Sunday, July 27, 2008

Domain Names - Six Golden Rules for Generic Domain Names

By Smash Masterson

You don't have to be rocket scientist to see just how one domain name is worth millions and another one similar could be worth next to nothing. Let's take for example two similar domain names like Beds.com and , which are virtually the same but Beds.com is a goldmine whereas Bedsx.com probably loses money.

There are six primary elements that make a keyword domain name great and valuable and worthy, and you'll want to evaluate these factors before you buy. They apply to names you register fresh, names you purchase privately, and names you bid on at auction. A little research upfront can save a lot of grief down the road when it comes time to sell or develop.

1. Keyword volume: This is an estimate of how many searches the word or phrase has, which is an indication of it?s popularity. For example, according to Google, the phrase "Hawaii Singles" has 2400 searches a month. If you were bidding on HawaiiSingles.com, you would also want to check Keyword Discovery and/or WordTracker for additional data. You'll never get more than an indication since each tool measures differently. However, it's a safe bet if people are searching for a phrase there will be some natural traffic and SEO potential, and if there's no volume, there will be little or none.

2. Commonality: Uniqueness is not the only success factor in a great domain and if you think for a moment, domains are really all of one category. The best words to chose for a domain name are words that are always on the tip of our tongue and everybody else's. Word order and plurals are also important factors to take into consideration when choosing a domain name, for example - bank, banked, banks. SportCars.com for example won't be worth as much as SportsCars.com. Basically it ranks as a losing domain if you compare it to RunningShoes.com. If you try a couple of domain checks on Google you will find that ShoesRunning.com isn't even there.

3. True type-in traffic: This information can be difficult to get, but it never hurts to ask, especially when the sale is private and you aren't under stressful time constraints. You specifically want to know how much type-in traffic the name gets, not including visitors who are referred from search engines and links, both of which are unreliable in the long term.

4. Length: A further important consideration is the domain length. Short domain names will get better results because they are a lot easier to remember and spell and would convert into loads more traffic. Branding domains with takinf these important factors into account will increase drastically the domain name value which is great news if later sell your domain.

5. Prior use: If the domain has a past life, and was acquired through a drop service or from an expired list, you want to know about it. Forget perceived positives like search engine ranking and PR since those will likely disappear after the name is in your hands. Instead, delve into the name's dark side. Was it ever used for spamming? Is it banned from Google's index? Did it previously contain questionable content? Overcoming these negatives can be more work than you bargained for, even with an otherwise great name.

6. End user development potential: The common denominator in successful domain names is one that can be easily developed and you just have to ask yourself whether you would be prepared to spend your own money on and if you aren't, forget it. Use these tips to find a domain that will work and will reap you huge benefits in time.

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Saturday, July 26, 2008

How to Make Money with Web Hosting

By Matt Hedges

Web hosting is a vital business that many companies embark on world-wide and enjoy a good profit from. There are many ways for a web hosting company to expand its operations and create even more income from their one single business. Web hosting itself requires some investment in equipment and space. Once that is acquired it makes sense to make the best use of it possible to generate as much income as the potential for it allows. Various ways to earn extra income are actively sought out in this very competitive industry.

The opportunities are wide-spread for the web host that has the provisions available to create them. These services increase income and create improved relationships with their customers as well.

Below are some of the methods that can help the web hosts to make money.

Additional Ways to Make Money with Web Hosting

Reselling: Reselling is a fantastic and fairly simple way for a web host to earn extra money without too much effort. The web host first purchases a hosting package for a reasonable amount and then sells it to someone else for a larger fee. Web masters and web hosts make a significant income from this technique. It has single-handedly been known to create riches almost overnight for savvy web masters. It's not quite as simple as it sounds, however. There are a few things that must be considered. There is a sizeable upfront investment required to start up this side of a web host business. Space must be purchased before it can be sold, and the profit won't be realized until that space can be resold to a client. The host needs to have ample space on his or her server as well. If a web host has acquired enough bandwidth and server space they can then sell portions of that to clients who will in return pay them on a monthly basis.

Using the original service resellers make their money just like that. The money from the monthly fees is pocketed by the reseller. The advantage to this method is the reseller doesn't have to go through the trouble of buying the equipment or hiring IT staff. The pay they receive is for simply setting up the accounts of the new customer. Often the reseller purchases space from the original provider at a discount of about 10%. The resellers profit is determined by the amount of space the original server allows and the size of that space.

This is an advantageous position to be in as the reseller does not have to provide for assistance and support in their packages. With the development of this industry, and the heavy competition developing some resellers are beginning to realize the need to offer these services however, in order to remain competitive. Reselling has a low overhead since it can be operated largely from home. All that is needed is the initial investment of origin host space. Some reseller companies grow so fast, however that they end up needing outside office space to contain the business.

Advertisement: Free web hosting allows a web host to earn from advertising. Since this service is rendered free to the clients, the web hosts what to use the websites of the client for advertisement purposes. These kinds of options are limited as only small businesses and beginners opt for free hosting services. Thus making lots of money with this service is logically not possible.

More Services for Making Money:

Search engine optimization: Web host often find this as a useful technique of earning money. All the clients of the web hosts, who are eager to make their website popular, want the application of all those techniques that can help them serve their purposes. In such a case, web hosts can provide the clients information on search engine optimization. Customers or clients can be provided with top search engines and then charge a fees for submitting their address and to all popular search engine like search engines Google, yahoo etc.

* Website template creation: Established web hosts can make more income by providing clients with affordable prices. These low priced services are like come ons in an exchange for building the reputation of the company. The host offers clients the ability to purchase templates. Since everybody wants to look unique they often grab up the offers. The hosts can also give clients a membership to a large template website with fees to join and earn more money on each sale.

Providing domain names: Providing domain names to clients can also be a good idea of earning extra. Those who haven't tried this formula should go for it. Domain names with registration transfer of their domain names, and renewals can definitely earn money for the hosting company. Private name label with companies like e Nom, Domain People etc can also help.

Site Builder tools: If one can provide their clients with website related offers and techniques to build a better website, then customers will always appreciate such offers and would like to obtain them from the web hosts. Web hosts can act as one stop shop for the companies in providing all the necessary kits that they require for developing a website. Templates, font, pre build graphics, and customization etc. can always earn some extra profit for the web hosts.

Avoid Overselling:

Regardless which of the methods a host adopts to make more money, it's wise to realize that overselling is dangerous. Overselling occurs when a host offers too many customers space and then realizes it cannot obtain enough space or bandwidth. This creates overcrowding and many clients using a small space increases the danger of systems crashing and taking down the entire hosting business. A single system cannot hold more than a specific number of hosts. Know what the limits are and do not exceed them. The web hosts reputation will rest on this single issue regardless of how wonderful his offers are otherwise.

Web hosting is often a legitimate and profitable technique of earning money online. The nature and type of service however, depends on the knowledge of the host along with the equipment and programs he/she has access to. It is advisable that a web hot begins with a small business and then process to a large one with time.

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Providing Affordable Web Hosting Solution

By Johnson

The contents of your website will affect the amount of money you have to pay to your Web Hosting service. Although your website only consists of some web pages, but if you also provide streaming video or audio to visitors, the cost of bandwidth is something you should take into consideration very carefully.

It is highly recommended to opt for a plan that allows you to use bandwidth more than your current requirement so anything you use over it will not cost you extra usage fees. The storage capacity you need depends on the type of website you intend to build.

For instance, if you have a plan to build an article directory where the web space required would grow rapidly you should think about the cost of that extra web space you would need. If your business plan involves the usages of more than one websites, consider to use a web hosting provider which gives you a facility to host all of your domains under one account.

That way it doesn't matter how many domain names you host, you only have to pay for one hosting account. It is also a good idea to thing about the cost of using an add-on domain in case you want to build more websites later. Look at what kind of policies an Affordable Web Hosting company has. Will they charge you automatically when the web space or the bandwidth you use have reached the limit?

Avoiding surprises is a necessity in business, especially when it comes to extraneous costs. Those are some essential rules in finding an affordable web hosting plan. Keep in mind that today the count of Web Hosting providers is endless and most of them claim as the number one company in the world with the very best cheap rates. Before finalizing on a Web Hosting service, do your homework and plan ahead.

Nowadays, because of the competition is getting harder, many Web Hosting companies don't charge you for setting up a new account.

So if you find the one that does it, simply go to other companies. Are there any extra charges for any application or database you might need to make sure that you don't have to spend extra money for setting up databases, putting FrontPage on your site, creating email accounts and using other common applications? They all should be free. Some web hosting providers allow you to build unlimited number of databases and email accounts.

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