4 Efficient Ways to Market Your Website

Once you have a website, you will find that the next step is to get people visiting it. There are, of course, many ways to get visitors to your site, but some are much more efficient than others.

Domain Names

When you are trying to market a website, you need to keep the domain name in mind. Having a great domain name means having one that others will recognize. If you are selling a product, you need your domain name to have something to do with that product. Making it simple to remember and easy to spell is crucial.

Directories

Taking some time to submit your website to different directories is an important step in your marketing plan. Companies like Canada 411 allow you to list your website so that others can easily find it. The more directories you submit your site to, the more likely it is that people will find it when they need it.

Articles

Like directories, articles can help point people to your website. Writing articles about the topic of your website and submitting them to article sites, will lead more people to your site. The great thing about articles is that they also portray you as an expert in your field. This helps you gain credibility.

Pay Per Click

If you are looking to get people to your site as quickly as possible, pay per click marketing may be a good option. With this option, you set a budget and pay a company each time someone clicks on your link. In return, the company that you work with gives your link a premier spot on their site. The most popular pay per click marketing is done through Google.

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Types of Available Domain Extensions

Computer Desk and Hutch

Image by angrykeyboarder via Flickr

Whether you are a business that operates solely online or a brick and mortar business looking to expand to the Internet, you will learn that your business’ domain name is everything. A domain name is like a physical address for internet users. It is what allows visitors to visit your site and continue to purchase your products or use your services.

Considering how important domain names are to businesses, it is important that you make sure you pick out a proper one that represents your business and is easy to remember. The first step in getting a domain name that is easy to remember and represents your business is to choose a website extension that shows visitors what type of website you are operating.

The following are some of the most popular types of website extensions businesses use:

  • .biz is commonly used for businesses who are establishing a business website.
  • .com is used for commercial websites and is considered the most popular type of web extension on the domain name market.
  • .info is popular for information based websites that provide users with facts and don’t typically sell products.
  • .mobi is becoming more popular as the use of mobile electronic devices increases. It is used to represent a compacted mobile version of a website.
  • .org is reserved for organizations. It is commonly associated with non-profit or charitable organizations.

The type of extension you choose can help visitors identify what type of website they are visiting. It is a good idea to register multiple domain extensions with your company or business name to make sure competitors don’t try and trick your competition.

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The Domain Name Game

Plaque on the ICANN (Internet Corporation for ...

Image via Wikipedia

The foundation of the web is the Domain Name System. Connected computers also have a IP (Internet Protocol) address which is a set of numbers, but domain names like trademarks or brands are much easier to remember. The names are registered and used to look up an individual or entities web site.

Domain names carry a message and sometimes a meaning. An address of yourname@homeplace.net hints it is a personal contact. An address of bbb.edu says it is an education organization.Domains may be controlled by someone else, but domains can also be bought for an annual fee. Owning a domain name gives an individual or entity rights. This website, domainnamerights.org, has articles that give different perspectives on this fact. Owning a domain name gives a person control over their image or their business image. In Internet marketing, this aspect alone can make or break a company because to make money an entity must have a web presence. Putting a unique name with a unique website with unique products will result in the phenomenon of branding. Branding is where customers associate an idea, standard or image with a set of words so that when they are heard immediately the image is impressed indelibly on the consumer’s mind. It is what businesses dream and strive for.

Domain names are considered intellectual property that is protected and regulated by policy. The agency that oversees this is called ICANN which stands for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The names are global property with global rules.Like any other piece of property is subject to court proceedings when violations occur.

 

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Keep Your Domain Safe


Do you own or manage a website? If so, are you the owner of the site’s
domain name? It sounds like a simple question, but in many cases the
owner of the site is not actually listed in the domain registrar’s
records. Why is this important? Because the person or organization
listed in the domain registrar’s records has complete control over the
domain name, and hence, the website.

When a new domain name is registered with a domain registrar, certain
details are filled out to provide a profile of the website owner for the
registrar’s records. All too often, the actual owner of the website and
the individual or business purchasing the domain name are not the same.
Here is an example: Joe Smith elects to create a website for his
business, Widgets inc. Mr. Smith hires a web designer to create the
website, and this web designers purchases the domain from a registrar.
Because the web designer made the purchase, she elects to make herself
the contact for the domain registrar. Now, she has complete control over
the domain name.

All too often, situations like this end in the rightful owner of the domain
name losing control over their own site. Since they are not listed on
the actual domain name record, they may not be able to stop their domain
name from being hijacked, stolen, sold or simply allowed to expire.

However, this scenario is quite easy to avoid: if you own a website, checking
the domain registrar’s records to ensure that you (or your organization)
are listed as the primary contact or owner of the domain. Sometimes
avoiding potential disaster can be a matter of a few simple steps!

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Web Hacks: The Good Kind of Hacking

Domain hacks are a big trend on the web right now. In fact, they have been
since the early 1990’s. But they’re not as nefarious as you might
think– they have nothing to do with stolen or hijacked information.
Domain hacks are really just shortened domain names

To understand this, remember that domain names actually consist of several
different parts. Starting from the end, the “.com” is the top level,
then the website name is the second level, and finally the “www.” is
typically the final and third level of the domain. However, as you are
no doubt aware, domain names do not necessarily have to end in “.com.”
Since the early 1980’s, other top level domains have existed, like
“.net” and “.edu.” Creative website owners exploited these top level
domain names be creating websites like “pla.net.”

But a few years ago, new top level domains were created. These domains
corresponded to country names around the world. These new top level
domains were an instant source for creative domain hacks. Some of the
more famous are “delicio.us” (the social networking site Delicious) and “goo.gl” (Google’s domain name shortening tool). Countless others have sprung up as well.

Why are domain hacks becoming so popular? Aside from simply being a
creative method for branding a memorable website, they also offer
another advantage– they are shorter than other domains. In a typically
“.com” domain, the top level extension tacks on an additional three
letters, whereas with a domain hack, a website author can create a site
with fewer letters. In our world of short attention spans and fast-paced
changes, domain hacks are likely here to stay.

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