Making Money

My Way 5

Domain Names and Hosts

The Good and The Bad

There is a lot to be said about Domain Names. We may need to talk about hosts on another page. We'll see.

What is a domain name and why do we need one? A domain name is what separates your site from the rest of the gobeldygoop floating around in cyber space.

It is what tells the world that this is your personal site. It is also the address to your websites door.

Just as your home address tells people where to find you, your domain name tells people where to find your site.

In a way, you could say the domain name is a computer code which lets the computer know where to send the reader. Without it nobody would ever find your site.

The way you choose your name is another thing. A lot of people want to use their own name in their domain address. It is kind of like seeing your name in lights.

Good idea? Not necessarily. If your name is  known to millions of people like some movie star and you want your fan club to find you then it might be good to use your name in your URL address.

If you have a product for sale and the product name includes your name like "Dr John's Hangnail Remover" then you might want to include your name.

However, you need to think about how people are going to find you if you are not well know and the product does not include your name.

If you have created an information site or you have written an ebook and want to sell to the public you need to rely on the search engines or have an extra large list of email addresses to send to. (and that could be considered spam)

When you choose a name remember, not a lot of people are going to search for something like "Billy's Money book". Some might search for "Money book, but most will search for "Money" or a variation of it.

Make your domain name stand out. Make it one that someone will want to know what it is all about. Choose something that will make people take action and open your page.

Lets say your page is about making wine. A name like "littlejohnnieswines" just won't do it. A name like "winemakingdatabase" would attract a lot more attention.

The people are looking for wine making procedures so wine making fits right in. They want the information so database will also work for us.

Try to include at least one keyword in the name. Another thing is the length of the name. Long domain names are used more and more now than ever before.

However, long names are sometimes not easy for a reader to figure out. If you decide to use a long name you might consider separating the words with a dash. Do not use the underscore.

The underscore has been used effectively for a long time but as you know, the domain name when used as a hyperlink is always underlined.

The underscore marks disappear into the underline and are often left out when someone hand types the address. The dash is always visible.

A better way is to use a capital letter on each word. An address like this "www.WineMakersDatabase.com would work well. It is easy to see what each word is.

After you figure out what name to use you will need to find out if it is available. Usually the web host you choose will offer free domain name availability verification.

Ok, lets move on to our discussion on web hosts. Next page.

There's  that old goat up there in the corner again.

Choosing a good domain name is as important as the web page itself.

Capitalize the first letter of each word in the domain name.

A domain name can be almost as long as you want, but short is better.