Choosing Small Business Website Names

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.

sourece: http://www.selfseo.com/story-19403.php

How to rename my domain?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to rename a domain. You can only change/replace it with another domain name.

SiteGround customers can do this following the instructions below:

1. Order a new domain. This can be done from your Customer's area -> the Order tab.

2. Change the primary domain name of your account. This can be done from your Customer's area > Manage (next to the hosting account whose primary domain you wish to change) > Primary domain name change.

You can also do this from your HelpDesk > Domain name change.

source: http://kb.siteground.com/article/How_to_rename_my_domain.html

How to change the primary domain name and keep the existing one pointed to the site?

In this case we recommend the following steps:

1. Change your primary domain from your Customer's area > Manage (next to the account whose primary domain you wish to change) > Primary domain name change > Go.

You can also change your primary domain from your Customer's area > Get support > Report a hosting related issue > Domain name change;

2. Park your old domain name in cPanel, Parked domains.

This will allow your site to work by both your old and new primary domain name.

source: http://kb.siteground.com/article/I_would_like_to_change_my_primary_domain_name_however.html

What is domain name registration

Domain name registration is the act of reserving a name on the Internet for a certain period, usually one year. It is important to know that this domain will remain yours for as long as you renew it and there is no way to purchase a domain name forever.

Domain name registration is necessary for a web site, an email or another web service. However you don't have to register always a new domain name. Many companies allow you to use subdomains from their domain names for a website or you can have an email with they primary domain (ex. yahoo.com, gmail.com).

The most important thing about a domain name registration is that it gives you personality and recognized identity. Once you register a domain name, the information about its owner is publicly available.

The price for a domain name registration varies greatly on its extension. For example, the most common .com is the most affordable and varies about $10. On the other hand, some country-specific domain name extensions cost more than $50.

source: http://kb.siteground.com/article/domain_name_registration.html

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You may have started out with a Blogger blog, but now you feel as if you've outgrown it. You want to give your readers more. You've heard that WordPress offers lots of options, and that it's easier to optimize it for the search engines, so you'll have an easier time increasing your readership. If you own your own domain, it's easy to move your Blogger blog and make it into a WordPress blog. This three-part series takes you step by step through the process.Almost every new person starts a blog with Blogger (www.blogger.com), a free blogging service owned by Google. This seems to be a practical solution at first for the following reasons:

• It is free; users do not need to spend money on registering domain names and hosting services.
  
• It is very easy to use and does not need an in-depth knowledge of web programming, unlike building entire web sites with PHP and ASP.

However, as time goes by, your knowledge of building websites will increase; so will your desire (and demand) for more website features to improve your users' experiences. Currently Blogger cannot support a lot of website features vital for building a stable and professional website.

This is when people starting wanting to use WordPress (wordpress.org), an open source blog publishing platform. Using WordPress offers an entirely different experience from using Blogger because it can handle two very important things:

• Website templates (using the PHP programming language).
  
• MySQL databases.

I will assume this doesn't scare you because of your experience in that field, but you need to be aware of one serious problem that can surely affect the profitability of your website. Moving from Blogger to WordPress means that you risk losing TRAFFIC and SEARCH ENGINE rankings.

source: http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Search-Engine-Optimization-Help/How-to-Move-Blogger-to-WordPress-Using-Your-Own-Domain-Name/

How to Host Several Domains Under One Hosting Account

If you operate several websites, each with its own domain name, signing up of separate hosting accounts can be an expensive proposition. Even if your hosting company offers the add-on domain feature (which will allow you to add different domains to the same hosting account) you will be charged a monthly fee for each domain you add, sometimes costing almost the same as your full hosting fee. The solution is to open a reseller account.

Reseller accounts were created to allow web designers to offer hosting services to their customers so that they can become a one-stop-shop for all their web design and hosting needs. However, you don't need to be a reseller to buy a reseller hosting plan.

Reseller accounts are usually slightly more expensive than regular hosting accounts, but they will allow you to many different domain names without incurring in the add-on domain fees, making more efficient use of your space and bandwidth.

You want to choose a reseller account that offers no limit to the number of domains you can add.

The possibility of hosting your main website free, without using any of the space and bandwidth in your hosting plan. If you are a reseller, your main website will be your business website, and the space and bandwidth will be reserved for your customers. If you are not a reseller and just want to manage different websites, you can designate one of your domains as your main website (Tip: select the largest website and/or the one with most traffic).

The possibility of upgrading to another plan without any penalties or fees. To find out how much space and bandwidth you will need, first determine how many sites you are likely to host, how many pages each site will have, and how many visits will those sites most likely receive. If you plan to host 10 sites with 20 pages each, at an average of 50KB per page and 100 page views per site per day, you will need 10MB of space (10 x 20 x 50KB) and 1.5GB of bandwidth (also known as data transfer rate) per month (10 x 100 x 50KB x 30).

As far as pricing is concerned, there are reseller accounts costing as little as $10 / month up to several hundreds (or even thousands). It all depends on your requirements and the hosting company you choose, so shop around to get the best possible deal in terms of cost and reliability.

source: http://www.cyberindian.com/domain-registration/article.php?article_id=161

What is the Domain Redemption Period?

The redemption period is a Domain Registry period of up to 30 days that occurs when a domain name is deleted after having expired unrenewed. Instead of just getting deleted and returning to the pool of domain names available for registration, the existing registry keeps a hold on the domain name in a what is technically called as REDEMPTION PERIOD. During this 30-day redemption period, the original domain registrant (owner of the domain) is allowed to retrieve the domain name from deletion by contacting their Registrar. This process costs an additional fee.

This extra 30-day period - redemption period - extends the time available to renew expired domain names by 30 days. However, all names that enter the redemption period are removed from the zone files in the global DNS, as a result, any Web site or email services associated with the domain name gone into redemption period will stop working and would appear offline.

Pending Delete Phase

In addition, after the 30-day redemption period there is a 5-day Pending Delete Phase. When a domain is in Pending Delete Phase, no one is allowed to renew the domain and it cannot be yet registered because its still not returned to the public domain pool. After the 5-day Pending Delete Phase the Registry will release the domain name back into the public pool of available domain names enabling fresh registration.

Renew domain before redemption phase

It is strongly recommended that you renew your domain registration in time before the domain name is placed in redemption lock because once its placed in redemption, the zone files of such domain gets automatically removed from the Domain Name Service and associated website and email etc services will cease to work.

source: http://www.cyberindian.com/domain-registration/article.php?article_id=185