Wednesday, July 29, 2009

.MOBI - Is it For Real?

My first guess was no, .Mobi was just another generic domain and nothing special. Approved by ICANN in 2005, it was hyped as a top level domain (TLD) dedicated to delivering the Internet to the mobile web. As near as I could tell, the only thing that set it apart from any other TLD was the tendency of an observer to immediately associate any domain in front of the extension with mobility and thus the mobile web. Ok, .Mobi said mobility. Big deal! .Com said Commercial and .Org said organization and you could still use all three interchangeably if you so desired.

There was talk that some of the big mobile operators would facilitate .Mobi domains when they encountered them. Apple and Vodafone were rumored to view .Mobi as mobile by default allowing for quicker and more accurate rendering on cell phones and PDAs. Admittedly that bit of digital bias might make a difference--if it were true. But some observers still claimed they couldn't detect a difference in sites rendered in both .Com or .Mobi. And, since regardless of entry portal, most people thought .Com first, might not any slight increase in speed and accuracy be rendered insignificant by the greater number of searchers looking for .Coms instead of .Mobis? In fact, most people going online with computers wouldn't give .Mobi so much as a thought.

What I didn't realize was that .Mobi had some almost fanatical support within the industry and the mobile-web culture itself. It's not just the financial support .Mobi gets from heavyweights like Google, Microsoft and Nokia (although that did impress me), its the impassioned following it has from seemingly innumerable nameless fans. Don't take my word for it, do some searching with .Mobi as the keyword and check it out; questioning the efficacy of .Mobi makes some web inhabitants downright angry.

That kind of support has kept .Mobi alive during the lean years and the lean years may be over. Last year for the first time there were more people accessing the web through mobile means (cell phones, PDAs, etc.) than through conventional computers. While the older generic TLDs still have the lead, it can't be long before that critical mass of mobile portals has an effect on .Mobi. With the passage of time it is no small thing any longer that .Mobi associates so easily with mobile.

Mike Nardine operates http://www.CheapMikesDomains.com and learned everything he knows about business, domains, and websites the hard way.

Domain Name Selection - Choosing a Domain Name For Your Firm's Website

Choosing a domain name is one of the most important decisions you will make when starting up your law firm's website. Domain names are considered to be pieces of Intellectual Property and are highly valued. Prices for domain names range from very inexpensive to register to millions of dollars to purchase from a previous owner, if the website name is in high demand.

There are a few important points to consider when choosing the right domain name for your law firm. The most important is that the more relevant website names that are registered to a single firm, the better. The first domain names a law firm should register are its full name (everettlaw.com), a hyphenated name (everett-law.com), and an abbreviated name (elaw.com or evlaw.com).

Then any major practice areas should be considered (estatelaw.com, probatelaw.com) in addition to website names that contain any other keyword phrases (WashingtonLawyer.com, WashingtonProbate.com). If a firm is successful at getting good domain names, success with search engine traffic should follow.

It would probably be too expensive to register a great number of website names, as there is yearly maintenance costs associated with them. 3 to 5 domain names should be appropriate for most firms.

The reason why you need so many domain names is simple, it minimizes competition and that are similar to the name of your firm and its purpose allows you to control the content in those domains, another firm cannot come along and use anything similar to your name. In addition, if a user types something wrong, they will probably still get to where they want to go; your site.

If everettlaw.com, Everett-law.com, elaw.com, evlaw.com, and Washingtonprobate.com all point to the same site, even without the site name in front of them, a user who wanted to contact Everett Law would have a pretty good chance of guessing the right web address. Even though this doesn't increase search engine ranking, it does discourage competition and help increase traffic, both of which are very desirable effects.

Your firm should consider registering a .org, .net or other gTLD website name only if the available name is short and to the point. Estatelaw.org is far more desirable than Washington-probate-lawyer.org and should be registered immediately

The cost of a domain name varies. A lot of small domain companies register new names for as little as $5 or $10 dollars. It is possible to find a good deal and get consistent service from your domain registrar.

So, get as many domain names as you can buy and will be able to maintain that are relevant or specific to your firm. By doing this you will lessen your competition and increase traffic to your site, both of which mean more business for you.

Law Firm Marketing
Lawyers Court is a full service Web Development and Internet Marketing Company that focuses on the needs of the Legal Community. We can help your law firm with creating a new website, redesigning an existing site, creating flash animation logos, optimizing the firms site for the search engines, setting up pay per click accounts at Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, MSN adcenter and more! See more on Legal Marketing.

What a Domain Name Is and Why You Need One in Your Online Business

Owning your own domain name is crucial for self-branding. You are constantly being judged and compared to other marketers. Prospects are naturally more attracted to leaders and want to work with winners. This is where registering your own domain name is important.

There are 3 basic reasons to own a domain name:

1) Increased professionalism
2) More professional email addresses
3) The ability to 'Redirect' to any of your websites

Not having a domain name can hurt your professional image. Registering one is the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to present yourself as a leader. It will ensure that your prospects make it to your site instead of someone else's. Most prospects are unsure about joining your program or home business opportunity, but they will be more likely to join you if you appear to know what you are doing and can exhibit confidence and leadership.

Your email address also reflects your professionalism. If you were a prospect and had two choices, who would you pick? (just examples) skiptomylou @hotmail.com or lou @barronenterprises.com?

Of course you would choose the second one! It is obviously more professional looking! With your domain name, you can also create several more addresses, such as help@, support@, etc. You will appear to be well organized and dependable.

Finally, if you have an affiliate website, your link will be long and hard to remember. Choose a domain name that is easier to remember, and then 'Redirect' it to the affiliate link. 'Redirects' are done at the same site you purchased your name. Using your Domain in advertising will also protect you from your affiliate ID being stolen. Sometimes, potential prospects have been known to see an affiliate link, leave off the ID and go directly to the site! Guess what? You just lost a prospect!

Consider 'masking' your redirected domain name. This will hide the actual site your prospects are visiting and further protect you. Be careful 'masking' affiliate sites. This will make tracking more difficult, and you may not get credit for a sale!

If you are serious about success and your online presence, your domain name will set you above all the others who are NOT using one! There are many places to buy a name, just go to Google (or a search site of your choice) 'domain names'! Good luck out there!

Hi! I've been a happily divorced, single mom of two wonderful boys since 1994. I had to end my 25 year cherished career in the Radiology Profession after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I specialized in Mammography and CT scans.

I have 3 Pugs, whom I adore! My sons and I enjoy taking them outdoors fishing with us. They love it. We all enjoy music, movies and books. My oldest Pug is a serious music lover!

I am unable to sit and do nothing, so I researched everything I could given my Physical condition. I found the Internet world and never looked back! Now I work at home in my underwear!http://www.lousdomain.ws.

4 Rules For Choosing a Great Domain Name

You have decided to buy a domain name, now what? First, go look up 'domain names' on Google (or a search site of your choice). There are several places to register one. Some offer better deals than others, so check them all out. Next, just follow these 4 basic rules:

1) Keep It Simple - Find a domain name that is

a) easy to say
b) easy to spell and
c) easy to remember.

2) Register Plural and Hyphenated Versions - Also register all the DOTS to help capture anyone who might misspell the domain name, and also helps protect you from competition of domain names similar to yours.

3) Use The Top Keywords In The Domain Name Itself - Search engines give high relevance to sites with the top keywords in the domain. Also consider registering a 'generic' one. If you happen to change businesses, then the domain name specific to that first business is no longer useful.

You should ALWAYS register a 'generic' domain name for use in your email address. You can keep it forever, no matter what business you are in. Using variations of your own name is good in the 'generic' domain name choice.

4) Pay Attention To Phonics - Try not to use numbers unless you can register both the numeric and alphabetical versions. Sometimes, you might give your domain name verbally without having time to explain, for example, if someone hears '4' and writes down 'four'. They will not find you.

You might also consider a web hosting account. Be unique and show your own style!

If you are serious about your business and want to be taken seriously, then give great consideration to the domain name(s) you choose and how you present yourself. It can literally be the difference between success and failure!

Hi! I've been a happily divorced, single mom of two wonderful boys since 1994. I had to end my 25 year cherished career in the Radiology Profession after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I specialized in Mammography and CT scans. I have 3 Pugs, whom I adore! My sons and I enjoy taking them outdoors fishing with us. They love it. We all enjoy music, movies and books. My oldest Pug is a serious music lover!

I am unable to sit and do nothing, so I researched everything I could given my Physical condition. I found the Internet world and never looked back! Now I work at home in my underwear!http://www.lousdomain.ws

A Strategic Domain Name Could Increase Traffic to Your Website

The internet is a virtual world in its own right, with its own communities and its own businesses. An online business' domain name, therefore, is its personalised identity tag as far as the rest of the online world is concerned. Choosing the right one is critical and can determine to a large extent, the amount of traffic to your website and by default how many conversions you can expect.

Many businesses believe that an attractive website design, interesting and informative content on the website and a product that is of benefit to the target customer are all they really need to start making a profit. This is a grave misconception as most traffic to websites these days is via various search engines, primarily Google. Domain names need to be created keeping search engine optimization in mind. Keywords that target customers might type in to their search engine, key attributes of your website or the services you offer, and of course, the business you are in, are all to be considered before a final decision is taken as to the domain name of a website.

It is also a good idea to maintain the standard .com at the end of your domain name rather than something like .au or .biz. This is because most people are used to the internet being associated with .com rather than an other potential ends to domain names and chances are they will use the .com at the end of most domain names if they are not aware or forget that your domain name does not include a .com.

Also advisable, are shorter rather than longer domain names. Potential problems that could arise from using longer domain names include customers forgetting the complete domain name of your website or misspelling it, neither of which could possibly help bring your business more traffic.

Avoid using hyphens or numbers as part of your domain name. Using them will only make your domain name seem like an imitation. Also, hyphens and numbers are easy to forget.

Finally, look at the domain names competitors in the same market space are using and the kind of success they are having in terms of traffic and conversions. Take what you learn and use it to your advantage when crating your own websites domain name.

Ruslan Tesliavych is a business coach and mentor that assists serious entrepreneurs in building a profitable online business with multiple incomes streams. Ruslan and his team have assisted hundreds of people, from doctors and lawyers to high-school drop-outs and single parents in generating profits that exceed $250K or more in their first year. For more information and to contact Ruslan, visit: http://www.ruslantesliavych.com

Identifying Expired Domain Buyers - Tips and Ideas (Part I)

There was a time in the past, when people would flaunt their visiting cards with their flashy addresses and telephone numbers. However, the present trend is of people flashing their web addresses to their friends, colleagues and business partners. Of late, people from all spectrum of life are opting for web portals to give out information and details to others. Buying domain names is the latest trend among people. People buy domain names for personal uses, while businesses buy them to carry out different types of business operations. People may buy and register domain names by creating their own URLs. However, many business entrepreneurs also buy expired domains to set up online business ventures.

Selling expired domain names is actually difficult considering the stiff competition that exists among domain traders. First, you may never know the personal preferences of people who are looking for expired domain names. People have varied needs and requirements for expired domain names. You may wish to know for what purposes, uses people buy, and use expired domain names. Here are some general tips and ideas:

You can classify expired domains under two broad categories depending on the uses and purposes. Under general circumstances, people may buy expired domain names either for non-profit or personal uses, or for business and for uses of profit.

Expired domain buyers for non-profit and personal uses:

A number of non-profits and charitable organizations keep looking for good domains expired and buy them for their charitable activities. These organizations would need domain names that match the objectives and goals of their charity. On the other hand, millions of people also buy expired domains for personal purposes. Someone may need an expired web domain just to publish family photographs, while others may want to buy them to print personal blogs. The most essential thing for these people is to make a connection with their friends and family members.

Tip:

Most people under these categories look for expired domains that end with .org or .info extensions.

These domains are actually cheaper and people, who look for such domains have a severe budgetary constraint.

These domains are difficult to sell as people tend to register fresh domains

Finding out an expired domain buyer for this category is actually very easy. People who look for these categories of names are very choosy and specific, as they would need only a specific type of name. Once you segregate these names and list them, you can contact them with your best prices. Make sure that you are offering something that is useful to your personal customers. Non-profits are very specific, because they want web domains based on particular keywords. On the other hand, people who buy personal domains are easy to handle and manage. You can even offer an extra, free expired domain as a gift, when they buy a domain at a profitable rate. Mixing your expired domain portfolio with personal and non-profit type of domains may offer you a streamlined business with varied options and choices.

John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web site calledhttp://www.expireddomaingain.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.

Domain Name Idea Generators

Are you looking for a domain name for a new web site? Sometimes it can be quite a struggle to find a suitable available domain name, especially a dot com name, for a new web site or business venture. The reason is that domain names are, generally speaking, registered on a first come first served basis - the first person to register any particular name continues to hold it until they either transfer the name to somebody else, or they fail to pay the renewal fees on that domain. Of course, what this means is many of the most obvious domain names (such as most English words followed by dot com) have been registered a long time ago and are no longer available.

However there is no need to get disheartened. Just because the all obvious domain names may be taken, this does not mean that all the good domain names are taken. Not by a long chalk. The key is to be incentive, flexible and be prepared to consider alternatives. Don't listen to people who tell you that only the most obvious domain name will do - remember sites like Google.com and yahoo.com have been successful even though (perhaps because?) they were not called something obvious like searchengine.com. Indeed, a clever domain name may even be an advantage, as it allows you to build a unique and distinctive brand identity around it.

So how do you find a clever domain name? There are really two parts to it - namely, you and your domain search tools. As far as you are concerned, you need to think laterally and be open-minded (using a thesaurus can also help!). As far search tools are concerned, you should look a online domain name suggestion tools - there are quite a number of web sites that offer them for free - you enter a keyword (remember to use the thesaurus!), and perhaps select a theme, and the suggestion tool will propose names based on your input.