Thursday, August 6, 2009

Getting Started With Your Online Business

Registering A Domain Name…
Once you’ve come up with a product name, you’ll need to register a domain. However, some domains are much better than others, so I want to take a few minutes to explain it to you right now… 

Main points:

$1.99 – You can get a domain name registered for as low as $1.99 at www.fastwebdomain.com 
• A domain name is basically the web address of a particular website. For example “Google.com” or “EricsTips.com” is a domain name.
• You NEED your own website (reasons explained on video)… therefore you need a domain.

• A domain name is like the title deed to your website. (You want to build equity in your web properties)


 Domain Extensions…

- .COM is usually the best, especially if it’s for the primary website of your business
- .ORG can be beneficial in gaining trust, and may be preferable for some information and service oriented websites.
- Country-specific extensions (ex. .CA, .IN, .JP) can be advantageous if you’re marketing exclusively to a niche within a certain country.
• While domains consisting of “made up” words can become popular (ie. ebay.com, Xanga.com, Bebo.com, etc.), a more straight-forward approach is better for informational websites.
• The domain should concisely describe WHAT the site is all about.
• Consider adding a word, thinking locally, or making it personal (Examples on the video)
• Generally avoid superlatives such as ‘best’, ‘top’, and ‘number 1′. (Can hurt your credibility and cause problems with PPC advertising)
• Use an adjective. I often use an adjective as the first word of a domain name.
• What about hyphens?

In general, I would prefer a domain with no hyphens. It’s debatable, but hyphens may create a visual advantage in some cases for SEO and PPC. However, it also makes the domain harder to remember, and more difficult to say out loud.
• Don’t use intentional misspellings. You can use misspelled domains to capture traffic, but you should NOT build a full fledged site on one. (There are exceptions, like Flickr.com, but you are probably not the exception. Misspellings look bad)
• Don’t use abbreviations, unless it’s VERY well known.
• Don’t use numbers (digits), unless you have a really good reason.
• Don’t make it too long. Aim for 2 or 3 words, and no more than 4 words.
• Matching up with your product…

- If your product name is 2 or 3 words, it would be ideal for the domain to match it.
- If your product name is not available to register as a domain, you’ll want to check to see if that domain is currently in use. If someone is using that domain to sell a product in your niche, I would recommend coming up with a new product name to avoid conflicts.
- If your product name is long, you’ll need to come up with a shorter domain. (see example on video)
• You may want to register a few domains to give yourself some options. (Multiple domains can be used for the same website. You can then split-test domain names on PPC, or use multiple domain names to avoid competing with your own affiliates on PPC)
• Just don’t register a bunch of domains you don’t need.
• Domain suggestions tools. It’s fine to use domain suggestion tools to get ideas, but I generally do not use them. If you can think like a marketer, you can come up with a better domain name than a computer.
• Where to register your domain…

- There are hundreds of places on the internet where you can register a domain. Some are better than others. If you’ve already found a good and reliable registrar, feel free to stick with them.
- I recommend registering your domain with someone OTHER than your web host. (reasons explained)
- It’s important that you have good control over your domain (easily be able to change DNS, set up child name servers, etc)
- I recommend using http://www.fastwebdomain.com


SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY:
You may want to consider getting your own domain sales business, like mine. There are always people who need to register domains, so if your business has anything to do with business or money, then this could be a good side business for you. Domain resellers are making as much as $37k per month with this opportunity!

Click here for info about getting your own turn-key domain business 

(Includes bonus advertising credits and other freebies. See details on site…)

Action steps:
1) Register a domain for your business.
Use the guidelines from this lesson to register a good one!
After you’ve registered your domain, the next step is to get it hosted. There are good hosts, and there are bad hosts, and choosing the wrong one could be a costly mistake. Having been a web hosting company owner, it’s a subject that I know a fair amount about.
Choosing A Web Host…
In the previous topic, I talked about the importance of having your own website, and we went through the process of registering a domain name.
Now it’s time to take the next step toward getting your website up and running…
Main points:
• Web hosting is what makes your website available on the internet.
• It’s important to choose a good web host in order to avoid potential problems.
• Important things to look for in a web hosting company…

1) The resources and tools that you’ll need
- Plenty of storage space and data transfer
- Personal control panel (I wouldn’t go anywhere without it)
- MySQL, PHP, etc…
- Fantastico scripts installer (one click WordPress, etc)
2) Great support

-look for 24/7 support, and multiple support options

3) Reliability.

-If your website isn’t online, it’s not making money!

4) Affordable price.
• Some web hosts have gone “green” to help the environment, which is an added benefit when choosing a host.

• The host I recommend is F@stWEBDomain because they meet all of the above criteria. I have referred literally thousands of customers to F@stWEBDomain, and they have a great track record of taking care of my customers.

Action step: