests to resolve your domain name to the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the computer hosting your website.

Domain name pricing varies and for initial registration of a new domain you can get it quite cheap. Once you've found the best priced domain reseller to purchase your domain name from it is best to buy as many years in advance as you can. If you purchase a domain name for one year for $7.95, when it comes time to renew that domain the price is suddenly $24.95.

Hunt around for the best hosting package you can get. Depending on the size of your site and expected traffic hosting packages can be purchased from as little as $5.95 US per month. Some of the cheap packages include massive bandwidth allocations. Make sure your host uses CPanel. CPanel is a graphical Server Management tool making configuration of your domain a matter of pointing and clicking.

To save money on ongoing hosting fee's, hunt around for a free DNS Service Provider. One in particular is http://freedns.afraid.org. Sites such as these allow you to add several hostnames to your domain. ie mail.yourdomain.com.

Once you have searched all these avenues and have decided it is in your budget to move to the next step the first thing to do is to register your domain. Once you have registered your domain you will receive emails to your nominated email account with the domain management login information for your domain. Keep these emails as you will need that information soon.

Sign up and pay for hosting with the provider on the hosting plan you chose for cost effectiveness. They will email you your login information and server IP addresses. Again keep these emails for future reference.

Now go to your free dns host. Sign up for an account. During the sign-up process they will notify you of their name server addresses. Write down these addresses as they are also needed soon. DNS Hosts require that their name servers respond as authoritive for your domain before your domain can become active, this requires the name servers retrieved during the DNS host sign up process be entered into the domain registrar.

Go back to the emails you received for registering your domain name. There should be a link in the email to the management section for your domain. The username and password for the management section will also be in this email. Click on the link and enter the username and password. Depending on your host their should be a section related to Name Servers. Becareful not to select to use your hosting company's name service hosting unless you already paid for it. When you have the correct section there will be space for you to enter from four to six name servers. This is where the name server addresses received from the Free DNS Host are to be entered.

This tells the backbone internet servers that if you want to find www.yourdomain.com ask ns1.nameservercompany.com. This change can take 24-48 hours to propogate through the world-wide domain name servers.

Once the world-wide domain servers register that www.yourdomain.com is now pointed to your free dns hosting company as authoritive you will be able to specify the IP address of the actual machine that will host your web pages. This IP address will have been in the email you received from your hosting company. This IP address should be added for the domain prefixes mail www ftp smtp and any others that may have been specified in the email from your hosting company.

Your domain is now pointing to your hosting provider and the behind the scenes redicrection process is taken care of. You are now ready to start building that high rise building on your virtual block of dirt. There is no limit to how high you can build on your land.

For a ready made, customizable website have a look at Joomla. Joomla is a reliable PHP based complete website solution. Extensions are available to customize Joomla in many ways, from an online store to a virtual community or dating site. It takes time to understand how Joomla works but once you get the hang of it you will realise how invaluable it is.

My site http://www.bizebooks.com.au has two packages containing complete website scripts and utilities. The best part with these scripts is that after you use them to build your site you can resell them and make money from them. Two products in particular I recommend are The AX Gold Webmasters Toolkit and Scripts2Sell. Search for them on the site and have a look at some of the scripts in these packages.

Have a look today.

Benefits Of Material Requirements Planning

2009-03-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is a type of software based production planning, which uses an inventory system to organize different manufacturing processes. Basically when a company is going to manufacture something to sell, this software is in charge of organizing all inventories, while making sure that all the products and materials are in place in order for this to be possible. This is important for any kind of company that is using an assembly line or making something that requires a lot of different pieces in order for it to be completed.

There are three basic components that make up material requirements planning. The first is to make sure that all products and materials are all in line. In order for successful production, all the products have to be there. The second component a company needs to keep tabs on is making sure they have very low inventory. Companies want to be able to produce their product whenever they needed, but they dont want to have too much in excess in case the product should fail to sell. This is the concept of supply and demand. The third component is planning the manufacturing scheme. Companies need to know what exactly is getting produced by their company and where exactly it is being shipped to.

Companies are trying to maximize the amount of money they bring in so there needs to be a good balance between the inventory of materials and being able to meet the demand of the customers. If companies dont have the right balance then they will cost the company big dollars. Other important factors of material requirements planning involve ordering all the materials at the right time. If production cant begin at the right time, a company may fail to meet the deadline.

The main problem with MRP systems is that they arent 100% perfect. If there is any kind of error in the system, then it is going to throw off all the other numbers thus making the outputted data incorrect. Another problem is that MRP systems dont necessarily factor in other warehouses in other cities or states. Therefore, the system will tell you that you dont need to order anymore parts when in fact those parts are in other factories. The last and biggest factor that the MRP system cant take into consideration is manpower. Manpower isnt consistent like a machine and thus creates inaccurate numbers. You can visit http://www.mrp-software-guide.com for more information on material requirements planning.

Material requirements planning can be done by humans but it will take a much greater deal of time versus having computer software thats sole purpose is for maximizing the profits do all the work. Since there are flaws in the system, an MRP system can only be 98% accurate due to the inability to factor in certain variables. As great as an MRP system is, there are still factors that cant be fixed. There is new system (MRP II) that has new improvements but will still never be perfect. In the end, there will have to be a mix between the MRP system and human projections in order to get the most accurate numbers to maximize profit.

Beware of this Domain Appraisal Scam

2009-03-14T08:50:00.002-07:00

I recently received several e mails from domain sellers who had fallen victim to a domain appraisal scam. The scam starts with a mail the seller receives concerning a domain they own and the scammer showing interest in buying it.

The scammers find information about their targets on Ebay and on Whois.

In the first mail they tell you that they are a new player wanting to invest money in the domain market as a side business and inquire how much you want for the domain.

Next step is the mail in which they accept your asking price for the domain. The scammers tell you that they want you to get the domain appraised as they dont want to make a bad investment. The scammers want the appraisal from a certain manual appraisal website which they believe to be a good one, ofcourse this appraisal website is part of the scam. This appraisal website gives a highly inflated appraisal value and asks a high fee for it ( up to over a hundred dollars) as they know you need the appraisal to sell the domain.

The end of this story is that once you have mailed your appraisal you never hear from your buyers again. leaving you one hundred dollars poorer and an absolutely useless appraisal richer. This is a very cunningly operated scam and to show you how such a scam mail looks i give you a real example of such an email below.

Email 1:

Hello,

We ve found your domain name listed for sale..

If you are still interested in selling please send your quote and I will

consider it with my partners.

Main direction of our business is software development and technical

support.

Domain names is not our business but a new way to earn on reselling. We are

going to buy domains to resell them at higher prices since we have a large

database of clients interested in good domains.

Looking forward to do business with you.

Regards,

Email 2:

You want 13,500 USD. Ok.

Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?

If its just the name its ok. A web site is not necessary.

Have you had your domains appraised already? Can you show me your valuation certificates? As far as I know its a common practice to show appraisal of domain name (even without traffic and web site) before doing business.

Without an appraisal I risk to overpay. In other words I wont be able to make a profit on reselling this name. Its very important for you and me to know the current market value of your domains.

Of course, we must be sure that you are engaging an appraisal company with REAL manual service. I heard many appraisal companies often made inaccurate auto-generated appraisals. I will only accept appraisals from independent sources I trust. To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal companies in a forum. (they now give you a link of a forum you have to check out)

Just check this posting.

If the appraisal comes higher you can adjust your asking price accordingly. I also hope you can give me 10 discount of the appraised value.

After I get an appraisal from you well continue our negotiations.

How do you prefer to get paid: Escrow.com, PayPal.com check or wire?

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.

Looking forward to your reply.

So if you ever get an email like this, you know what to do. Scrap it. Just remember this wise saying that if something sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Build A Website : The Costs And Benefits

2009-03-14T08:50:00.001-07:00

These days in a world ruled by technology, virtually anyone can build a website, but few have the skills to build a website that functions. Even though there are plenty of low cost tools and services out there, far too many web sites are virtually useless, gathering virtual dust on their virtual shelves.

You can design and build your website with a lot of effort. But that alone does not guarantee that your website will be a success. You have to give importance to factors that will encourage people to visit your website. You can market your website in many ways, to increase traffic to your website. However, online marketing is quite expensive.

When you are operating on a small budget it is essential that you build a website that is optimize for search engines. You will save a lot of advertising dollars by ensuring that all your web pages have quality keywords. Keywords are words or phrases that the world uses to find what they are looking for in the web.

If you want to make your web page appear live for the world to view, you simply need to research a hosting company with experience, register your domain name, create your account, build your personal site, and then publish it. It is a very simple process! The important part is finding a hosting company that provides you with a domain name (your personal website name) registration, site builder tools, and hosting.

Some site builder tools require you to be proficient in HTML (Hyper Tex Mark up Language). Otherwise look for site builder tool that does not require you to learn the language. To build a website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/) that works require upfront planning. After deciding on what niche you want to pursue, you will need to come up with a name for your website, build a keyword list, register your website name, sign up with a hosting company, and submit your website to the search engines. All this can end up costing you quite a bit.

In summary, building a Website that works is going to cost you. But, you have control over how much it costs you financial and emotionally. All you have to do is to figure out exactly what you want the website to do, identify the resources that you will need, establish a budget, then go build your site. It is that simple.

Choosing a Domain Name for Your Website

2009-03-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

One of the first steps in building your website is choosing a domain name. There are several important things to consider when deciding on a domain name for your website.

Following are a few tips to keep in mind when selecting a new domain name:

If possible, opt for a domain name that is easily recognizable and describes your business. This will be helpful when you promote your site.

Keep your domain name as short, simple and easy to remember as possible. The shorter it is, the easier it will be to remember. Although a good number of the short and simple .com domains are likely already taken, you may have the option to purchase a domain with a different extension, like .net or .us.

Your domain name can be 2-63 characters long (excluding the extension), and can contain the characters a-z, 0-9 and '-' (dash). However, domain names cannot begin or end with '-' (dash).

If your first choice is not available, try to utilize synonyms, rearrange the words, add dashes, or use abbreviations or acronyms to find an alternative.

You now have several options to choose from for extensions as well. Following is some information about some of the extensions you can choose from:

.com denotes the word "commercial," and it is an unrestricted global domain name extension. Many businesses prefer a .com domain name because it is a highly recognized symbol for having a business presence on the Internet. However, the number of available .com domain names is shrinking as more and more businesses go online.

.net represents the word "network," and is an unrestricted global domain name extension most commonly used by Internet service providers, Web-hosting companies, or other businesses that are directly involved in the infrastructure of the Internet. Additionally, some businesses choose domain names with a .net extension for their intranet web sites.

.org represents the word "organization," and is an unrestricted global domain name extension that is primarily used for non-commercial sites. However, many commercial entities register the .org extensions corresponding to their .com domain names in order to protect their brands.

.biz is a restricted-use global domain name extension used for business web sites. As a relatively new type of domain, .biz offers a company the opportunity to get the domain name it really wants and enhance its presence on the Web with a domain name that means business.

.info is an unrestricted domain name extension that creates an opportunity to reach a worldwide audience with information about your business and ideas. .info is growing in popularity, but still has many great names available.

.us is a restricted-use country code that may be used by any individual or organization with residence in the United States or its territories, including foreign organizations that do business in the US.

What about .TV, .WS, .FM and .CC?

Although often marketed as such, .TV does not mean television and .WS does not mean web-site or world-site. .TV is the country code extension for Tuvalu a small island country located in the Western Pacific Ocean with a population of approximately 11,000 that gained independence from the UK in 1978. .WS is the country code extension for Samoa. Samoa, also in the Pacific, gained independence from New Zealand in 1962 and has a population of around 180,000.

.FM masquerades as the TLD (top level domain) for radio stations, but is actually the country code for Federated States of Micronesia. .CC is the Internet country code TLD for Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory, but has been promoted for international registration as "the next .com".

Choosing Good Domain Names and Web Host

2009-03-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

A Domain name is the unique name of a website, just like sitecritic.net. There are many registrars around and the cost to register a new domain name can range anywhere from 4 to 30 USD per year. Domain name Registration and Web hosting is a different thing. You can register your domain name from company A and host it in company B. In simple terms, a domain name service provider stores your domain name and points it to the web host which stores all your web pages.

Choosing A Good Domain Name

Choosing a domain name is a serious business. A good domain name is easy to remember and contains the keyword that you want. You can choose to buy a new domain name or an expired one. Some expired domain names are well established and worth buying (They have many websites linking to it and possibly a good Google PR). You can find many websites selling expired domains by googling "expired domain name".

If you buy a new domain name, basically you start everything from scratch. Google tends to prevent new websites from appearing in its search engine for a few months or even longer. You have to build up your reputation in the web, get people to link to you and so on (Getting good inbound links is the key to search engine optimisation). However, having said that, building a successful website from scratch often gives you great sense of satisfaction. You do not have to worry about the history of the website, anything about the previous owner and the transfer procedures. There are cheaters around, so you have to becareful.

After reading the keyword selection guide, you should have a better understanding of how to select keywords. The same rule applies for domain names. If you want to create a website teaching people "how to design a web page", ideally, your url should be something like this: "how-to-design-a-web-page.com". Noticed that I put a dash "-" to separate the keywords. Though longer to type, the url will be stronger than a url like this "howtodesignawebsitepage.com". The later url is shorter but harder for the search engines to decipher. However, it is known that search engines are able to decode the urls and extract the keywords. We personally do not like to use the "dash" because it makes the url looks unprofessional. Therefore, short and clean urls with easy to understand terms are good. Google, Yahoo and MSN have no problems with sitecritic.net.

There are other things that you might also consider when choosing domain names. Factors such as company's prestige and whether the url is easy to remember are important as well. Take the previous url "how-to-design-a-web-page" case for example, we could also take the first letter of each keyword and call it htdawp.com. In this case, the url becomes totally meaningless. If my company is already quite popular, I dont need to stuff keywords in my url because it will make my company look unprofessional. Take BMW for example, they just need to register for bmw.com instead of something like prestigecars.com.

Does the extension matters?

Yes, it matters alot. Whether you choose a .com (general), com.au (Australia), or a .co.uk (United Kingdom)...etc depends alot on the location of the audience you are targeting. If you own a web design firm in UK and your domain is a .com and hosted in US, it is harder for people in UK to find you because search engines know where people are searching from and tends to give priority to websites that are hosted in their location. This is call this geo-targeting. In short, a well optimised .com.au website can rank well both in google.com (Google General) and google.com.au (Google Australia). A .com website may loose out to a .com.au website in google.com.au. Furthermore, many companies bought large number of good .com, .net ...etc doman names in order to sell them at a higher price - which makes it hard for you to get a good domain name. Though a country specific domain name can be more expensive, you often get better chances to choose a good domain name.

Depending on your budget, a .info, .biz or some funny extensions might be cheaper to register but harder to remember. A .com, .net or .org domain name seems to be more popular and easily remembered. If you are targeting at the international level or in United States and do not want to spend alot, go for .com, .net .org, .biz, .us or .info.

What To Look For In A Good Host

With strong competition in the web hosting industry, most web host will provide many features at an affordable price. With price ranging from 5 to 10 dollars a month, you can get a decent host for your website. To us, the most important thing is uptime and support. You don't want your email or server to be down. You want someone who knows their stuff when you have questions. Unless your website requires special needs, the features provided by most hosting companies are good enough.

Our Recommendation

Instead of registering a domain name with company A and buying a hosting plan with company B, we recommend you to do both at the same time with the same company. Many hosting providers provide hosting packages that includes domain registration and web hosting. By doing that, you let them do all the backend work and save yourself some trouble of configuring the Domain Name Servers. You combine the bills as well and have lesser things to remember.

Which hosting and domain registration company to go for? Most of us would recommend bluehost - http://www.bluehost.com/track/sitecrit/. They are not the cheapest around but their support is definitely the best. Their engineers are all in-housed (your problems get fixed up really quickly) and they know their work very well.

Choosing Small Business Website Names

2009-03-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

I disagree with the comment made by some web developers that all the good domain names are taken. Search engine optimization, or seo, does not depend heavily on the www name you select. For my clients just starting out the decision choosing small business website names has never been an issue. It is a fact that all the 3 character and 4 character domain names with the key extensions are taken. Furthermore, I agree that a vast number of choice domain names are no longer available; however, the selection of a suitable www domain for your small business is possible if you remain flexible.

The real value in the name you choose from a search perspective is how easy it is to spell and remember. Of the two types of visitors to your site, the human visitors and search engines, the ability of a person to remember your domain name and spell it correctly to pass it on to others outweighs any SEO value. Search engines are robots and don't care.

Using words like "greatest", "best", or other exaggerated terms in your domain name is thought by some to be a disadvantage and penalized by search engines. Search algorithms change often and likewise that theory, and although you may not be penalized for using such words, consider the reaction of your human visitors. They may not stick around if they feel you boast without the content to back it up. For a serious small business commercial enterprise, my advice is avoiding adjectives in the domain name entirely.

In some cases new clients approach me to redesign an existing website, and it surprises me that some of the basics are overlooked. For example, a commercial enterprise in business for profit should not select a dot ORG domain simply because the dot COM was taken. This was the case from a conversation with a client interested in a site makeover. Their ORG version was online for two years with little or no backlinks or serious indexing from search engines. The mindset of getting one particular name should be reconsidered especially if it's your first online venture.

Here's a breakdown of the most desirable domain extensions and the usual purpose of each:

COM - Commercial for profit enterprise
INFO - Information only related website
NET - Companies providing internet services
ORG - Non-profit organizations

Certainly there are many more like BIZ, US, WS, and others which are all reasonable choices, but for your commercial small business my recommendation is always acquire a dot COM www domain name. The client mentioned earlier did not realize a dot ORG was intended for a non-commercial enterprise, and they decided the poor website SEO performance was something that justified getting a new dot COM. We easily found an available www domain using their company initials and one key word about their target market which is medical. Despite my advice that they keep the existing site and simply change the theme, they decided to just let it go when it expired.

My commercial site choice was my first and last name, and very unique at that. Using your name is okay, and expected if you're famous. There is, however, little or no value as far as keywords in my www domain to attract visitors, so is that a mistake for search engine optimization? Certainly not. The fact that I have collected more than 100 screenshots of generic phrases relative to my business that made Google page one is evidence the content, not the domain, is key.

Here's some advice to help you when choosing a new dot COM small business website domain name.

Start out with a list of about 10 domain names that you would like to have. Next, make a list of market related single word terms about what you do and the customer base you service. If your market is localized, consider geographical terms that relate to where you sell or provide services. Spend 30 minutes brainstorming to come up with the initial names and additional lists of single word terms. You may want another list of significant initials.

Next, search for "WhoIs" in Google to find free online services that keep a database of available domain names, and follow the link in the search results. Each database has a search box which allows you to input the domain name and extension. Begin with your first choice and work down the list and keep track of available names for review later. It may not be easy, so try combinations of the key terms as you continue to search, and keep in mind you want a domain name that is easy to spell and remember. By the time you're done you should have a half dozen or more available names, so take your time and select the best one, and then register the name immediately.

Tip: The domain name may not be significant for search engine optimization, but the length of your registration can be. My advice is registering domains for 2 years minimum, and 5 to 10 years if that's in your budget. Search engines consider that the length of your registration reflects your commitment to be online long term, so at today's prices 5 years is practical and should cost less than $50 USD.

There's nothing wrong with getting the dot COM domain name you want, and then registering the other major extensions that are available for the same name. If you are highly successful in your online venture, having the other extensions registered in your name prevents others from attempting to take advantage of your reputation by association. In conclusion, the concept that all the good domain names are taken is a myth. You may not get exactly what you want, but practical options are available with a little research and due diligence.

Comprehensive Web Design Checklist

2009-03-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

Your Web site needs to do more than make your company look good. It has to support your overall business operations - customer service, sales and marketing and collaboration. Whether you're planning an intranet or Internet site, don't start before you check your strategy against this comprehensive checklist.

The following checklist and the associated answers will facilitate the analysis process ofr designing and building the website that allows your company to turn the corner.

GENERAL

1. Where did you hear about us?

2. Do you have a domain name? If not, do you have ideas on one? If so, what is it?

3. What is your company name? Do you want to use the entire name on the site, logo, and graphics?

4. Do you have special features in mind like ECommerce shopping cart, BLOG, RSS, Forms with emails, EZine, Newsletter signup, autoresponders, advertising landing/call-to-action pages, etc.?

MARKETING

5. Who is your intended audience? Are they regional, industry specific, company size specific, etc.?

6. Do you intend to provide a call to action - make a sale, call in to your office, fill out a form, etc?

7. Describe your ideal client and the specific attributes that we'll be targeting in the website.

8. What are your website expectations, main emphasis and primary goals - increased sales, increased leads, etc.? Please prioritize.

9. What separates your company from your competition and what do you expect will draw clients to the website?

10. How do you plan to market the website?

11. What company properties do you want to emphasize on the website? Please prioritize.

IDENTITY

12. Do you already have a logo and other graphics to be used? If not, do you want to have one created?

13. Have you identified a tagline? That would be something like "Just do it", "Reach out and touch someone", etc. Here is some information on the subject http://advertising.about.com/od/copywriting/a/guesttagline.htm.

14. What keywords do you want to be found by in the search engines?

LAYOUT

15. Please provide a list of websites that you like and don't like. Why do you or do you not like these sites?

16. Please provide a list of competitors websites.

17. Do you have ideas of the colors to be used, and colors you don't like? Please provide example sites.

18. Do you have an intended website screen size - 1024x768, 800x600, or stretch to the entire width of the screen?

19. If the site isn't the entire width of the screen do you have a preference for left or center alignment?

20. Do you have a horizontal or left-side vertical preference for the main navigation?

21. Please provide the main pages you need in the website.

22. Have you created the copy text for any of your pages?

23. Do you have existing business cards or other printed material we need to match?

24. Are you leaning towards custom drawn artwork or photographs?

POST-CONTRACT

25. Once we start designing the website we'll need the following (Note that this information will be kept in strict confidence):

a. FTP access information - username and password

b. Hosting company and their tech support phone number

Cookie Cutter Websites

2009-03-14T08:43:00.001-07:00

"Cookie cutter websites" are websites that are duplicated like using a cookie cutter. They are sold under the pretense of making the purchaser a lot of money. They usually make money for the seller not the purchaser. They border on being a SCAM.

One of the best services that I could do for mankind on the Internet is to shout from the mountain top, "Do not buy ready made, "cookie cutter" websites". These usually only make the seller any money.

A "cookie cutter" site is one that the builder creates so the title of the site can be easily changed to your domain name and the sites can be stamped out like using a "cookie cutter". The site is sold under the pretense that all you have to do to make LOTS of money is buy the site and pay to have it hosted on the Internet. The site has ready made links to products and services from which you are told will make a commission each time a person clicks a link. Usually the products and services are sold by the company that developed the website so they make most of the money if you do get a sale. They keep telling you, "Just think how much money you will make by having a site like this on the Internet".

For those of you who have "cookie cutter" sites, its time for true confessions. When I first started on the Internet I did not know the magic word "traffic". I was naïve and thought that all you did was set up a website and the world beat a path to it to click on your offerings. I read an ad that said, "My little website made me $11,000 in a week". I thought, "Wow, if that site made him that much money, just a small percentage of that will be fine with me". Little did I know that the marketer who sold this "cookie cutter" site had a list of over 40,000 to which to promote the web site.

There were several testimonials in his sales letter about how people who had bought the site were raking in the money. When I later researched the testimonials, I found that these were from other Internet marketers who had large lists and could drive traffic to their "cookie cutter" sites.Beware of the fraternity of Internet marketers. They scratch each others backs.

I bought the site and guess what. The only benefit I received from it was from some really good bonuses that were attached to the deal. It was a "live and learn" experience. I have justified it to myself that the bonuses were worth the amount I paid, but they really werent.

Since then I have seen many of these sites on the Net, and I really think it is a shame that people do this to other people.

The time and money spent trying to promote someone elses "cookie cutter" site could be better spent creating your own site with your own personality.

So much of what is sold on the Internet should require the seller to tell "the rest of the story" to quote Paul Harvey. The untold part of the truth is really a lie.

You can build your own website with the right guidance and assistance. For more information about building your own website instead of paying for another "cookie cutter site", click the following link:

STAMP OUT COOKIE CUTTER SITES
http://www.boomer-ezine.com/V1I52_040607.htm#CYOS

Good luck in your future Internet career with your own website.

Copyright 2007 John Howe, Inc.

Create Successful Business Website

2009-03-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulation, you finely decided to upgrade your business with a website. This is really important step which can take your business to a new level structurally and financially.

1. Well built and properly advertised website can bring you hundreds of new customers who wouldn't have heard about your business otherwise.

2. Most of people do not search for services on yellow pages no more but open Google , Yahoo, MSN, etc. Therefore your presence on the net is a very important strategy to earn new clients.

3. Website is your face when it comes to clients who arrive to you via the net. If your website is well built, even if you are a small business owner, clients will be more willing to work with you.

Now that we understand the importance of a good, reliable website for a business, let's go over some basic steps to make sure your website will be a success story:

Determine your budget:

Website building can cost you nothing or cost you thousands of dollars. I think that the best site is the one which benefit will excel its cost. Therefore every business owner must determine his appropriate budget .

Some companies offer absolutely free websites. There are some advantages and some disadvantages in such a website. The first and the biggest advantage is the zero cost. If your website turns out useless , you don't lose any money. The main disadvantages of free websites are usually the limited storage space (which means you can't build a large website) and limited bandwidth (if many users enter your site at once, it might become slow or even unavailable).

If you have a large sum of money to put on your web site, you may go to a custom Web Design firm. They will usually offer you two or three unique design sketches which they embed in their Content Management System and a directions about how to enter your content into it. The problem about this option is it's high cost.

There is no second chance to create a first impression:

Design is naturally one of the most important aspects in website success. Website design must represent your business as a prosperous, impressive and trustworthy therefore there is no place to disregard it.

Quality content:

In order to be found in search engines and attract serious visitors you must fill your website with high quality content. We suggest you enter information about yourself , your business and products. Professional articles and further information from your field of interest might add more value to the website and present you as an expert in your field.

Keeping in touch:

Once you have earned clients you better keep in touch with them. There are number of fast and cost effective ways to do so:

1.By mail. Today spam mail is a felony, but once a customer signed up at your website and gave his agreement to receive your e-mails, you should keep in touch with him , informing him about new products, services and sales.

2. By SMS. If your business is very dynamic you might use the SMS technology to keep in touch with your clients at real time.

3. Keep in touch with your clients by blogs and forums where you can offer them technical support

Create Your Own Website: A How To Guide

2009-03-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

Nothing is as invaluable as a website when it comes to airing your ideas, authoring opinion pieces, distributing photos, or marketing your business products. Having your very own website can be a boon to you, but there are a few things you should know first before setting out to create your own website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/).

Decide why you want to create your own website. Do you want to let others know of your political leanings, do you want to write fiction, or are you looking for an online store? Each of these will lead to a different kind of website, and each will have a different audience.

Next step is to determine how comfortable you are with web page creation. If you are not proficient in computers, try to hire a professional. If, on the other hand, you enjoy learning how to do new things on the Internet, then using a free or inexpensive do-it-yourself type of hosting should be enjoyable.

You need to determine what level of control you desire. Utilizing the free hosting will provide you with a few different background colors and styles. If you have further needs or wants, you may have to pay additional fees, or even use the services of a professional.

Another thing to consider when you create your own website is to choose a template. Many free hosting vendors have a variety of templates that you can choose from. You can decide which colors and style will be most attractive to your future audience. You will probably be able to alter the template in minor ways, but the overall style will remain the same.

You will want to think about obtaining a domain name. There are many companies that sell domain names. If you want to make a website, you will need software. This software will help you design your website, and it is important if you want to control a lot of different areas of your site. It is possible that you will need some knowledge if you want to make a webpage from software.

If you don't know what to do first, choose one of the free step-by-step instructional guides found on the Internet outlining how to create a website. For other ways to learn about how to create a website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/), many e-books are offered that incorporate free HTML tutorials, website software, information of registering domain names, guides to website design, and more.

Creating Inbound Links Is About More Than Just PageRank

2009-03-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Is Google PageRank (PR) the be-all, end-all of the internet marketing equation?

I have wanted to discuss this topic for quite a long time. But, there is risk in discussing this topic. It is a lot like religion and politics. We are advised not to discuss religion or politics in mixed company, because people are willing to argue and sometimes kill, based solely on your disagreement with their religious or political beliefs.

In a lot of ways, Google PR is a matter of religion to some internet marketers. And for me to discuss this topic openly is tantamount to telling someone that his or her religion is false religion.

Many of my competitor's who read this article will run to their soapbox as soon as I am done, and they will pronounce to the heavens that I am an idiot.

I will let you be your own judge.

How I Draw My Conclusions

I own one website that has so far served more than 100,000 unique visitors in the first nine months of 2006. The same site has served well over one million page views, since the beginning of 2006. I often use the statistics from this website to measure trends in the marketplace, since the unique visitors and page views are of a substantial level.

The Importance of Google In The Internet Marketplace

Just because I am questioning the value of Google's PR in the grand scheme of things, it does not mean I am questioning the domination of Google in the marketplace.

The statistics on the previously mentioned website prove the dominance of Google against their competitors. Here is how my search engine referrals break down:

* 37 Search Engines have sent me traffic. * 78.1% of visitors were sent from Google. * 18.4% came from Yahoo, Ask Jeeves/Ask, MSN * 1.5% arrived from AOL, Dogpile, Netscape, Earthlink, Altavista, Alexa. * 98.0% of all search engine referral traffic arrived from the Top Ten Referring Search Engines.

So hands down, Google is the MOST important element for my search engine marketing.

The Concept of Google PR

Google has often said that their PR system is an integral part of their search algorithms.

According to Google's own documentation, this is the definition of PR is as follows:

"PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves 'important' weigh more heavily and help to make other pages 'important.' "

Since PR utilizes a count of the number of links pointing to a website as a measure of PR value, professional internet marketers are very interested in acquiring large numbers of inbound links for their websites.

PageRank values also allow you to decide whom you might want to do a link exchange (if you do such things).

The Pros and Cons of Buying PR

Professional internet marketers are also interested in getting links on pages with an already large PR.

With Google's definition of PR, this makes sense.

PROS:

* When you buy links on pages that already have a significant PR, then you can gain that value with much less work involved. * You can bulk up your own PR in very short order.

CONS:

* Most sites that sell links on their high PR pages only do so on a monthly or quarterly basis, so this expense will be an ongoing for as long as you want to hold onto that value. * Depending on the PR of the page where the link is being sold, the cost can be very high. Many webmasters decide how much they will charge for advertising on their website, according to the PR assigned to their website. * The powers-that-be at Google warns us away from buying text links to increase our own PR. They warn us by example, pointing to the SearchKing devaluation in Google, as the result of SearchKing's paid linking scheme: http://news.com.com/Judge+dismisses+suit+against+Google/2100-1032 _3-1011740.html * The Google power broker Matt Cutts stated matter-of-factly that we should not "participate in link schemes designed to increase (our) site's ranking or PR," as stated in the Google quality guidel!
ines. He went on to say that Google "does consider buying text links for PR purposes to be outside our Google's quality guidelines." Read the full story in context here: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/text-links-and-PR/

If you continue reading the comments on Matt's blog about the text links and PR, take a moment to search out the comment on the subject from Dan Thies (http://www.seoresearchlabs.com/). Dan asked Matt at the end of his post to define the "algorithm for determining intent" of the person placing the link. Bravo Dan.

Google Toolbar Role In PR Monitoring

Just like any discussion of paid links and PR, people tend to get fired up.

Just the other day, I read a different thread on Google PR. In that thread at http://forums.Site-Reference.com, someone said that the importance of the Google Toolbar was the visible PR that shows up in the toolbar.

( PR value is only exported to the Toolbar at regular intervals. According to the "Page Rank Update and Export List History" page, the PR information was last exported to the Google Toolbar on September 28, 2006: http://www.seocompany.ca/PR/page-rank-update-list.html )

The poster I mentioned above had stated that the importance of the Google Toolbar was the visible PR that buyers use to observe the trust factor attached to a website. He said that when people view the PR, then they would be assured that the company from whom they are about to purchase from is a reputable company.

I had to disagree.

The only people who have the Google Toolbar installed in their machine are online marketers. Perhaps that is a wide paintbrush, but it is not very far from the truth.

Because most people who use the Toolbar are online marketers, then they will be the only people for whom the little green PR bar has any meaning.

The Real Importance of Google's PR

How many times have you heard that the value your website holds with the Google PR system will make or break your website's ability to gain traffic from Google?

How many of you actually believe that?

Here is where I am going to get people excited.

I launched a site with zero PR in the first week of September. Within four days, I had page one placement in Google. Let me repeat that for you. Within four days of a website's launch, I had a website with PR 0, no official backlinks according to Google, and page one search results in Google!

Okay, I admit... It was a memorial website: http://www.GoodbyeSteveIrwin.com

I have several search keyword phrases in Google that produce page one, two and three results. Right now, the search phrase "irwin nature conservation" brings up my memorial site as the #3 result.

You might tell yourself that I was able to do this because it arrived at a time when Steve Irwin was the only new story. But, I have created results like this with several websites. The Steve Irwin site was not a fluke. The Steve Irwin site was simply the fifth site that I was able to reach page one of Google search results within two weeks of site launch, with zero backlinks according to Google, and zero PR.

So, let me ask you again how important the Google PR system is for guaranteeing the placement of your website on page one of Google's search results?

You be the judge.

Traffic Links Vs. PR Links

Previously I mentioned my website that I use to measure trends in search engine marketing. Here is another interesting bit of data that I pulled from my website statistics for that domain:

* 53% inbound traffic comes from search engines * 47% inbound traffic comes from links on third-party websites (not from search engines) * Both values exclude people who visited my site as a result of bookmarks for my site or clicks directly from an email

If you break down the numbers even further, you will find the Google powerhouse is responsible for 41.4% of my gross inbound traffic from another website. And my website receives 47% of its traffic from websites that are not search engines.

Wow! My website is getting considerably more traffic from links on websites that are not search engines, than what it is getting from Google! Interesting.

Perhaps now you understand why I have always focused on getting permanent links on third-party websites that will send me traffic for years to come.

How Many Links Are Traffic Links?

This traffic arrived at my site from a total of 12,876 external webpages. If you ask the search engines how many links I have to my website on external pages, they will NOT show you a number of links anywhere near this number. In fact, MSN shows the largest number of inbound links to my website. And MSN only shows that I have 2,164 links pointing to my website. That is a number that is six times lower than the number of external webpages that actually send me human visitors!

You would be surprised how many PR 0, 1 and 2 pages are actually sending me real traffic. Real traffic converts into real sales. And I am getting more traffic from these nowhere links, than what I am getting from the Holy Grail of Google.

In Conclusion...

Let me repeat the question that I opened this article with, "Is Google PageRank the be-all, end-all of internet marketing?"

I offer a resounding, "No!"

Is Google PageRank the Holy Grail of internet marketing?

"No."

Do you need to put your links on pages that have high PR?

"No."

I feel good that Google says that my PR is a Five. It makes me feel that I am gaining ground in the Google algorithms. And it boosts my human ego. But, for every keyword phrase that really matters to my business, I am already on page one of the search results, with a measly PR of 5, and no real backlinks to speak of according to the brilliance of the Google algorithms.

Dealing with Rejection and Drop Outs

2009-03-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Story of Simple Simon

Rejection and Drop outs. Much too often, we all have to deal with these issues in our businesses. Can this ever be a positive thing?

Let me tell you a story. It was almost a year ago that my friend Simon (that's not his real name) called me on the cell phone. He had just sat through an hourlong presentation with a gentleman and wanted my opinion on that particular business opportunity.

I answered his question by asking him a question, "Why do you want to get involved?" He answered "residual income." And he proceeded to tell me all about what residual income meant to him. I was pleased to see that my friend had paid attention to the presentation. Having been around network marketing companies before however, I have to say I was not impressed with that particular business opportunity.

I gave him my personal web site and told him to take a look at my short online presentation and then get back to me. To make a long story short, he watched presentation and later joined me in the business. My friend stayed with me in my website and domain business for almost a year and though I am thankful that he was on my team I'm disappointed to say that it was a waste of time for the both of us since he never took action to do anything to build his business nor to get trained.

Just a couple weeks ago I received another phone call from my friend requesting instructions on canceling his account. I was not surprised by this call seeing as there had not been any activity during the life of his account. But what he said next really knocked my socks off. He told me that he was going into business privately as a disk jockey (Cool!) and that he needed a web site (What?). And if I knew if anyone who could build a web site for him (Are you serious?).

I didn't understand. He signed up with me in my website and domain business because he wanted residual income. In other words, he wanted residual income and now needed an easy to build website, and yet he was calling me for instructions to cancel his account? Do you see anything wrong with this picture?

I'm fortunate and blessed to be completely unaffected (financially) by his dropping out from my business. Actually, I'm somewhat relieved as he will no longer be wasting neither his time nor mine.

Dear reader, do not get discouraged by quitters or people who just "don't get it." Just say "next." Move forward and you'll be one step closer to finding better recruits for your business.

Design Your Own Website- It Is Simple

2009-03-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Before you embark upon the process involved when you design your own website, you must select and register a domain name. That is your site's brand name and contact name. In order to be given a domain name of your very own, you must make a yearly payment to the appropriate registering entity to obtain the exclusive right to it.

Obtaining a domain name doesn't mean you have a web site or anything close. All you have is a name. It is similar to getting yourself set up with a name for your business is the "real" world - just obtaining exclusive rights to a name doesn't mean you are totally in business. You just have a name.

A web host commonly implements numerous computers that are all linked to the Internet to allow a very large number of web pages to be broadcast all over the world. The first step in making your new web page visible is to use a reputable web host that will give your personalized website a virtual home.

Thinking of a domain name is very much like thinking of a name for your company in the physical world. Similarly, a web hosting account is the equivalent of renting an office for your company. After you have come up with a domain name and signed on with a web host, you will then need to design your own website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/) to attract visitors.

As a beginning web designer, you first need to design your own website in a attractive, and appealing manner. After you have got your basic web page posted you will be able to make any adjustments that you feel are needed. There are free web editors and commercial versions that are widely available.

When you choose to use free software, you can also learn more from a complete tutorial on the web. The step-by-step tutorial will guide you in the process of making your own web page, site map, and comment forms. It will also give you tips on the basic aspects of the software so you can continue to update and improve the site in the future.

A crucial aspect of web development is optimizing your site for search engines. This should be undertaken from the very start of the design process. In addition, there are a number of other concerns involved in developing web pages.

DIY Domain Name Disputes: Expert Tips

2009-03-14T08:32:00.001-07:00

This is a distillation of the wisdom acquired through years of involvement in domain name dispute proceedings. It wont make a hopeless case winnable, but it might stop you from making a strong case un-winnable.

(1) Know your chances

Make an assessment of your chances of winning before embarking on a dispute.

You will need, at a minimum, to read and understand the rules governing the relevant kind of complaint; learn when complaints are upheld, and when rejected. Unless the case is very clear-cut or youre a very quick learner, your initial view may lack nuance, but you should at least know whether you have a chance of succeeding or none at all.

If you cant form an initial view, some lawyers will be prepared to look at the papers and consider whether you have a prima facie case without charge.

(2) Write first time

It is usually worth writing to the other side about a domain dispute before making a complaint. There are two main reasons. First, the cost and aggravation of a domain name dispute can sometimes be avoided by a simple exchange of letters. Second, even if the dispute isnt resolved by correspondence, the fact that you have tried to resolve the dispute without recourse to arbitration proceedings will create a favourable impression with some panellists.

Neither goal is likely to be achieved if the correspondence is disproportionately aggressive or sarcastic: your letters should be lucid, polite and concise.

The problem with writing before filing a complaint is that the domain registrant could transfer the domain to another person before you get a chance to file - possibly to a person with better rights in the domain name than the registrant. You should assess this risk carefully before deciding whether to write first. In making this assessment, one important consideration will be the cost of filing a complaint and thereby blocking transfers. In Nominet (.uk) proceedings, it costs nothing to file a complaint and have domain transfers blocked until the dispute is resolved; however in most other kinds of domain name proceedings, the complaint fee is payable upon filing.

(3) Know your limits

Time limits, that is and word limits. In domain name disputes both time limits and word limits can be short. Its important not to contravene either: missing time limits can be fatal to your case, and looks careless at best; exceeding word limits will annoy the panel.

Panellists will tell you that they dont get paid enough to read what they don't have to read, when they don't have to read it.

(4) Tell a story

The pleadings of domain name arbitration proceedings complaints, responses and (in Nominet proceedings) replies are never going to make great reading. The formal requirements of these documents make them tedious, even for readers professionally acclimatised to tedium.

The easiest way to make the document more interesting is to write it as you would a simple story. Insofar as the document recounts facts, these should usually be in chronological order. You also need to be clear about which person or entity is undertaking which action. This is obvious in the case of natural persons, but can be unclear where you are dealing with legal entities such as companies and partnerships.

Even the non-factual, argumentative sections of your pleadings can be organised in the same way as a story, with a clear beginning, middle and end - although the order an argument will be logical rather than chronological.

(5) Keep cool

Your Complaint or Response should be dispassionate and measured - and give the appearance of objectivity. Remember who is likely to be making the decision, and where: a middle-aged lawyer in an air-conditioned office. Although you need the sympathy of that lawyer, you it's best not to be seen to be asking for it.

(6) Fit the facts to the rules, the rules to the facts

Rarely, if ever, will the rules fit the facts like a glove. More commonly, youll find that the facts have an extra finger, or the glove is too tight, or too capacious.

Your handling of the tensions between the facts and the rules will be a key factor in the success or failure of your argument. By careful presentation of both the facts and the law, it is possible to make it look like the latter was made to fit the former. In this way, weaker arguments can be made stronger, and stronger arguments can be made compelling.

(7) Weight your evidence

One kilo of evidence is too much; one gram too little. To reiterate: panellists will tell you that they dont get paid enough to spend their weekends reviewing your appendices. However, a certain quantity of documentary support is necessary in all cases, to demonstrate the prior dealings of the parties, the use of the domain name in dispute, the rights of the parties, and so on.

As a rule of thumb, you should not include more than one file of evidence and, if possible, that file should be slim enough to allow the panellist to review its contents in less than 15 minutes. (Of course, you may need to break this rule in some cases.)

(8) Find a precedent or two

The major dispute resolution services have now built up a substantial body of case law. Few if any panellists read every decision; most read only a small percentage of the decisions issued.

Panellists dont want to make decisions that are inconsistent with previous case law: they dont want to invite the criticism of their colleagues or academic commentators; nor do they want to have their decisions overturned on appeal. You can help the panellist avoid these ignominies by pointing him or her in the direction of a decision or two which supports your interpretation of the rules.

Dont however go overboard with the authorities. Generally, you should cite only one or two authorities in each case. However, in some circumstances - for example, where there is a well-known case, or your opponent has cited a case, which contradicts your case theory - then you may need additional authorities to establish your case.

Sometimes it may be necessary to cite a court judgment; only do so if it really is necessary.

(9) Be a pedant

Panellists are usually lawyers; lawyers are professional pedants. You dont want the condescension of the panellist, so try to avoid typos, inconsistent usage, and errors of grammar and spelling. Once your document is prepared, proof read it; then have a friend proof read it; then proof read it again.

(10) Read, re-read and re-re-read the rules

Read the applicable rules before drafting your complaint (or response); and during; and after. Check that your document meets all the formal requirements.

(11) Use your service provider

Youre the customer and, although you cannot be always right when the service is dispute resolution, you can be a little bit always right. They wont give you much in the way of substantive advice, but most will help clear up procedural issues.

(12) Stay relevant

Irrelevant material is most unwelcome to the panellist. You may think you can make your opponent look bad by telling the panel how he or she stole your money, or killed your cat. Resist that urge: it will only make you look bad. Ensure all of your arguments and evidence are directed to the rules upon which the panel must make its decision.

Document Scanning and Management Systems: A Review

2009-03-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

Document management systems let businesses store and search digital documents, whether they are scanned images or MS Office documents, PDF files or CAD drawings. Some have a web-based interface to let you view files online, while others have an installed client application for better speed and functionality. All of these solutions require a central database and storage server to hold the files and index information used for searching.

These document management systems require a few days in planning, installation, configuring and training. This is definitely time well spent, ensuring that a correct and optimal implementation at the outset will revolutionise the way in which any company works with its records.

This review highlights a range of proprietary document scanning and document management software, with key functions which they offer.

Systems to Store, Search and View Documents

PaperVision by DigiTech and CompuThink's ViewWise both provide fully featured, HIPAA-compliant (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) document management systems. Both of these systems can grow with company needs, and are affordable enough for small businesses yet powerful enough for large corporations too. Each offers some benefits that the other does not.

To take PaperVision first: this software suite includes a customisable application for searching and viewing, as well as a web interface. PaperVision also has workflow and report management modules which boost any return on investment by allowing the automation of document processes and eliminating pre-printed forms.

A "lite" version called PaperVision XPress offers a similar search interface as PaperVision Enterprise, but comes in at a lower cost, without the extra scalability, security and options.

The other fully featured in-house system featured here is ViewWise. This system is unique in that it is Java-based and can run on Windows/SQL Server as well as Novell, UNIX and Linux operating systems and Oracle database servers. ViewWise also has several key differences in the layout of its user-interface that many users prefer. This includes a folder view for browsing documents.

For a simple, low cost scanning front end for these document storage and retrieval systems, an interesting product is SimpleIndex ' which complements both. SimpleIndex is designed to interface directly with both PaperVision and ViewWise, and so provides a simple, low-cost automatic scanning front-end.

In fact, SimpleIndex also includes its own low-cost searching and viewing application that can be used for basic document management tasks, and so SimpleIndex can be used as a standalone document management system, or added to allow the search and viewing of documents on other workstations.

Another document management product is DocuLex WebSearch. This system is a different in that it can automatically index all documents folder contents, similar to the way in which Google Desktop operates. Networked users are able to search on values in filenames, file properties or document contents. Additionally, users can access files via a website ' a big advantage for remote workers operating outside the confines of the office building.

Web Hosted Document Management Solutions

The choice in products to allow web access to searchable document storage is wide.to give access to documents via the Internet. A reasonably priced system is Ricoh's DocumentMall which is based on EMC Documentum's Enterprise Content Management platform.

Digitech PaperVision described above, also provides a web interface with its document management server. This allows businesses to store its documents for access online. But an alternative from the same stable is to go for their ImageSilo dedicated hosted solution. ImageSilo has more features than Ricoh's DocumentMall, and so the monthly cost is higher..

DocuLex WebSearch has a small office (10 user) and unlimited user versions that provides web-based access to documents using your in-house servers and a Google Desktop style search interface.

CompuThink ViewWise web clients are also available, giving you full access to document management functions over the web. No hosted solution is available for ViewWise.

Batch-Scanning for Importing into a Document Management System

SimpleIndex enable users to export files directly to the PaperVision and ViewWise batch import format, by means a 1-click scanning interface and powerful dynamic Optical Character Recognition to these systems. Meanwhile, Digitech PaperFlow is the recommended scanning interface for PaperVision. It too has built-in exports ' but these also allow exports to almost any document management system, so it can be used no matter which one you choose. PaperFlow is more suitable for multi-user scanning and indexing configurations, while SimpleIndex is better for desktop or distributed capture scenarios.

Systems for Use with Multifunctional Printers and Copiers

Amongst software designed for use with network-attached multifunctional printer and copiers are DocuLex Goby and SimpleIndex., Additionally, the all-embracing scanning and storage system INVU is a simple to use document scanning, storage and retrieval system preferred by many business equipment owners looking to maximise their document handling workflow efficiency.

The architecture of INVU software makes it a big hit with IT Managers. It integrates seamlessly with legacy systems, appearing as an icon in the toolbar and dovetailing neatly with complex packages like Sage or ACT

Domain Name Disputes

2009-03-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

GOVERNANCE OF THE DOMAIN NAMES SYSTEM AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION POLICIES

The objections of many to US control over the Internet and the functioning of the domain name system, led to the creation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a not-for-profit entity established by the United States government to remove the DNS from U.S. Governmental control for the benefit of all nations, and to take over many of the management functions of the DNS.

The United States Government, in its June 5, 1998 Statement of Policy on the Management of Internet Names and Addresses (the White Paper), called for the privatization of the DNS in a manner that allows for the development of robust competition and that facilitates global participation in the management of Internet names and addresses. The need for change in the DNS was seen to arise from 1) dissatisfaction with the absence of competition regarding domain name Registrars; 2) the increasing occurrence of conflicts between trademark and domain name owners, and the fact that the mechanisms for overcoming these were seen as expensive and cumbersome; 3) the call from commercial interests for more formal management of the Internet; 4) increasing desire from non-U.S. interests in participation in the management of various aspects of the Internet; 5) the need for accountability in the decision of whether to add new generic top-level domains (gTLDs); and 6) the inappropriateness of U.S. agencies managing and funding commercial enterprises on the Internet.

The White Paper resulted in the formation of ICANN, which now, for the time being, has taken over many of the management functions of the DNS. The ICANN By-laws call for the creation of Supporting Organizations (SOs) to develop proposals for the improvement of various aspects of the Internet. The initial three SOs were 1) the Address SO - concerned with the system of Internet Protocol addresses, 2) the Protocol SO - concerned with the technical standards that let computers exchange information, and 3) the Domain Name SO. The SOs serve as advisory bodies and have the primary responsibility for developing and recommending substantive policies regarding matters falling within their specific responsibilities. Whereas the first two SOs relate to the more technical functioning of the Internet, the Domain Name SO (DNSO) is of particular interest to the intellectual property community.

Within the DNSO, are Constituency groups that were ratified by ICANN. These Constituency Groups are self-organized and made up of interested individuals and entities. According to the ICANN By-laws "[a]ny group of individuals or entities may petition the Board for recognition as a new or separate Constituency." The Constituency Groups make recommendations to, and select members for the Names Council, which is responsible for consensus building, and communicating DNSO recommendations to the Board of Directors. There are also various advisory committees within ICANN as well as an At-Large Membership with an "open and inclusive" membership.

The White Paper also called upon WIPO to develop a process designed to culminate in recommendations concerning domain name issues to be submitted to ICANN. This process resulted in the April 30, 1999 WIPO Final Report. The recommendations contained in the report relate generally to 1) Best Practices for Registration Authorities; 2) Administrative Procedures Concerning Abusive Domain Name Registrations; 3) Exclusions for Famous and Well-known marks; and 4) New TLDs.

A further WIPO domain name Report, WIPO2 RFC-3, Interim Report of the Second WIPO Internet Domain Name Process, April 12, 2001, was published for comment, which deals with the subjects of personal names; International Nonproprietary Names (INNs) for pharmaceutical substances; names of international inter-governmental organizations; geographical indications, indications of source and geographical terms; and trade names.

The WIPO Final Report stated that A constant consideration has therefore been to ensure that the recommendations of the WIPO process are practical and do not interfere with the functionality of the Internet by imposing unreasonable constraints on the high-volume and automated operations of domain name registration authorities,

One of the first actions taken by ICANN was the introduction of competition among Registrars in providing registration services for the .COM, .ORG and .NET gTLDs. Previously, Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI), under contract with the United States Government, had been the only Registrar authorized to provide these services. ICANN has now accredited numerous Registrars to provide competing registration services.

To ensure uniformity in the resolution of domain name disputes, ICANN has made accreditation to provide domain name registration services that all Registrars must contractually agree to be bound by ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, outlined below.

When NSI was the only domain name Registrar, in order to prevent the increasing occurrence of disputes involving domain names, NSI implemented its on hold procedure. Under this procedure, a trademark owner, with a registered mark identical to the domain name in question could apply with NSI to place the domain name on hold, so that no one could use the domain name until the dispute was resolved, either amicably or through a lawsuit.

The NSI policy did not allow comparison of the goods and services covered by a trademark in relation to those associated with a given domain name. The NSI policy lead many trademark holders to engage in reverse domain name hijacking, by threatening to place domain names being used in good faith for goods/services unrelated to the trademark holders mark on hold, unless the domain name was transferred to the trademark owner.

Under the ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement, a Registrar must agree to abide by the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), which was adopted on August 26, 1999. The implementation documents for this policy were approved on October 24, 1999. Updates to these documents, if any, can be accessed on the Internet at Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy; and Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. The first day in which complaints could be submitted to accredited Dispute Resolution Providers was on December 1, 1999, for disputes involving domain names registered with Registrars, for various reasons, other than America Online, the NameIT Corp. and NSI. The first day complaints could be submitted in respect of domain names registered by these other three Registrars was on January 3, 2000.

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy is incorporated by reference into every Registrars Registration Agreement with domain name Registrants and sets forth the terms and conditions for resolving disputes between the Registrant and another party concerning the registration and use of a name.

The Policy provides that a domain name Registrant is required to submit to mandatory administrative (arbitration) proceedings if a third party complains with respect to a .COM, .NET or .ORG, and now a .BIZ, .INFO or .NAME domain name, to one of the ICANN accredited Dispute Resolution Providers. Current accredited Dispute Resolution Providers include are WIPO, Disputes.org/eResolution Consortium, the National Arbitration Forum, and the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution. Each provider has its own supplemental rules of procedure. A Complainant must assert to the chosen Provider that:

(i) the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or servicemark in which the complainant has rights;

(ii) the Registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and

(iii) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

Evidence of a bad faith registration, without limitation, includes:

(i) circumstances indicating that the domain name was registered primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name 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 the costs related to registering the domain name; or

(ii) the domain name was registered in order to prevent the Complainant from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that there is a pattern of such conduct; or

(iii) the domain name was registered primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of the Complainant; or

(iv) the Registrant intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to his web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainants mark.

As a defense to a complaint, any of the following circumstances, if found by the Panel, indicates the Registrant's legitimate interest in the domain name:

(i) the Registrant's use, or demonstrable preparations to use the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or

(ii) the Registrant (as an individual, business, or other organization) has been commonly known by the domain name, even if he has acquired no trademark or service mark rights in the name; or

(iii) the Registrant is making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent of commercial gain, to confuse consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.

The remedies available under the UDRP are limited to requiring cancellation of the domain name or the transfer of the domain name to the Complainant. Either party can file an action in a court of competent jurisdiction at any time during a pending UDRP action. The Complainant has the choice of either a one-person or a three-person panel. If the Complainant chooses a one-person panel, the domain name Registrant is given the opportunity to choose a three-person panel, in which case the domain name Registrant will be required to pay half of the costs associated with the procedure. A Complainant or Respondent will usually choose a three person panel when they believe that they can secure at least one panelist who has ruled favorably in similar cases because a three person panel is comprised of a panelist nominated by each side, with the third panelist selected, if possible, from ranked lists submitted by the parties, but ultimately chosen by the dispute resolution provider.

Another important change that has benefitted trademark practitioners, particularly in the United States, was a United States law, which amended the Lanham Act by adding new Section 43(d), known as "The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA"). The ACPA was enacted into law on November 29, 1999 and, except for the damages section, applied retroactively.

Section 43 (d)(1)(A) states that:

"A person shall be liable in a civil action by the owner of a mark, including a personal name which is protected as a mark under this section, if, without regard to the goods or services of the parties, that person--

(i) has a bad faith intent to profit from that mark, including a personal name which is protected as a mark under this section

(ii) registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that -

(I) in the case of a mark that is distinctive at the time of registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to that mark;

(II) in the case of a famous mark that is famous at the time of registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to or dilutive of that mark.

Liability under this section depends on whether the person registered or used the domain name in bad faith, and includes a provision whereby the complainant may elect at any time before final judgment to recover either actual damages and profits, or an award of statutory damages in an amount of not less than $1,000 and not more than $100,000 per domain name in the discretion of the court. Thus, unlike the stated policy of ICANNs UDRP, a domain name Registrant can be liable for merely registering a domain name in bad faith, without the necessity of use. It should be noted, however, that under the UDRP, certain panelists have found bad faith in cases of mere passive holding of a domain name.

Another important section in the ACPA is Section 43(d)(2) under which the owner of a mark may file an in rem civil action against the domain name itself in the judicial district in which the domain name Registrar, domain name Registry, or other domain name authority that registered or assigned the domain name is located, if the court finds that the trademark owner is not able through due diligence to obtain in personam jurisdiction over the person who would have been the defendant. The remedies available under this action are limited to a court order for the forfeiture or cancellation of the domain name or the transfer of the domain name to the owner of the mark.

In determining whether a registration was in bad faith, a court may consider the following nine non-exclusive factors:

(I) the trademark or other intellectual property rights of the person, if any, in the domain name, which takes into account the fact that various persons or entities can have the coexisting right to use a particular name. For example, an Apple Computer and an Apple shipping company would both have the theoretical right to register and use the APPLE.COM domain name. Since there can only be one APPLE.COM in use at a given time, it certainly pays to register your domain name early.

(II) the extent to which the domain name consists of the legal name of the person or a name that is otherwise commonly used to identify that person.

(III) the person's prior use, if any, of the domain name in connection with the bona fide offering of any goods or services.

(IV) the person's bona fide noncommercial or fair use of the mark in a site accessible under the domain name which recognizes that under certain circumstances a person can use anothers trademark in a domain name in a lawful way. Examples of such uses would be parody and comparative advertising.

(V) the person's intent to divert consumers from the mark owner's online location to a site accessible under the domain name that could harm the goodwill represented by the mark, either for commercial gain or with the intent to tarnish or disparage the mark, by creating a likelihood of confusion as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the site.

(VI) the person's offer to transfer, sell, or otherwise assign the domain name to the mark owner or any third party for financial gain without having used, or having an intent to use, the domain name in the bona fide offering of any goods or services, or the person's prior conduct indicating a pattern of such conduct.

(VII) the person's provision of material and misleading false contact information when applying for the registration of the domain name, the person's intentional failure to maintain accurate contact information, or the person's prior conduct indicating a pattern of such conduct.

(VIII) the person's registration or acquisition of multiple domain names which the person knows are identical or confusingly similar to marks of others that are distinctive at the time of registration of such domain names, or dilutive of famous marks of others that are famous at the time of registration of such domain names, without regard to the goods or services of the parties.

(IX) the extent to which the mark incorporated in the person's domain name registration is or is not distinctive and famous.

Bad faith intent will not be found where the court determines that the person believed or had reasonable grounds to believe that the use of the domain name was a fair use or otherwise lawful.

In any civil action involving registration, trafficking, or use of a domain name, a court may order the forfeiture or cancellation of the domain name or the transfer of the domain name to the owner of the trademark.

Experienced counsel should be consulted and utilized in determing the best method of resolving disputes involving domain names.

The law Offices of Michael D. Stewart can assist you in these and a variety of other issues. You may contact us at Michael D. Stewart, Esq. * Law Offices of Michael D. Stewart * 335 S. Biscayne Blvd., #UPH00 * Miami, Florida 33131 * midstewart@gmail.com * michaelstewartlaw.com * 1-305-394-8546 Telephone * 1-866-438-6574 Toll-free * 1-866-380-8986 Facsimile

© Copyright 2006-2007 Michael D. Stewart

Domain Name Disputes on the Internet

2009-03-14T08:25:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had a third party register a domain name that is either exactly the same or very similar to your trademark? If so, it may be a Cybersquatting issue. Cybersquatting is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with a bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. To address this issue, Congress enacted what is known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ("ACPA"). The ACPA amended the Lanham Act by providing trademark owners with a civl remedy against cybersquatting.

If you're not sure how this may affect your business, let's run through some examples. The typical scenario is that the name of your product, or your company name is a registered trademark (or a strong common law trademark). However, you failed to register the domain name for whatever reason. Joe Schmo cybersquatter decides to beat you to the punch and registers the domain name of your trademark. He may have even registered plural versions or misspellings of your trademark as well (this is known as typosquatting). Joe Schmo cybersquatter is simply holding the domain name for ransom hoping to sell it back to you for a nice profit, or he may decide to keep domain name knowing that he will get a lot of traffic to his websites. The cybersquatter may sell products similar to yours or is simply engaged in affiliate marketing and makes money off of the clicks on his website. These situations can obviously cause consumer confusion and can easily cause lost profits to your company and dilution of your trademark(s) as well.

One avenue of recourse is filing an ACPA claim in federal court. The Plaintiff in an Anti-Cybersquatting suit must establish:

1. The Defendant has a bad faith intent to profit from the mark, including a defendant name which is protected as a mark;

2. registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that--

(I) in the case of a mark that is distinctive at the time of registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to that mark;

(II) in the case of a famous mark that is famous at the time of registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to or dilutive of that mark; or

(III) is a trademark, word, or name protected by reason of 18 U.S.C. section 706.

However, you must distinguish cases where the cybersquatter is obviously acting in bad faith, from situations in which the individual has merely registered the domain with the good faith intent of doing something else with it (that is unrelated to trademark owner's goods and/or services).

The ACPA excludes a finding of bad faith where the domain name holder reasonably believed that the use was "fair use" or otherwise lawful. Accordingly, bad faith is the biggest component in an ACPA claim. So what is bad faith? There are several elements the federal courts will consider such as:

The trademark ownership rights held by the mark owner; The closeness of the domain name and the cybersquatter's name; The cybersquatter's commercial use of the domain name for access to a web site; The cybersquatter's intent to divert web traffic from the mark owner; The cybersquatter's offer to sell the domain name to the mark owner; Whether the defendant gave misleading information when registering the domain; and Similar or repeated cybersquatting on other marks. For example, in Hasbro Inc. v. Clue Computing Inc.[66 F. Supp.2d 177 (D. Mass 2000)], the district court held that Clue Computing's use of its registered domain name clue.com, was in fair use, despite Hasbro's existing registration of the trademark "Clue" for its famous board game. The two company's fields in which the names were used were not related; Clue Computing had registered the disputed domain name first, used it in legitimate commerce, and not attempted to sell the domain name to Hasbro.

UDRP or ACPA?

So if you've concluded that someone has cybersquatted one of your trademarks, should you file a ACPA lawsuit? You should consult your intellectual property lawyer about other possibilities such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP")"UDRP"). UDPR is an ICANN-approved arbitration that resolves domain name disputes submitted to ICANN for resolution. Very often (nearly 75% of UDRP cases) results in the cancellation of the cybersquatter's domain name registration. The standards to establish cybersquatting in UDRP cases for wrongful registration is very similar to ACPA's standards. Furthermore, UDRP proceedings are typically much less expensive and quicker (about 2-3 months total compared to ACPA which is federal litigation and may take years if not settled before trial). Another advantage with the UDRP is that it's well suited for international domain name disputes because the hearings are ex parte (based only on filed documents; no parties or witnesses are present). UDRP can be used in addition to an ACPA litigation or possibly done before or after an ACPA ruling because UDRP rulings are not binding upon the courts. Also, UDRP findings may be appealed. This is a departure from most arbitration practice (www.icann.org/udrp).

However, the remedies in UDRP proceedings are limited to only transfers of the domain name. Compared to an ACPA litigation, the Plaintiff may obtain monetary damages, attorney's fees and costs (in exceptional cases), and/or an injunction, in addition to the cancellation or transfer of the improper web domain name to the original owner. Furthermore, under ACPA the Plaintiff has the option of suing for statutory damages for $1,000 to $100,000, as the court deems just under the circumstances.

© 2007 Michael N. Cohen

This article is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. You should consult with an attorney familiar with the issues and the laws.

Copyright (c) 2007 Michael Cohen

Domain Name Portfolio Announced For Sale

2009-03-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

A powerful real estate domain name portfolio composed of all 50 U.S. state names is for sale. The announcement of the portfolio was made by the developer of Housing Predictor.com, an information driven web site, which provides more than 250 local housing market forecasts in all 50 states.

Its been said to be one of the richest domain name portfolios to ever come along, and it even includes Washington D.C. as a bonus. Every name in this premium collection starts with the word Find, followed by each state name, and ends in Houses.com like FindFloridaHouses.com. All of the domains are currently in use on the web and may be accessed online.

Real estate is one of the top five topics visitors search for on the Internet, and the purchaser of this real estate domain name portfolio will be able to write their own ticket.

A prototype program to market real estate in the next generation is already quietly underway in Florida. Crews are out collecting video of each and every major city in Florida to show the exterior of homes. Eventually its clearly the way real estate will be marketed and sold almost without a need to visit a home. Studies show 80% of all buyers and sellers of real estate now go to the Internet first to conduct research and view listings.

This real estate domain name portfolio, which is composed of all 50 U.S. state names, could be used to explode innovative real estate marketing on the net like never before.

Names like this dont come along every day and they offer endless possibilities. They will provide the new owner the competitive edge in today's new world of marketing. Netscape now estimates there are more than100 million web sites on the Internet, and the web is growing like never before.

This domain name portfolio could be a network of sites providing the search for real estate listings in every state of the nation. It might be developed into a video streaming network, providing high tech tours outside in the neighborhoods and provide a virtual tour of the inside of the home with a sound track narrated by a broadcast professional.

As web 2.0 becomes more and more a part of the Internet the possibilities are countless. For more information on this domain name portfolio visit http://www.EzRealEstateReferrals.com

Domain Name Transfer Information

2009-03-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

So you have a domain name. Now what do you do with it?

Well, the obvious is to get it hosted somewhere. But how do you get it "somewhere"? How does one move their domain from one place to another?

Determine where your domain name is currently hosted

Domain transfers are without a doubt one of the most confusing things to a domain name owner, especially if you've never done it before and you don't have a clue as to where to start. Unfortunately it's a fact and we can't make it easy for you. But we can try to ease it up a bit.

The first thing you need to do is determine where your domain name is currently hosted. To do this you must do a whois search. Go to one of the websites below:

http://betterwhois.com
http://allwhois.com
http://completewhois

For this example we will use http://betterwhois.com. Type your domain name in the text box provided.

The who is database gives info about the registrant: administrative contact the technical contact and the billing contact, including addresses phone numbers and email addresses. This is available to the public.

We want info about http://notreallyadomain.com for this example.

This is what you will see:

Domain names in the .com, .net, and .org domains can now be registered with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net for detailed information.

Domain Name: http://NOTREALLYADOMAIN.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS, INC.
Whois Server: http://whois.opensrs.net
Referral URL: http://domainhelp.tucows.com
Name Server: http://NS1.NOTREALLYANAMESERVER.NET
Name Server: http://NS2.NOTREALLYANAMESERVER.NET

Updated Date: 07-jan-2004
Creation Date: 08-mar-1997
Expiration Date: 08-mar-2006
The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .ORG, .EDU domains and
Registrars.

So, in breaking a whois search down:

Domain Name-The domainname you have inquired about

Registrar-The registrar the domain has been registered with

Whois Server-Who is database this info was pulled from

Referral URL-The URL of the Registrar -who you need to contact in order to change the domain from one name server to the other: either by physically talking to them or using control panel access.

Primary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on

Secondary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on Two nameservers are generally used: if the primary nameserver breaks then the secondary can take over the primary nameserver duties until the primary is fixed.

Updated Date-When the whois record was last updated

Creation Date: When the domainname was created

Expiration Date: When the domain name expires

This domain was registered thru an Opensrs registrar/reseller. Scan the who is database you will usually find the Registrar contact info. In this case the info was towards the bottom:

Registration Service Provider: http://Domainmonger.com, service@domainmonger.com
+1.425-821-8032 http://www.domainmonger.com

We would then go to http://www.domainmonger.com

Providing we have our userid and password we could login and change our nameserver info, contact info or any number of functions.

Once we have changed our name server info there is generally a propagation periodnas the internet as a whole updates with new dns information. For a new domain name, you can count on anywhere from 12 - 24 hours. For a domain name that is already in existance, and has already been moved, it can take anywhere from 12 - 72 hours. There is no definitive time, unfortunately.

There have been instances of propagation taking two weeks or more.

Here are some of the different Domain name registrars now available on the net.

Recommendations to keep your domain name maintenence hassle-free:

Never use your domain name as part of your email address on your contact email for your whois record. Use a web-based email like Yahoo or Hotmail. If you experience any kind of issue, you'll be emailed at your contact email, and if it's your domain name and it's broken, you're out of luck.

Use yourself as a technical contact on your whois record. Use a second email address as well. Hosting companies do go out of business, and this could hinder your access should you want to move the domain name.

Keep track of the email addresses you use as contacts, the userids and passwords. Keep track of your domain name - when you ordered it, when it expires. If you let the domain name expire, your website will not be accessible through the domain name. Keep track of any userids/passwords associated with domain name maintenence.

Domain Names and Search Engine Optimization

2009-03-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of factors involved if you are considering building out a site with search engine optimization in mind. Your domain name is just one, but an important one.

Domain Names and Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is simply an effort to get pages on your site to rank high in the natural or organic listings on various search engines with Google, Yahoo and MSN being the most important. Taking this approach to online marketing requires a lot of planning, patience and work. Unfortunately, many people get off on the wrong foot when the pick their domain name.

Selecting a domain name is often viewed as a simple process. Most businesses will simply use their offline business name or something off the top of their head. Others will try to pick something that is catchy, so visitors will hopefully remember the name and come back to buy more. If you are planning on pursuing search engine optimization, the approaches will not kill you. That being said, there is a better way to pick your domain.

One of the interesting things about most search engines is they put a significant amount of value on the words in the root of a domain name. By root, I mean the words between www and the dot com, net or whatever you are using. Simply put, even a moderate optimization effort will usually lead to the site appearing high under the phrase in the domain name. Given this fact, it is important to think long and hard about the domain you use.

One approach used by many people doing search engine optimization is to match keyword phrases and domains. The idea is to research keyword phrases being used by people in your particular field and then buy domains matching those phrases. For a simple example, consider the fact that many people search for puppy names. If you want to build a site about puppies, you would ideally want to buy the domain puppynamesdotcom. Such a site could be optimized and obtain fairly high rankings with a moderate amount of effort.

Obviously, keyword phrases with tons of traffic have already been taken. This should not discourage you, however. Work your way down the phrases identified by whatever research tool you are using. You will be surprised to find that many of the phrases are available. Build a site on one of the domains and you should find your optimization efforts leading to successful results.

Domain Names And The Perfect Moniker

2009-03-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Did you know you could pay someone to help you come up with the perfect domain name? Its true. A think tank of marketing experts can come together to help determine a perfect name for your online presence.

Why would something like this be needed?

It seems that most of the more obvious online names are chosen and it takes a bit more creativity to come up with a recognizable and easy to use domain name that reflects the core of your business.

The good news is you may not need to pay anyone to come up with a perfect name for your domain.

If you already know that your business name is in use on the web you might want to either alter your business name should youre business still exist in the startup phase. In you already have an established business you could go with some of the suggestions you are likely to find on a domain registry site, but this often lacks a personal touch.

Invite your family and friends to assist in filling a piece of notepaper with words or attributes that describe you and your business. Find words that may describe the collective nature of your store.

For example you might have a ceramic store where you hand paint and fire a kiln to create one of a kind gifts based on the clients request. For the sake of this experiment lets also say that you specialize in ceramic pigs, but sell other types of ceramics as well.

Start by listing either attributes or words that describe what you do.

Ceramics
Kiln
Paint
Hand-crafted
Gifts
Pigs
Flame
Fire
Paintbrush
Paint

OK, thats just a few words that may describe what is happening in your business. As of this writing the following web address does not exist, which is why I am using it as an example. www.firethepig.com

Maybe not a perfect name, but it would be easy to remember and in a clever and memorable way describes the specialty aspects of the store.

When you visit a domain registry you can keep checking to see if a new choice in name is available. In some cases businesses will also buy domain names that may be similar or ones that feature a different web extension such as .net or .biz. These businesses will then redirect visitors who happen to type in the wrong address to the main site.

With competitive rates for domain names it has become much easier to lay claim to multiple domain names.

The truth is you can find multiple online businesses that can assist you in site development, design, graphics, audio, content and even naming your domain. In most cases you can learn the skills through a little research and even a bit of common sense and save money for your acts of ingenuity.

In a matter of minutes you can assess your skills as a business and see if those skills and attributes line up to create an online domain name that will stick in the minds of your site visitor.

Your site name is important to the marketability of your site. It may not be in your best interest to simply take the first idea that is available. Keep the domain as short as possible and keep things memorable.

Domain Names And Toll-free Numbers: A Profitable Link

2009-03-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I turned down a naming assignment from a company seeking a business name that would correlate with a domain and a toll-free number, both currently available. Impossible, I thought. Nope, not impossible if you know how to go about it, says Bill Quimby of TollFreeNumbers.com.

The key is to find the vanity phone number first, Quimby says, and there are many more available toll-free numbers that spell out something related to your business than you would imagine. For instance, when he ran a search for toll-free numbers related to naming, he came up with 888-DR-NAMING (which I immediately reserved), 866-NOW-NAME, 877-PRO-NAMING, 888-WEB-NAMING, 877-TOP-NAMING and hundreds of other options.

Once you find a toll-free vanity number, the next step is to make sure the corresponding domain name is available for registration. 888DRNAMING.com was available, and I reserved that as well for future use. Then I was all set for a radio publicity campaign, a national advertising campaign or just rebranding.

Some points to keep in mind if this sort of naming strategy excites you:

* Although North American phones show letters on the keypad, telephones elsewhere in the world may not. Likewise, toll-free numbers in North America cannot be dialed from other continents. If you have a global business, branding only through a toll-free number that works only in one part of the world may not be a smart idea. However, it can still be a good way to attract North American customers, since you can forward the toll-free number for just pennies a minute almost anywhere else in the world.

* The cost of getting calls through a toll-free number can be as low as 2.85 cents a minute, with no monthly fee or monthly minimum charge. Aside from the one-time cost of getting a vanity toll-free number, it doesn't cost any more on an ongoing basis than a toll-free number that does not spell anything.

* Although numeric numbers are easier to dial, vanity numbers spelling out words get more calls than numbers comprised of random numbers. In a study done by Bellcore, print ads that had an 800 toll-free number attracted six times as many calls as regular, non-toll-free numbers. And contrary to what you might expect, this held true regardless of the socioeconomic status of the caller.

* Older telephones don't show the "Q" (which correlates with 7) or the "Z" (which correlates with 9), but most recent models do. Note also that you'll get more misdials if your vanity words include the letter "O," which can be mistaken for the zero key.

* The more you advertise on billboards, trucks, radio or TV, the more important it is to have a number that spells something. And if you are a small company, a vanity number makes you seem bigger and more established. When Bill Quimby tells people to call him at 1-800-MARKETER, few would guess he works out of his home. A toll-free number also emphasizes that the company wants to hear from customers.

* Whereas so many great domain names are already taken, many more of the 800YourName.com type of domain names are still available.

Domain Names Become Premium Web Real Estate

2009-03-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

The following article presents the very latest information on Domain Names. If you have a particular interest in Domain Names, then this informative article is required reading.

See how much you can learn about Domain Names when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don't miss out on the rest of this great information.

Everyone should have Amy Schrier's problem.

For six months, she resisted selling the domain name Blue.com for $200,000. Using a formula she devised to fetch the highest market value for cheap domain names, Schrier eventually convinced a private party that Blue.com was worth $500,000. Since the name was sold in March, its site now includes links to sexual material and airfare ads.

"The market will really explode when people realize they are sitting on premium real estate," says Schrier, 37, an entrepreneur in New York who bought Blue.com for $65,000 in 2002.

Dan Taylor, 54, an industrial designer in Toronto, stumbled onto his domain riches. In the 1990s, he bought Realtone.com with the intent of developing online content for skin care products. As Taylor's luck would have it, that was before ringtones became available on cell phones. When Universal Entertainment in Germany came calling for the domain name last year, Taylor sold it for an undisclosed amount.

So now you know a little bit about Domain Names. Even if you don't know everything, you've done something worthwhile: you've expanded your knowledge.

Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with Domain Names? This informative report can give you an insight into everything you've ever wanted to know about Domain Names.

The information about Domain Names presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Domain Names or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

Schrier and Taylor are among an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 individuals who make a living buying and selling cheap domain names, though about half prefer to remain anonymous to avoid competition, says Ron Jackson, editor and publisher of Domain Name Journal.

'A long-term investment' Most domainers buy and own names. They "park" on sites, where they develop content in the form of Web links and ads, to generate income and increase the value of their virtual real estate.

"It's a long-term investment, like owning a home," says Lawrence Fischer, vice president of business development at SmartName.com, a company that owns and manages thousands of cheap domain names, including Stockquotes.com. "But if a major brokerage firm came along with a big offer, I would be willing to listen."

Plenty have been willing to pay. Sales of 5,851 cheap domain names generated $29 million in 2005, compared with the sale of 3,813 names for $15 million in 2004, market researcher Zetetic says.

Venture-capital firms, too, are betting on cheap domain names.

Like a lottery ticket

"It's like buying a lottery ticket, but the odds are better," says Ken Carey, 50, a longtime autoworker in Grand Rapids, Mich., and part-time inventor who owns 200 cheap domain name. "All you gotta do is hit the right niche, and you're well on your way to being a millionaire."

When a technology is about to take off, if you buy a domain name that pertains to it, the more generic the name, the better its value.

Sometimes, the payoff is huge.

Sometimes, it lands the owner in legal hot water.

A surge in online ads and Web viewing have made cheap domain names a serious business proposition. Online ad revenue is expected to reach $13.6 billion in the U.S. this year, up 14 percent from last year, according to Jupiter Media. Overall, 153 million people in the U.S. use the Web, up 2.5 percent from a year ago, Nielsen//NetRatings says.

"Those who understand domains and what they represent, can and have done very well," says Schwartz, 52, who sold Men.com for $1.3 million in late 2003, a huge profit from the $15,000 he paid for it in 1997. He bought Property.com for $750,000 last year.

And Schrier, who sold Blue.com for more than twice what she was originally offered, may soon offer advice. She intends to market her formula for getting the most value out of cheap domain names.

There's no doubt that the topic of Domain Names can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about Domain Names, you may find what you're looking for in the next article.

Easy Ways To Make Extra Cash Online

2009-03-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

There are numerous simple and easy ways to make some extra cash online. This article will give you some ideas.

Surveys

One of the best ways to earn some extra cash online is by taking surveys. There are many companies that need consumer opinions on a wide range of topics, and many of them will pay you money or with points you can redeem for cash or prizes. It's easy and free to signup and the more surveys you take, the more money and prizes you will get. It just takes a small investment of your time.

Writing

If you have decent writing skills, there are many publishers and content distributors who need content for their websites. Two such sites are AssociatedContent.com and Helium.com, they will pay you for each article you write. You don't have to be a fantastic writer either, just have a good grasp of English and be able to write something of interest on a given topic.

Blogging

Blogging is fun and easy and, again, you don't need great writing skills. You just need to be able to communicate your thoughts and ideas well. You can get your own customizable blog by getting a domain and hosting package that includes the Fantastico module. This module allows you to install the blogging software, WordPress, with 1 simple click. It's super fast and easy and you'll be blogging in no time. Once you have some visitors, you can add Adsense ads or affiliate ads to leverage your visitors and make money from them. Remember, the more interesting your topic, the more people will be interested, and the more readers you get, the more money you will make from your advertising. Blogs can be about anything, what do you have a passion for? What is your interest? Blog about it!

Affiliate Marketing

Many online companies have affiliate programs. Amazon.com, for instance, has a great affiliate program that allows you to sign up and get a customized URL to any page or area of their site. Then you can send this URL to your friends and family and encourage them to buy gifts from Amazon.com. With every purchase from your affiliate link, you get a commission! There are thousands of other affiliate programs out there, in addition to Amazon's program.

Sell Your Extra Stuff

We all have extra stuff laying around our houses or garages. Why not get rid of it and make some money too? Get your stuff and take a picture, write a description and put it up on eBay. You may find that something you thought that wasn't worth anything, is actually worth something!

Contests, Sweepstakes and Instant Win Games

Everyday there are new contests, sweepstakes and instant win games launching. If you are vigilant and spend an hour or a few a day entering contests and playing these games, you will win something eventually. Playing these games and contests is often fun anyway, so why not take a chance? Check out sweeps.ws for a great list of contests, sweepstakes and instant win games.

Free Lottos

You know how you go to the convenience store every week and spend a few bucks on lottery tickets? Well, there are also online lotteries where you can get tickets and win cash prizes. The difference is, these lotteries are free! Yes, free! You can find a list of free lottos at sweeps.ws.

Online Casinos

There are hundreds of different online casinos on the web. I bet you thought that you needed money to play at them and win? Well, you were wrong. You can signup for free poker tournaments that have cash prizes. There are also slot, roulette and blackjack tournaments that you can play that have real money prizes. All for free! Check out freerolls.net and gambling.com for listings.

There you go, 8 fun and easy ideas to make some extra cash online!

Every Girls Guide To Confidence and Self Esteem

2009-03-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

Remember Teri Hatcher doing those impossible splits right on the studio floor on Oprah? Or Carmen Electra positively gushing about what exotic dance has done for her body and bedroom tactics? A large number of celebrities have recently taken to a sexy alternative to working out, from pole vaulting they have leapt straight to pole dancing at the S Factor. And they arent stopping at pole-dancing, our celebrity pin-up girls have been everywhere and done everything, from Strip-Aerobics to Exotic Dance Work Outs, the motto this season is Everything sexy goes!

If all this sudden gush for sex is making you blush, you go ahead and click your tongue and hang your head in shame, no one will begrudge you. SEX SELLS and we are being sold it morning, noon and night through every possible channel. It screams at you from gigantic billboards featuring gorgeous demi-love-gods, pierces into your fantasys through the television and fondles your imagination with semi-naked bodies scattered all over the net. Living in the USA is in itself like one giant, prolonged orgasmand as a woman you are expected to idolize those models and endeavor to look like one.

Sure you wanna be Carrie from Sex and the City and moan and groan and roll around on your bed with a different guy every night, seven nights a week turning your life into a series of fantastic sexual escapades.but youll snap out of it, after all life is not a TV show, and learning how to embrace your sexuality takes time and effort.

In America amongst the glamour of the TV shows and the supposed sexual abandonment, the skin and the G-Strings, we women have to deal with mixed messages, guilt trips, religious dogma, body image, and misinformation. Sure getting your hymen snapped by 16 is a must, but so is regretting doing it by 25. Beneath all our external frills, getting laid is an issue we women deal with badly.

The concept of Positive Sex is an idea not many of us have managed to fathom yet. Fornication is still, essentially a male domain, where we women participate like whimpering goats, hesitating and interestingly enough feeling insecure about our role in it all.

A majority of women I know swear by making love in the dark. Its romantic they coo when I ask them the point of that. Heres what I KNOW, most of us are ashamed of our body. Nudity is a concept we havent been taught to handle well. Seeing ourselves naked freaks us out, and knowing that someone else is watching us naked, desiring our body for itself, brings to life our worst fears. This is the gaze our parents warned us against, this is what Church lessons have told us to avoid. So off goes the light, plunging everything, from ourselves, to that desirous gaze, to our insecurities, into comforting darkness.

The truth is that the darkness serves as a warm invitation to what Susan Bremer calls our Shadow side. Every woman wants to take a trip to their wild side she explains, We all yearn to seduce. But weve been told over and over again that to rejoice in our body is immoral, yet the wish to feel powerful in our sensuality, to express our sexuality remains. Susan, a proud Gentleman club dancer considers her sexual prowess to be her way of establishing her role in a world hounded by men. When Im at work, she says Im surrounded by men in coats and ties bosses and underlings, jocks and nerds. All of them are the kinds of men who made me feel small. But now I can reduce the top dog to a lapdog by staring at him, opening my top, and smiling.

This sense of power probably needs some delving into. As women all of us suffer from our own insecurities. Its a cliché by now but we all know that the world belongs to the testosterone thugs. They keep us down everywhere, be it in our boardroom or our bedroom. And slowly we grow used to being kept down, such that we soon we are conditioned to not reversing the situation at all.

A positive sex-image, whether you use it or not, can and will alter all this most miraculously. Your sexual achievements in the bedroom can give you the kind of omnipotent confidence which oozes out from your personal to public sphere. For any woman with low self-esteem, the act of embracing your sexuality serves as a miracle tool for believing that she can have that effect on other people, in a non-sexual environment too.

The thing is, much as we try to shake it off, we are all sexual beings, sex is important to us and it has the power to make us feel good. 65% of women in the US do not, at their heart of hearts, take this idea seriously. Good sex and an attempt to have good sex for them is still a nudge-nudge-whisper-whisper issue. This attitude gets transferred from them to their kids and grandkids and so on, such that each generation of these young women grow up with the idea that every time they are making love they ought to feel guilty about it. This mystifying of the subject is harmful for a lot of reasons. For starters it gives us a lifelong baggage of guilt, every time we think about sex, every time we fantasize or our hands itch to masturbate we feel like a criminal. The constant feeling that sex is wrong or dirty leads to a negative self-image as a person. That misinformation means that when we are in the act it can be hard to enjoy it, leading to severe sexual frustration, not a feeling youd like to carry around with you.

This discussion might go on and on, because of our trouble to face the fact that we like getting laid. But lets just say, it all has a very easy solution. Get in to your sexiest lacy underwear, devote tonight to unleashing the temptress in you and for once really enjoy it without hang-ups. You will like the results tomorrow morning.

Expired Domains Mean Opportunities

2009-03-14T08:10:00.002-07:00

If you have a website, you want traffic; lots and lots of traffic, as a matter of fact. You are well aware of the fact that there are now millions of Internet users out there, and among those millions, there may be at least one or two thousand web surfers every day looking for the exact services or products that youre selling. But theres a problem. How do you reach out to those potential customers and make them come to your site?

You probably have been very busy already with your Internet marketing. I would assume that you have submitted your site to the search engines, bought a few ads in a variety of e-zines, and perhaps even put up a couple of banners. So are you satisfied with the results you are getting from your efforts? You may have tried all that you know about promoting your site and your products, but are you getting the traffic that you wanted? If not, then maybe you need to look in other directions.

But dont worry; you wont have to resort to illegitimate methods just to get the traffic you need. There is a perfectly ethical and legitimate way to get traffic to your site, and its very effective, too. But what makes this method even better is that over 95% of the people on the World Wide Web have absolutely no clue about it at all. So, have I got your attention? Let me explain it to you a bit more in detail.

Have you ever considered using expired domains for pulling in traffic to your site? Probably not yet, but let me tell you, this is a great (but oftentimes overlooked) opportunity for you. Expired domains have a lot of wasted traffic coming to their site, and this traffic could be put to better use for you instead. If youre lucky, you may even find a domain name thats related to your business in Yahoo. This could save you an instant $200 off the Yahoo listing charge.

Think of the possibilities here. For the cost of a single domain name, there could be loads of traffic just waiting for you! It costs less than $10 to register a domain name nowadays, and coupled with the potential immediate traffic, you cannot find a better deal than this. Its estimated that over 3 million visitors are hitting an expired domain every day. That is mostly targeted traffic, and Im willing to bet that youd like to get a piece of that action. If so, then its time to start working and get those wasted traffic to your site.

But why did these domains expire in the first place? There could be several reasons. Sometimes webmasters just get weary of all the work involved in developing and maintaining the site. Perhaps they become too busy with work or with their personal lives. Others may have carelessly let their domains expire without knowing it, and several may have met with financial problems, so they just stopped maintaining the site.

One good thing about this whole situation, though, is that the traffic that these expired domains have generated since the time they were active just keeps on coming. If youre a virtual realtor in cyberspace, this could make for some very attractive real estate indeed. Registering expired domains need some careful research on your part, though. Most important of all, you have to be certain that the domains traffic isnt coming from websites that youd want to avoid at all costs, like porn sites or such.

Now, if you have done your job and made sure that the traffic is satisfactory, you have two options for taking advantage of your new domain. First option is to redirect the traffic from the previously expired domain to your own site. Second option is to sell off the domain, which could be very profitable for you, depending on how heavy the traffic is.

Getting Started - Cheap Domain Name Registration

2009-03-14T08:10:00.001-07:00

To get started, you need to check and see if the cheap domain name you want is available. When you purchase a domain name with any of the web hosting companies or domain registration companies, you will be able to check the availability there before you make the purchase.

It may be early days, but it seems some speculators have really bought into the idea of the newly released domain names. With extensions like ".USA" and ".MUSIC" and even those that you can create yourself, there's a lot to choose from.

DotWORLDS registrars reports a sudden and massive uptake in domain registrations and now believes that this new surge can only be speculator led.

Normally when users register cheap domain names, they configure them immediately so they will resolve to websites. However, at the moment we are seeing a both individuals and companies simply Parking large groups of cheap domain names, in combinations that may have potential in the future says dotWORLDS.

Right now, dotWORLDS are offering all their domain names free, so other than the time involved there would seem to be no risk - and - with catchy sounding names such as "www. sex.usa", "www. business.usa" and "www. my.blog" already taken, there could be some interesting negotiations ahead.

Is this a winning combination? For those who have already registered, only time will tell.

For more information, visit http:///www.mydomainname101.com

Glossary of Domain Name Disputes

2009-03-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

The domain name dispute resolution system was supposed to be user-friendly, but this goal has not always been achieved. One of the main barriers to effective access has been the jargon that has grown up around the system. To successfully negotiate the system you must need to know the differences between registrants, registrars and registries; you must not confuse your UDRP with your ACPA; and youll need to be able to choose between NAF and WIPO should it become necessary.

This glossary is intended to help you get to grips with the jargon; if you need more information, please visit the Internet Library of Cybersquatting and Domain Name Disputes at http://www.sequitur-ips/domain-name-disputes/library.html.

Abusive registration:

This is a key concept under the Nominet Dispute Resolution Policy; there is no concept of an abusive registration under the UDRP (although see the entry on bad faith). An abusive registration is one which was registered or acquired or has subsequently been used in a manner which took unfair advantage of or was unfairly detrimental to the Complainants Rights.

ACPA:

See the entry on the Anti-Cybersquatting Protection Act.

ADR:

ADR stands for alternative dispute resolution. In the domain name dispute context, arbitration proceedings are sometimes called ADR proceedings, especially in EURid documentation.

Alternative dispute resolution:

See the entry on ADR.

Anti-Cybersquatting Protection Act:

A US law enacted on 29 November 1999. It amended the Lanham Act - the centrepiece of US trade mark legislation - and forms section 43d. The ACPA may - in certain circumstances - be applied to your case by the US courts, even if you're not a citizen of or based in the US.

Arbitration:

Domain name arbitration is the contractually-based system of dispute resolution used to determine disputes about the proper ownership of domain names. It is distinct from traditional arbitration: a sophisticated system of private dispute resolution proceedings commonly used to determine international contractual disputes.

Bad faith:

Under the UDRP a successful complainant must prove that the domain name was registered or is being used in bad faith. The concept of bad faith is not defined in the UDRP; however four examples of circumstances which are evidence of bad faith are given, and I have (crudely) summarised these below. First, circumstances indicating that the respondent intended to sell the domain name to the complainant are evidence of bad faith. Second, so-called blocking registrations are evident of bad faith, providing they are part of a pattern of such registrations. Third, evidence of bad faith may be found in registrations intended to disrupt a competitors business. Finally, circumstances indicating the commercial use of a domain name which creates a likelihood of confusion between the domain name and the complainants mark are evidence of bad faith. The list is non-exhaustive.

Cancellation:

One of the remedies permitted under the UDRP, Nominet Policy, and the .eu Regulation, but rarely employed. The usual remedy is transfer. Cancellation is also known as revocation.

ccTLD:

This stands for country code top level domain. Examples of ccTLDs include .us, .uk and .de.

Complainant:

The person making a complaint via a domain name arbitration service about a domain name registration (analogous to a plaintiff or claimant in litigation).

Complaint:

The document setting out the complainants case. There are detailed rules about what must go into a complaint, and the length of complaints is strictly limited under some regimes. Typically, a complaint would include references to the provisions of the relevant policy document, a description of the factual circumstances of the case, arguments as to why the case should be found in the complaints favour, and references to previous decisions which support the arguments.

Cybersquatting:

The practice of improperly registering or acquiring domain names in which others have rights.

Decision:

The domain name dispute equivalent of a court judgment. There is no formal system of precedent in domain name arbitration. However, the arbitration bodies are loath to allow a diversity of interpretations of their rules, and in practice panelists will not usually depart from well-reasoned earlier decisions (or at least that they know about).

Domain name holder:

Another name for a registrant.

EURid:

The body administering the .eu domain name. The EURid dispute resolution service is provided by the Prague-based Arbitration Court attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic.

Expert:

The Nominet term for panelists - the judges of the domain name dispute resolution system. Most experts are practising intellectual property lawyers.

Federal Trademark Dilution Act:

US legislation providing a powerful remedy for the owners of famous trade marks. The FTDA was enacted in 1996. It was the first statutory amendment of the US Lanham Act to address the challenges presented by the internet. Its main effect was to expand the protection available to famous marks by prohibiting dilution.

FTDA:

See the entry on the Federal Trademark Dilution Act.

gTLD:

This stands for generic top level domain. Examples of gTLDs include .com, .net and .org. Compare ccTLDs.

ICANN:

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) administers the domain name system. It has promulgated no less than 10 different policies relating to dispute resolution. The most important policy is the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the UDRP). The UDRP must be read in conjunction with the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the Rules). ICANN's other dispute resolution policies relate, for instance, to specific kinds of domain name with particular registration requirements (e.g. .pro or .biz), the .info sunrise period, and disputes with registrars over domain name transfers.

IDNs:

See the entry on Internationalised Domain Names.

Internationalised Domain Names:

A domain name potentially containing non-ASCII characters, for example a domain name consisting of Arabic or Hebrew characters.

Legitimate Interests:

To help defeat a complaint made under the URDP, a Respondent should argue that he or she has legitimate interests in the domain name in dispute. A non-exhaustive list of ways of demonstrating a legitimate interest is set out in the UDRP. First, pre-dispute use of (or preparations for the use of) the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services may constitute a legitimate interest. Second, you or your business being commonly known by the domain name may constitute a legitimate interest. Third, a legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the domain name may constitute a legitimate interest, providing that use does not misleadingly divert consumers of the complainant or tarnish the trade mark at issue.

NAF:

The National Arbitration Forum is a major forum for the resolution of domain name disputes. NAF focuses upon North American domain name disputes. Arbitration proceedings using NAF are governed by the UDRP, the Rules and NAF's Supplemental Rules. NAF also provides non-UDRP dispute resolution services, for example for disputes about .us and .kids.us domain names.

Mediation:

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution where the parties to a dispute try to agree a settlement to the dispute with the help of a professional facilitator. The Nominet Dispute Resolutions Service provides a free mediation service.

Mutual jurisdiction:

This concept is used in the UDRP and other policies to refer to the jurisdictions in which formal court proceedings should be conducted in the event that domain name arbitration proceedings do not produce a satisfactory outcome. Under the UDRP it means either the courts of the country in which the relevant registrar is based or the courts in the country which the registrant claims to be based in its WHOIS entry.

Nominet:

The Nominet dispute resolution service deals with disputes involving .uk domain names (including .net.uk, .ltd.uk, .plc.uk, .co.uk, .org.uk and .me.uk). Nominet does not use the UDRP; instead, disputes are determined under Nominet's own Policy and Procedure.

Panel:

One or three panelists usually constitute the panel.

Panelists:

The judges of the domain name dispute resolution system. Many are practising intellectual property lawyers; many NAF panelists are retired US judges.

Party:

Legalese meaning a person who is involved in legal proceedings as a litigant. In the context of domain name arbitration proceedings, that means involvement as either a complainant or a respondent.

Passing off:

The English-law tort of passing off has been inherited many other common law jurisdictions. It is sometimes referred to (with some carelessness) as "unregistered trade mark infringement". The registration and use of a domain name can constitute passing off.

Policy:

The UDRP and the Nominet Policy are the most important documents in UDRP and Nominet arbitrations respectively. The equivalent rules in .eu arbitrations are contained in the Regulation.

Procedure:

The Nominet Procedure contains the detailed rules governing the conduct of Nominet domain name arbitrations for example, time limits for action.

Provider:

The company or organisation that administers a domain name dispute resolution service. Some systems of domain name dispute resolution, such as the UDRP system, have more than one provider; others, such as the .eu system, have only one provider.

Registrar:

A company or organisation that is accredited by a registry to register domain names.

Registrant:

The person that owns (i.e. has the contractual right to use) the domain name. The registrant of a domain name can be found using a WHOIS service.

Registration agreement:

The agreement entered into between a registrar and a registrant upon the registration or acquisition of a domain name. The registration agreement stipulates the manner of dispute resolution, and therefore underpins the whole domain name dispute resolution system.

Registration authority:

See Registry.

Registry:

The organisation administering the domain name extension in question. For example, Nominet it the .uk registry and EURid is the .eu registry. Sometimes called the registration authority.

Regulation:

In the context of .eu domains, this means Commission Regulation (EC) No 874/2004 of 28 April 2004 laying down public policy rules concerning the implementation and functions of the .eu top level domain and the principles governing registration.

Reply:

The document in Nominet proceedings containing the complainants arguments in response to the respondents arguments in the response. It should not in general contain new arguments unrelated to points raised in the response. There is no equivalent in the UDRP or .eu procedures.

Response:

The document containing the respondents arguments in response to the complaint.

Respondent:

A person responding to a formal complaint about his or her domain name registration (analogous to a defendant in legal proceedings).

Reverse domain name hijacking:

The improper use of domain name arbitration proceedings to dispossess a registrant of his or her domain name.

Revocation:

See cancellation.

Rights:

In Nominet proceedings, a complainant must show that he or she has rights in respect of a name or mark which is identical or similar to the domain name at issue. The Nominet Policy provides that rights includes, but is not limited to, rights enforceable under English law. However, a complainant will be unable to rely on rights in a name or term which is wholly descriptive of the complainant's business. The most important rights are registered trade marks and, in English law, the right to bring proceedings for the tort of passing off.

Rules:

The Rules for UDRP supplement the UDRP itself. The Czech Arbitration Court also has a set of rules for .eu disputes.

Supplemental Rules:

Under the UDRP, both NAF and the WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Center issue their own supplemental rules, which supplement the UDRP and the Rules for UDRP, and include for example provisions about the costs of arbitration. The Czech Arbitration Court also has a set of supplemental rules for .eu disputes.

Trade Marks Act 1994:

The centrepiece of the UK trade mark law regime, the 1994 Act has been frequently amended, usually to reflect developments in European law.

Transfer:

The most important remedy in domain name arbitration proceedings. If the panel determines that a complaint has been made out, the domain name will usually be transferred from the respondent to the complainant.

Typosquatting:

The practice of improperly registering domain names which are very similar to names in which others have rights. A form of cybersquatting.

UDRP:

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy promulgated by ICANN governing most disputes about generic top level domains, and many disputes about country code top level domains. The UDRP must be read in conjunction with the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.

WHOIS:

Directory service for looking up names and other details of domain name registrants.

WIPO:

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an agency of the United Nations. WIPO's Arbitration and Mediation Center was the first dispute resolution service accredited by ICANN. Arbitration proceedings using WIPO are governed by the UDRP, the Rules and WIPO's Supplemental Rules. It is - along with NAF - one of the "big two" providers of dispute resolution services under the UDRP.

How And When To Set NameServers For Domain Names

2009-03-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Nameservers are in many ways like a telephone directory. When you need to know someone's address or phone number, the first thing you do is pick up a telephone directory (or use the internet or by phone, these days). When you find the name of the person in the book, you're presented with their address and phone number (unless they're ex-directory). Nameservers are the telephone books of the internet.

When you need to get to a website, and you have the domain name - ie. Nunkey.com, the first thing you do is enter the name into your browser - Internet Explorer, Mozilla, etc. What people don't realize is that a domain name is not the actual address of the website. The same as someone's name isn't their address. A website's address is called an IP address. The nameserver links the two.

I can see you asking "what the heck is an IP address?". IP address stands for Internet Protocol address. It is a unique address given to each individual website and computer that is linked to the internet. It is in the form of xx.xx.xxx.xxx or similar, where the xs are a number. So it is the internet equivalent of a physical address. Nameservers will direct you to the IP address, and, ultimately, the website, just like a phone book.

There are many nameservers on the internet, just as there are many phone books and directories out there. They are held by web hosting companies. Hosting companies are akin to real estate agents who let or sell their properties - in the cyber world. Host companies use their own servers, and in essence, hold the address information for any domain name hosted with them.

When you enter a domain name into your browser, you are asking the 'phone company' (web host) to look into their 'phone book' (nameservers) and tell you the (IP) address of that site, so you can be redirected there. Upon registration, they usually take a day or two to be set up, and can be changed at anytime.

You may decide to own your own server, in which case you will be given your own nameservers. You will need to add these to any domains you own. By doing this, you effectively are in control - albeit automated - of the redirection of domain name-to-web site queries. With nameservers, a lot is done behind the scenes. So, unfortunately, people never really know how they work. I hope this clears it up for you!

How Owning Your Own Domain Can Generate More Web Income

2009-03-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

Owning your own domain gives you so much more freedom on the internet and I would say it is an absolute necessity to ensure success, as it gives you the option to make changes to your site as and when you need to.

By having your own domain you are in control of your site and your business and you will be able to design or make changes to your site so that it stands out in the crowd, makes your site unique and allows you to do the most important task of optimizing your site for the search engines so that your site can appear high up in the search results. You will also be able to project your own personality into the site.

By optimizing your site for the search engines your site will receive targeted traffic which is exactly what is required to generate web income. This basically is also free traffic if you optimize your site yourself and is known as organic traffic. Taking Google as an example, if you do a search the sites that appear on the right hand side of the page are Adwords adverts which are paid adverts. The sites that appear in the main body of the page starting on the left are free and if you have your own domain you can optimize your site so that it appears on the first page of Google. It has also been proven that the first place your eyes look at on a web page is the top left hand part of the page, so ideally that is where you want to position your site in the search results.

With your own domain your advertising options will not be limited, as they are with affiliate urls, as some sites just do not accept them. Also imagine if you were one of a few thousand affiliates belonging to the same program, you would all have the same url. If you had your own domain you could still join a few affiliate programs and then advertise those programs on your own site. Amongst other things, you could create your own splash pages for different programs, add a fly-in, a pop-up, contextual adverts or Google Adsense your options are not limited.

It makes linking so much easier too, as sometimes to get listed in a high ranked directory you will be asked to place a link-back on your home page, in the form of a text link or image. You could also add a reciprocal linking program to your site. You can so easily place advertising banners on your site, add articles or other items of interest to attract visitors to your site and have them stay on your site longer as well as increase your rankings in the search engines.

Free web tools are a great feature to offer on your site enabling the visitor to check their Link Popularity or Alexa Rating for example. It also enables you to add features to your site that encourage your visitors to return. Add a small piece of script enabling your visitors to bookmark your site. You can offer freebies such as e-books.

Then of course there is the option of adding video and RSS feeds to your site, linking it to your blog as well as all the other technical things available.

You would also be able to add your own email autoresponder campaign that automatically follows-up with your website visitors who subscribe to your Newsletter. So whenever you want to add new products, re-arrange your site layout, change the color scheme or anything you want, you can do it all instantly.

The list of what you could do by having your own domain is limitless, that is why I feel it gives you total freedom on the internet, increases your internet marketing options and generates more web income.

How To Avoid The Google Sandbox

2009-03-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

There still is a lot of discussion going on wether the Google Sandbox exists or not. Some say it exists, some say it doesn't. Just pretend it does exist, how is it possible that some SEO's don't get hit by the sandbox filter?

First of all, let me explain to you what the Google sandbox is. The sandbox filter is a filter that Google uses on keywords with high search volume and high competition. The whole mindset of the filter is that new website go in some sort of quarantine so they don't rank high in the search engine result pages of Google. This quarantine could take from several months to a year. This was originally introduced to block out spam websites. Before the sandbox filter was born, as a spammer you could make a website, spam Google with it, get banned, and instantly make another website and get your original ranking in Google back again. But with another domainname. And because Google isn't really fast in giving penalties and bans it takes a couple of months before the new domains get caught. This was easy money making in those days! But not anymore, because now the Google Sandbox filter will solve the problem!

But that doesn't mean we're really stuck to that filter. We are optimizing for search engines, and the sandbox is part of that, so there is a solution.

Only new domains trigger the sandbox filter. So a solution may be to buy an old domain name, or if you already have one, use an old domain name. But this is often really expensive and it doesn't always fit your needs. But there is a solution for that: DeletedDomains.com. On this website are domains that come available the same day. Just search the age of some of the domains with the Archive.org wayback machine, and if you find an old domain, you can buy it at a hosting company for as little as 15 bucks. You can also take a look in Google to see if the website on the domain is still indexed in Google, that fastens up the process a bit. It doesn't matter what domain you choose, the only thing you have to do is to 301 redirect the domain to your main domain. Then you have to hope your old domain get's indexed again so Google will know that the domain moved permanently to the new location. This will give you all the linklove of the old domain and you get the age of that domain. So you can easily build your website and gain high rankings without any sandbox restrictions.

There is another way that I used. I had bought a domain, but didn't use it at the time I bought it. I had plans for it but for the future. So I put a page on the domain, with a few backlinks to get it indexed, and a year later I started using the domain for real. But I could begin right away because the domain was already a year old!

This last one isn't really a way to avoid the sandbox but it happens a lot that you buy domains to use in the future. It isn't hard to get like 20 backlinks to it just to be out of the sandbox at the time you really want to start your website.

How To Build A Profit-Making Website

2009-03-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love to do first thing every morning is to check the Internet, to find out how much money I made over the night. Like a fisherman checking on his trap, I am thrilled to see money accumulating in my account while I sleep. The beauty of earning an income from the Internet is that my websites continue make money for me from all parts of the world. I can actually know where the money come from, and how much, and test the pages to continue improving them. Wouldn't you want that too?

Before you get the wrong idea, let me clear the air about how I make money from the web. HappyJoblessGuy is NOT about earning money from some online pyramid schemes. It is not about Multi-Level Marketing (even though I have no issue about people earning through MLM). It is not about online forex trading. I am going to show you an honest way of generating income from the web but it's going to involve a degree of hard work from you. For sure, nothing comes easy, and that includes building a machine that makes money online.

Do not have your website hosted by PBase, Tripod, Blogger, even though it can be done an hour. If you intend to earn serious, long-time income, that is not the way to do it. You want something that is 100% your own. Once you have your own website (not an account with Blogger, PBase, etc.), you will realise the amount of freedom in your hands.

If you were to ask me, what are the tools you need to build a great website, I can count them with the fingers of one hand. You can hire a web programmer to build a whole website for you, bypassing the need to be acquainted with any tool. But to own a really great website, I would urge you to do it yourself. You can't be the captain of your own ship if you can't tell stern from starboard. I have received emails from people asking to give them personal coaching. I am sorry, but I do not have time to do that, even if you're willing to pay me money.

In the next five pages of this chapter, I will go through each essential tool one by one. At the end of this chapter I will recap what we have learned. You will realise, if you haven't yet, that earning a living without holding a job requires you to learn skills that you may not have learned before. On the other hand, you may have built many websites, and are wondering what's new that I want to share. Once again, I urge you to be patient as the topics are developed.

Now, without further ado, lets look at the 5 Essential Tools:

The first tool you need to build a great website is a HTML Editor.

A HTML Editor is a software application to write web pages. There are several brands in the market, including Microsoft Frontpage, Adobe Dreamweaver and so on. Personally I would encourage you not to use Microsoft Frontpage, as it tends to add proprietary codes to your pages, making it difficult to be edited with a different HTML Editor. The one I use is called Homesite, also from Adobe. I learned to write webpages with Homesite.

With a HTML Editor, you write the content of your pages by keying in the HTML Codes, and then checking it with the Preview function. If you do not have a HTML Editor presently installed in your computer, I strongly suggest you get one immediately and start fiddling with it. Get used to all the functions. Learn what to click to make the text bold, italics, underlined, etc., how to hyperlink, how to insert picture, and so on. A good HTML Editor does a lot of work for you, so that you can concentrate on putting together a great website. It doesn't matter which one you use, as long as you get familiar with it.

The second Essential Tool you need is knowledge of HTML Codes.

As mentioned in the previous page, you need to learn coding. To be exact, HTML Codes. HTML Codes are instructions you tell the Internet how you want to format your webpages. The basic HTML codes you need to know are:
Title
Body
Head
Html
Headers (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
Bold
Italic
Underline
Hyperlink
Table

In addition to the above, it would do you good to learn how to format size and colour of your font, background, border. More advanced features such as CSS would be helpful too, but are still all together very easy, that even a dummy could learn it (so if you have to, find a book for dummies and learn all about it).

The third Essential Tool is a Domain Name.

The domain name, also called the hostname or sitename, is the basic name of your website. For example, www.happyjoblessguy.com. As you probably have known, the domain name has an ending such as .com, .net, .org, etc. To use it to earn an income, I would suggest you go for .com. It is the most popular, hence, the most difficult to get. Nonetheless, you should try to get domain names with .com.

You probably will not get the first domain name of your choice, and will need to try a few times before landing on one that is still available. This is a very important exercise, so take all the time you need.

Registering and keeping a domain name will cost you approximately US$10 per year or even lower. That is peanuts if you can earn the amount back. For now, look for the domain name but don't register it yet. Instead go to Essential Tool #4 to read about Web hosting.

The fourth Essential Tool is Web hosting.

To get web hosting means you rent space on a server that will host your website. You do not need to purchase a server - you don't even need to know how a server works. All you need to know is that you need to host your website on it. The Webhost provides you the space and the interface for you to manage your website.

Think of web hosting as a safe deposit box, and the domain name as the safe deposit box number. When you register for web hosting, you are buying space in a safe deposit box. The amount you pay should determine the amount of space you need. For that reason, the web hosting fee is directly related to the amount of space you purchase. The safe deposit box number remains the same, regardless the amount of space you use. In a similar sense, the fee for domain name is fixed regardless the amount of content you have on the web.

When you start your website, the amount of space you need will most likely be pretty low, less than 1GB, so do not pay for a lot of space that you are not going to use. You can always buy more space as your needs grow. If you pay for 5GB per year, and throughout the course of that year, you never use more than 1GB, then the balance 4GB is money wasted.

The fifth and final Essential Tool you need to build a great website is an FTP Software.

An FTP Software is an application that enables you to transfer data from your computer to your website on the Internet, and vice versa. There are many other ways to do it, including using an online interface provided by your webhost, but usually, using an FTP Software is the swiftest way.

The FTP Software allows you to upload new pages to your website as well as update existing pages. The FTP Software that I use is called WS FTP, which stands for WinSock File Transfer Protocol. To download it, google "Free FTP Download" to see what comes up.

In the next chapter, we will look at Building a Profit-Making Website. As of now, I want you to be familiar with the five Essential Tools in this chapter. Please go ahead and register your web hosting and obtain your domain name, but once again, let me urge you to give the domain name a good thinking through before decided which. If you choose a wrong one at the beginning stage, fine, it only costs another US$10 or so to register another. But you need to make sure it is a domain name you want to own for years and years to come. Who knows, one day you may even sell that domain and the whole web business for $1 million? So, choose carefully.

For more topics on how to earn a living without holding a job, go to http://www.happyjoblessguy.com

How To Develop A Web Site In Seven Easy Steps

2009-03-14T07:57:00.001-07:00

Step one: Choose your domain name.

The first and often over looked step in developing a web site is the domain name. Picking out a domain name can be tricky but the most important things are for it to be easy to remember and related to the web site. For example, if your web site is about selling roses then you will want a domain name that is consistent with the site's content. www.RosesForSale.com would be a good domain name for example. Thousands of domain names are registered each day so once you think of a good domain name think of at least three alternatives in case your first choice for a domain name is already taken.

Step two: Register your domain name.

Once you have a domain name that you would like to use you will need to: 1) see if it is available, 2) purchase it and 3) register that domain name with a domain name registrar. A domain name registrar is a company that, for a small fee, will list your domain name and credit you as the owner. They will also connect your domain name to your web host's server (see step three). A common domain registrar is GoDaddy.com Go to your choice of domain name registrars and do a search for the domain names that you decided on. Once you find one that is available and suits your liking then just follow the on screen instructions to register that domain.

Step three: Purchase a hosting account.

Once you have registered your domain name you will need to purchase a hosting account for your actual web site. A web site host is a company that acts as a bridge to connect your domain to the Internet. They offer a variety of services and tools that you can use to develop your web site. One of the Best hosting companies is Kiosk, Inc. They are extremely reliable, have top rate customer service and come highly recommended. You can find out more information about them by going to http://www.SuperiorWebSiteHosting.com

Step Four: Choose a web page editor.

Now that you have your registered domain name and your web site hosting account, it is time to create your first web page. Now a web page must be written in a certain code so that your internet browser can understand it. There are many types of code. The most common code is called Hyper Text Markup Language or HTML for short. Fortunately we don't need to know this particular code. Many popular software companies offer software that allow you to create a web page visually by adding pictures and text just as you would in a word processor. An example of a popular web page editor is Microsoft Front Page. If you don't have access to Microsoft Front Page simply do a search on the internet for a free web page editor.

Step Five: The rest of the site.

Before you start creating your first page you must know how many pages you would like and what to say on each page. The minimum pages for any web site is three. The first page should be your index page. This is the page that a visitor sees first when he/she visits your site. This should have at least some basic information about your site and a general guide to the other pages. The second page should be an about page. This page contains information about you and your business/opportunity. The third page should be a contact page that contains information on how to contact you. Make sure you save these as .html files. So for example your index page should be saved as index.html

Step Six: Upload your pages.

Once you have created the pages for your site you must upload them to your web host so that they can be displayed on the Internet. This is called Publishing your site. Most hosting companies have software included called File Transfer Protocol or FTP for short. This is a fancy way of saying upload. Simply follow the instructions in your web host to upload your pages to your hosting account. You can also download free FTP software to run right from your computer.

Step Seven: Keep your Web Site updated.

Once your site is published it is live and can be visited by anyone around the world with access to the Internet. Be sure you keep your web site up to date and add new information if necessary.

How To Find The Best Domain Names

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Registering a domain name is a pretty straightforward matter. You find a web hosting site, register with them, look for a desired domain name, select one that suits your business or personal fancy, choose whats available and then you will be on your merry way to building the websites innards. Easy, right? Not exactly because there is more to it than just getting a name that is appropriate for the business or a personal preference. The steps mentioned earlier would result in an ill constructed site that is going to be nameless in the world wide web and will be doomed to failure on the get go. This crude way of doing things will get you nowhere fast. Now why would anyone want that?

There is a better approach in making a name for your business or yourself on the net. It will be a presence that will be felt and sensed by your target audience whether they are your customers, prospective clients or a particular group of people. Its easy enough to do this. You just have to know the right place to go on the web for help. Searching for the right domain for personal use or for a business is job best suited for professionals who understand the significance of internet jargons like keyword density, key phrases, search engine optimization, ranking and tags. What all these means is basically to have your site primed for search engines to find when people put in a search that concerns the subject, business identity or personal matter of your particular website.

Websites that exist for the sole purpose of locating or creating a new domain name for you are very reliable in terms of achieving their goal of increasing the likelihood that your site will come up on top of the list of sites when search engines spews out seek results. These so called domains finders are essential in any enterprise that is bent on achieving an online presence immediately. It is an established fact that search engines churn out sites that have been around for years. In other words, the age of a site does count when it comes to search results. How does this concern your site?

The domain finders are in the know as to which existing domains would not be reregistered or renewed by the current owners. Just imagine if your business coincides with a domain name that has been around for years. Youll have first dibs with that domain name through a domain finder, in effect, theyll claim it for you resulting in a well positioned new website with old rankings that will put you on top as quickly as when your site is ready. Another advantage of having a domain finder in your corner is that you can consolidate your entire site building needs from creating or finding a domain to the theme and content of your site. This would mean lesser legwork and lesser expenses since their comprehensive service would cover everything so you wont end up paying more.