What Makes A Good Internet Domain Name For A New Company? by: Custom Toll Free, March 16, 2011 Along with choosing a winning vanity number, reserving a great Internet domain name for your business is one of the most important things you can do to ensure the success of your new venture. What makes a good Internet domain name? There are two ways to select an excellent Internet domain name for your business. The first is to opt for a catchy web domain name that stands out, grabs attention and is easy to remember. While this method has worked extremely well for many others, it does unfortunately generally mean more work and will be harder and more expensive to promote. The second and preferred way to choose a great Internet domain name in terms of SEO and ease of being found is to choose a website name that tells prospects what you do and includes your main keyword. This will make is easier for new traffic to find you when they are looking for your product or service. Ideally this will also include your business name in order to unify your branding and make it easier to receive referrals and for those have heard of you offline to find you on the web. If your business name is available as an Internet domain name then you really must reserve it even if you don’t want it as your main one in order to prevent the competition from grabbing it. If the second method of choosing an Internet domain name is not an option either because it is already in use or because it is too complicated to remember quickly or will be misspelled too often then consider this third option that has been producing great results for others. Some companies have found that using their vanity number as their web domain name is helping to dramatically improve response rate and increase closing ratios. For example "www.1800-YOUR-INDUSTRY.com". This makes your Internet domain name and website instantly stand out in search results and online advertising campaigns. Why? Because it offers instant credibility and helps your stand out and appear as an expert. Read More
Online Advertising for Beginners by: blog-editor2, February 28, 2011 Advertising is basically the act of promoting your business using paid methods. Online advertising is the same as traditional advertising in many ways, but it also has its own distinctions. For example, online advertising is usually more responsive to the comments and feedbacks of users. Since feedback is immediate, mistakes can be corrected quickly as well. Another distinction of online advertising is its significantly lower cost compared to traditional advertising. In the online world, there are three players in the process: the advertiser, the publisher, and the middleman (Google Adsense, Yahoo Advertising Network, etc). Depending on the format chosen by the advertiser, the publisher will receive different levels of compensation. The amount the publishers receive would also be based on the niche's competitiveness – basically, how much advertisers are willing to pay to get better advertising than their competitors. The following types of advertising can be displayed by publishers: Graphic Advertising – mostly called banner ads, these are attractive pieces of work. Some graphic advertising makes use of animated images to catch viewer attention. Pop-up Advertising – some users dislike these types of ads, but they are highly effective. In the past, pop-up advertising was largely prevalent, but today, it is less commonly used. Text Advertising – the simplest form of advertising, text-based ads are simple and direct; it is the ad copy that will attract readers. Many other online advertising methods exist. For example, on Facebook, you can make use of both text and graphic to get viewers' attention. Social media has definitely become important; be sure to explore the opportunities in others mediums as well. Image Credit: © Frenta | Dreamstime.com Read More
Appraising Domain Names For Sale by: blog-editor2, February 3, 2011 Domain name appraisals have become a growing business over the last decade. When you consider how web domain names are valued, you may ask whether it is worth paying for a domain name appraisal and what is the best way to avoid overpaying for a domain name? Domain name appraising is definitely more of an art than a science. More than one way exists to appraise a domain name and a range of factors can be used to determine its value, including name length, marketability, brand recognition, industry strength, revenue, traffic, and search engine popularity as well as how a domain name compares with other recent sales. However, what a domain name is worth to one person is often far different to what the next person in line may be willing to pay for it. In fact, few other products out there vary so widely in value, with web domain names ranging from a few dollars to millions. If you are flipping domain names for profit, it may be a good move to invest in domain name appraisals or at least to educate yourself better on how they are valued. Those who want to launch new ventures with a bang and enjoy healthy amounts of traffic from day one may also benefit from further research. For most, however, it is a matter of what an individual domain name is worth to you and your brand. For example, if you made the mistake of creating other branding materials, registering a business name, and acquiring a toll free vanity number only to discover the matching domain name is taken, then you may really need it and have to be willing to pay a significant amount for it. Whereas if having a certain web domain name is just a nice addition or preference, then you obviously are not under the same pressure. There is quite a bit of strategy that goes into getting the best deal on a web domain name, and making one small mistake at the beginning could result in the owner skyrocketing his demands. So before you begin any negotiations or show any interest in a domain name that is already taken, it is wise to consult a professional service that offers web domain negotiation so you can be sure to get the best possible deal. Read More
How Your Competitors Feed Off Your Success with A Similar Business Phone Number by: blog-editor2, January 27, 2011 As with anything done well, your business success will generate people who want to feed off or piggyback on your success. This situation is especially true for web domain names and business phone numbers. On one hand, you certainly can’t blame competitors for maximizing their own marketing ROI with this smart strategy. But it can be extremely frustrating and may mean losing potential deals and clients despite all of your hard work and dedication to growing your organization. Fortunately, you have the ability to stop the situation before it even begins! First, you must understand how competitors can feed off your business phone number. Just as with having similar Internet domain names, other businesses can feed off your advertising, reputation, and marketing budget by acquiring similar business phone numbers to yours. For numeric numbers, this situation could mean obtaining similar numbers that could be incorrectly dialed. In terms of vanity numbers, competitors may try getting their hands on the same vanity numbers with different prefixes since dialing the wrong prefix is a common mistake by customers trying to call you, especially if you do not have the 800 number version. Worse, if you have a well known company name, but you do not have the matching vanity number that spells out your name, competitors might acquire it and be able to take large amounts of prospects and even current customers who were actually attempting to call your business phone number. To protect yourself, begin by making sure you have a unified brand, including an easily recognizable vanity number. Then just as with reserving a domain name for your website, try to reserve as many variations of your business phone number as you can. Start with the 800, 888, 877, 866 and 855 prefixes and then move on to any other obvious combinations. Image Credit: © Nabeel Zytoon | Dreamstime.com Read More
Back To Branding Basics – The 800 Vanity Number by: blog-editor2, January 25, 2011 With the surge in Internet marketing and the ability to launch virtual companies overnight without a massive budget, many entrepreneurs and business owners are sadly overlooking some of the basics and their branding in particular. Branding is still more important than ever regardless of what industry you are in, whether you will have a local brick and mortar presence, and the size of your operation. When branding is mentioned, most people immediately think of logos and slogans; however, web domain names and 800 vanity numbers are just as important. In fact, 800 vanity numbers could actually be the most essential and powerful part of your organization’s branding. It is no secret that some of the most successful, industry dominating companies right now have gained their influence and are enjoying such lofty revenues due to their 800 vanity numbers alone. But even if your goals aren’t that big, the bottom line is that anchoring your brand with a premium 800 vanity number will have a positive compounding effect on all areas of your business, resulting in better ROI and superior profit margins. With a winning 800 vanity number as part of your core branding, your company will immediately benefit from increased credibility and recognition, which translates not only to more volume and customers seeking you out, but it makes closing deals a breeze. Of course, you can launch marketing campaigns without an 800 vanity number; you may even see some response although it is doubtful it will be anywhere near as successful as if you had one. The advantages of using toll free numbers and the impact they can have on advertising effectiveness are well known. So with premium vanity numbers available from as little $19 a month that will likely result in double digit improvements in response rates to your marketing, why would you even consider launching without one? Image Credit: © Victor Correia | Dreamstime.com Read More
The Best Way to Utilize Multiple Domain Names by: blog-editor2, January 18, 2011 Is it a good idea to have multiple domain names? There are actually pros and cons to this move, but it all depends on the context of your strategy. Let’s take a look at some considerations you need to take into account to make a decision: Multiple Entry Points – One of the main benefits of having multiple domain names is gaining a number of entry points. If your company focuses on the homemaking niche, for example, you can have sections about housecleaning, refurbishing, etc. Creating additional domains on these niches can also be beneficial (for linking purposes). Search Engines – It used to be a common spamming technique to purchase hundreds, even thousands of domains, that all reference the same site. These sites were indexed and added to the ranking. Although this strategy worked for awhile, search engines are now cautious about such techniques. As a result, it is more important to be careful about what you put into your sites; and make sure the content is not similar. Typos – Common typing errors can yield to significant search traffic once you consider that you’re catering to a global audience. Remember to use 301 redirects to ensure that these misspellings aren’t listed in the search engines results page (SERP). Protection – Once your company becomes more renowned, it will need to battle opportunists who seek to benefit from your success. In this regard, it may be a good idea to purchase the .net, .org, and .us extensions among others. Read More
Keeping Your Domain Name Information Private by: blog-editor2, December 15, 2010 Privacy is more important than ever these days, especially when doing business on the Internet. Once your information is out, it can be copied and distributed to all types of individuals for all kinds of uses. While most individuals and businesses have learned to keep their information private in most areas on the Internet, this need is often overlooked when registering domain names. Did you know that without the right protection when you register a domain name, your mailing address, email address, and phone number become instantly available to everyone in the world at anytime? Whenever you register a domain name, you are required to submit accurate contact information for this WHO IS directory that lists all owners of domain names around the world. If you try to get around it by submitting false information, you may end up getting your website suspended. Posting your personal or business information for all to see online when registering a web domain name highly increases the possibility of your identity being stolen. Sales people and data miners will harvest your information and plague you with calls, emails, and mail. Even worse, this lack of privacy increases your exposure to lawsuits, making it easier for attorneys entertaining frivolous lawsuits to "pierce the corporate veil" and come after you personally. It even makes it easier for your spouse to tap more of your income and assets in a divorce! So what can you do about this situation? Fortunately, leading Internet domain name registration consulting firms now offer private domain name registration. Much like a registered agent when you file a new company, private registration or proxies are used by masking your details and making them private by publishing your agent's details instead. These are legitimate contact details for a legitimate company but act as a privacy cushion to prevent your information from being made public and being at risk of misuse. This service is normally very inexpensive, but it will pay off in thousands saved and avoiding hours of wasted time. Don’t register a domain name without private registration! Read More
Why You Need Multiple Business Phone Lines and Domain Names by: blog-editor2, December 3, 2010 It is common knowledge that many benefits result from having multiple web domain names. And it is just as important to have multiple business phone lines. We are not just talking about multiple in-office lines so you can handle multiple phone calls simultaneously. What is more critical is having business phone lines that appeal to different prospects and target markets and that can be used to maximize marketing ROI. Without doubt, vanity numbers for your business phone lines are now one of the most powerful and important branding and marketing tools available to businesses today. They can be used to separate your business from the pack, add credibility, test marketing strategies, and monitor metrics. However, one vanity number just isn’t enough. If you can acquire the generic vanity number for your industry for your business phone lines, that is great. However, it is not always possible. Regardless of whether you have this number or not, your company will benefit from niche marketing as well, no matter whether you are a new start up trying to cut out a slice of the pie for yourself or even a largest industry dominating conglomerations. Don’t believe it? Just look at the likes of insurance giant Geico, undoubtedly one of the most well known companies in America, yet it still continues to use the power of niche marketing. By obtaining multiple vanity numbers for your business phone lines, you can better reach your ideal customers and expand your grip on the market. For example, you may want to hone in and make a name for yourself in one segment of the industry so you can block out the competition. Or perhaps there is currently a demand for speed in your industry, so obtaining a vanity number with the word "fast" in it can portray you as the most attractive option to do business with. Look at your current and future marketing strategies and analyze where you can make a big difference by having additional business phone lines. Read More
Top Selling Domain Names by: blog-editor2, November 29, 2010 2010 has certainly seen its share of significant domain name transfers, further demonstrating just how valuable a good Internet domain name really is. Transfers include Dating.com for $1.75 million, Poker.org for $1 million, Guns.com for $800,000, BlackFridaySales.com for $90,000 and one adult-orientated domain name going for a cool $13,000,000! Clearly a good domain name is the best investment many businesses can make. It could one day be worth more than the rest of your company’s revenue streams put together. True, most companies do not have that kind of cash to invest at start up, but those that do can lock in success from day one. Acquiring a winning web domain name from the start also makes attracting investors and obtaining funding much easier. It not only looks cool, but through evidence of existing and estimated web traffic, it can show that your new venture is a sure thing with revenues just waiting to roll in. However, you can still be incredibly successful and even dominate your industry with a lower cost domain. Branding is key, and having an Internet domain name that unifies your branding can mean plenty of savings and help your marketing budget go a lot further. One way to guarantee your success and position your enterprise to grab up market share quickly is to acquire a powerful toll free vanity number and use the number as your web domain name. For example 1800FLOWERS.com. Do not despair if all of your domain name choices are already taken or they are being advertised for high dollar amounts. A leading domain name search and negotiation firm can assist by using its expertise and honed strategies in order to get you the best deals on premium domain names. Read More
