by Alex Shah

If you are considering building an online business then you need a domain name. For search engine marketing the domain should consist of the main keyword related to your business. It should be short and without numbers or hyphens. These are the basic rules for domains ideally suited for high search engine ranking.

Let’s say you have an idea but no web site. What is your first step? Well, you need to register the domain first.

The .com ending is the prefered domain for search engine optimization, however, if you are trading in the UK then the ‘.co.uk’ domain ending is the natural choice. In this case, I recommend you register both.

When you register a domain it is a good idea to use a registrar that can provide email facilities for your domain. If you are not ready to upload a web site then you can still use your domain name for your email to your new domain. Many domain registrar’s provide cheap domain registration.
Many companies provide free email and web forwarding with domain registration. This means that you are able to register the domain and ‘point’ it to any website address and forward any email sent to your domain to any existing email address.

However, what you really need is a ‘full’ email service for your domain when you register it.

If you just use email forwarding, then you are limited to only RECEIVING email to your domain which is forwarded to your main email address. You are still unable to SEND from your new domain. So if you are marketing your new site prior to launch, you really do need a full email address that allows both sending and receiving email to and from your domain name.

A full email service is one that includes POP3 mailboxes so you can both receive email sent to your domain address and send email from your domain name. This provides a much more professional look to your email marketing as the receiver of the email will see that the message is originating from a domain name related to the kind of service you are marketing and may avoid unnecessary spam complaints.

Some companies will offer Spam filtering with the domain service. Considering that 90% of email that is sent is Spam this service is extremely useful in keeping a tidy ‘inbox’

Another feature to consider when registering the domain is autoresponders. An autoresponder can be set-up to provide automatic email responses. Autoresponders reply to incoming email instantly and automatically. You can set and change the text of the reply and the trigger address whenever you like. Autoresponders are ideal for customer service or informing people when you are away.

Most companies that register your domain will offer a ‘full email service’ as an extra and is usually a monthly fee similar to a hosting fee.

When you are ready to upload a web site to your domain then you will need a web hosting plan. The company that registered your domain may provide web hosting facilities and it should be a simple upgrade of service from ‘forwarding’ to ‘web hosting’.

About the Author
Alex Shah is a freelance writer for NxtDomains.com Software and Services which provides cheap domain registration and cheap web hosting .

Web Hosting: Not Just Domain Registration – Buy a Domain Package

by Michael Shield

How To Select

The Most Important Part Of The Web Site Concept Is The Domain Name. Get It Wrong And Your Site May Never Show Its Full Potential. What Makes A Good Domain Name You Ask ? Unless You Are Going To the Trouble And Expense Of Establishing A New Trade Name Business Where You Will Have Thousands Of Domain Choices With A New Word Or New Words Added To Your Industries Strongest Keyword, Example Chameleonpaint.com Or Giraffedomain.com You Are Going To Have To Buy Or Register The Best Keyword Name That You Can Afford.

Keywords

The Most Searched Keywords For This Site Are “Domain Name” So In The Ideal World You Would Choose “Domainname” With .com Or .co.uk, But As You Have Properly Realized These Domain Names Have Long Gone. Some Are Being Used For Web Sites But Most Are Parked With One Page Adverts Which Can Produce Revenue And With The Hope Of Making A Sale And Profit In The Future. “Domain” Can Be Combined With The Next Most Important Keyword Which Is “Domainregistration” Or “Cheapdomain” Or You Can Add A Descriptive Word Which Will Sound Nice, “Wonderfuldomain” Or “Insantdomain” But This May Be An Existing Trade Name You Will Need To Check, The Main Point Is That These Are Not Good Keywords Not Many People Search For A “Wonderful Domain”. It Is Still Better To Combine The Top Keyword With A Lesser One To Make The Name, We Had To Settle For Domainweb Which Are Both Keywords To This Industry.

Are Keywords Really That Important ?

There Are Three Main Reasons Why Keywords Are Paramount.
1, Some Of The Major Search Engines Add Weight To Web Sites That Have Keywords In Their Domain Names. Search On Msn Windows Live, Using Your Industries Keywords And A Large Proportion Of The Results Contain Domain Names As Keywords. For New Sites This May Be The Only Organic Traffic You Will Receive For Many Months.
2, When People Search, Organic Or PPC The Click Rate Is Signficantly Higher If The Domain Name Is The Same Or Very Similar To Their Search Word Or Words.
3, The Sale Conversion Rate Is Much Higher, Customers Trust Short Keyword Impressive Domain Names.

Test The Domain Name Before You Buy Or Register

Lets Face It We Are All So Absorbed In The World Of Our Industries And Business That We Can Convince Ourselves That We Have Found A Great Domain Name. Ask People Who Know Absolutely Nothing About Your Industry What The Domain Name Means, The Response Should Be Instant Without Prompting. A Good Domain Name Should Instantly Tell Your Visitor What You Sell Or The Information Or Services That You Offer. If The Name Is Technical Or Specialized To Your Industry You Will Have To Test It On Junior Members Of Your Organization.
About the Author Michael Shield Is A Writer And Web Site Developer From Essex In The United Kingdom Learn More About Domain Name Registration

Web Hosting: Domain Name Registration Do Keywords Matter ?