By the end of 2012, the Internet held nearly a quarter of a billion registered domain names, many of which did their owners no particular favors. Choosing the right domain name is a critical part of defining your business online, and just as important as choosing the right host (if not more so). While “TedSmithMotorPartsManufacturing.com” may be an accurate representation of your business and your brand, it’s heavy mental furniture when stacked up against something like “SmithMotors.com”—and you want to keep things light and lively for your potential customers when they’re searching the Web or typing in the address bar.
When it comes to selecting a domain name, striking a balance between these critical elements—simplicity, memorability, relevance—is the key to catching the elusive lightning of success in your online bottle. At its core, a successful domain name includes a clear mention of your brand (essential for good SEO and avoiding customer confusion), creative composition (the better to wedge itself in customers’ brains), and compact construction (to make sure it stays wedged long enough for them to visit your site). If you miss some or all of these components, you might just find yourself with a website that gets a lot of hits, but for all the wrong reasons.
If you think you’ve got a winner, make sure it’s available for purchase (either unregistered or available from a previous buyer) and that your desired name is also available on popular social media sites before you print up those business cards. A love of consistency may be “the hobgoblin of small minds,” but it’s an essential part of building a strong brand that resonates with the public.
And given that fewer than ten percent of domain names are “premium” enough to resonate with the masses, a quick run through the Rosener equation might not be a bad idea, either.
When you are ready to buy, you have a variety of options, including independent registrars, but many hosting providers will also be happy to help you with registration. Be sure to take the time to investigate all your options.
Choosing the right domain name doesn’t have to be a hit-or-miss proposition. By keeping your domain name clean, creative and compact, you’ll be well on your way to making your website—and your brand—a force to be reckoned with.
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A good domain name can make or break a business, or at least significantly impact website traffic and brand recall. Like finding great real estate — and often just as critical — choosing a domain name can be overwhelming. To simplify the process, we’ve hand-picked our favorite insider tips for selecting the perfect domain name.
Think of your domain name as the most important marketing tool to create buzz.
According to FragerFactor.com, the right domain name “can directly impact your image, instantly establish trust and credibility, and gain more recognition among all stakeholders.”
Branded domains aid in word of mouth marketing.
TimeHop, the site and app that shows you what you were doing a year ago on social media channels, started out as the not-so-catchy 4SquareAnd7YearsAgo.com, according to MorganLinton.com.
Branded domains also build credibility in earning links.
Consider building a domain around meaningful words with mass appeal.
According to Nielsen, branded websites are the 3rd most trusted advertising source for Internet users, tied with editorial content.
Eliot Silver(EliotsBlog.com) reports that many domain investors weigh the value of potential for brand development higher than the value of current traffic or revenue.
According to DNJournal.com, Trek Bicycle Corp. recently purchased Trek.com for $245,000, one of the biggest sales reported in the first half of 2013.
Being easy to say and spell is crucial in increasing pass-along rate. Anyone should be able to pronounce your domain.
According to DomainNameSales.com, of the 200 million+ registered names, only an estimated 5-7% are premium enough to resonate with many people.
Research by McKinsey & Company shows word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions.
“Domain King” Rick Schwartz says to know which domains have face value. For example, any NNN.com has value (3 numbers like 123.com). There is a market for these domains.
FragerFactor.com says the most effective domain names are a relevant and memorable call to action.
Ask yourself: Does the domain pass the “radio test” — is it nearly impossible to mistype it after hearing it?
In 2012, more than 250 million domains were registered.
Nearly 84,000 domain names are registered per day.
Approximately 21% of .com and .net websites are just one-page sites. 15% are registered, but don’t point to a working site at all.
Top level domains (TLDs) – the most valuable extensions – are crucial when choosing a domain name.
One option is to purchase several extensions (.net, .info, .com, .biz) and direct them all to the same site with 301 redirects.
A .com TLD is ideal because it’s the gold standard and most Internet users who remember your domain are going to assume you use it.
The historic performance of .net and .org has not closed the gap with market leader .com.
According to Frank Schilling of DomainNameSales.com, ccTLDs issued and minted by the country you live in, such as .uk for the United Kingdom and .ch for Switzerland, are close behind the .com.
On his blog, Schilling said .com (short for .commerce) was not the dominate TLD when he started using the Internet in 1993; most content was on .int, .mil, .edu, and .gov sites.
According to MorganLinton.com, the .co TLD is starting to gain traction in the startup space with websites sich as Angel.co and Startups.co.
The company that founded the .co TLD, go.co, recently launched Pop.co — a bundle of online services for removing barriers between coming up with a cool idea and building a web presence.
The domain landscape has been expanded with new generic top level domains, or gTLDs(i.e. .research, .search, .pizza, .blog) that anyone can purchase and run.
Frank Schilling predicted that the “new gTLD window will bring some significant changes that we should all prepare for,” noting that we should all keep an open mind and embrace these changes.
If you’re still unsure of which extension to choose, DomainsBot.com has a TLD recommendation generator you can try.
Beware ofcybersquatting. It’s not uncommon for competition to register a domain with different extensions in an effort to steal traffic.
Investing in all TLDs is an advisable precaution to protecting a trademark.
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 2012 saw a record of 2,884 cybersquatting cases covering 5,084 domain names — up 4.5% from 2011.
The Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) provides for damages from $1,000 to $100,000 if a party registers a domain in bad faith with the intent to profit from a brand’s goodwill.
In 2013, Donald Trump sought $400,000 in damages over four websites that use the real estate mogul’s name and brand.
In turn, avoid registering a domain close to a competitor’s and be cautious of violating a trademark that could lead to a lawsuit.
Check the trademark database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (uspto.gov) for registered trademarks matching your desired domain name, similar names, variant spellings, and synonyms.
It’s wise to invest in mispelled or closely spelled domains.
Registering your own name is a great way to build your personal brand, even if you’re not ready to do anything with it yet, go ahead and purchase it.
Most single-word domains are taken, try these creative approaches to finding a domain name that fits your brand:
Use these to help brainstorm names:
Hyphenated domains have no branding and little SEO value. They detract from credibility and can act as a spam indicator, making it difficult to earn links.
They also negatively impact word of mouth because they’re difficult to say without spelling it out.
They cause a loss of type-in traffic because people don’t recall hyphens or hyphen placement.
According to DomainNameSales.com, type-in-traffic accounts for 50% of all visitors.
Rick Schwartz wrote on RicksBlog.com, “Type-ins are the validation of value regardless of opinion.” He added that type-in domains are born every day.
For example, TheDomains.com reports that the name of the newest member of the Royal Family GeorgeAlexanderLouis.com, hand-registered by Luc-Andre Biggs, is now seeing around 7,500 unique visitors a day.
Schwartz noted, “If a domain has no type-in traffic, then it should be specific, commercial, and preferably only 2 easy to spell words.”
A good rule for making yourself discoverable is to keep the same name across platforms. Check that your domain is available on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Try a tool like KnowEm (knowem.com) that allows you to check for the use of your brand, product, personal name, or username instantly on hundreds of social media websites.
Even big brands have let their domains expire.
According to iGoldRush.com, there’s sometimes more than 20,000 domains expiring on one day.
Keep your contact information up to date. You should receive notifications, don’t ignore them.
Set a calendar reminder when you purchase your domain.
If your registrar offers auto-renew then take advantage of this functionality.
This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their 'Personally identifiable information' (PII) is being used online. PII, as used in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.
What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our blog, website or app?
When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name, email address, phone number or other details to help you with your experience.
When do we collect information?
We collect information from you when you register on our site, place an order, subscribe to a newsletter or enter information on our site.
How do we use your information?
We may use the information we collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:
• To personalize user's experience and to allow us to deliver the type of content and product offerings in which you are most interested.
• To improve our website in order to better serve you.
• To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.
• To quickly process your transactions.
• To send periodic emails regarding your order or other products and services.
How do we protect visitor information?
Our website is scanned on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible.
We use regular Malware Scanning.
Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. In addition, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.
We implement a variety of security measures when a user places an order enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of your personal information.
All transactions are processed through a gateway provider and are not stored or processed on our servers.
Do we use 'cookies'?
Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer's hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the site's or service provider's systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. For instance, we use cookies to help us remember and process the items in your shopping cart. They are also used to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services. We also use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.
We use cookies to:
• Keep track of advertisements.
• Compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interactions in order to offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may also use trusted third party services that track this information on our behalf.
You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser (like Internet Explorer) settings. Each browser is a little different, so look at your browser's Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.
If users disable cookies in their browser:
If you disable cookies off, some features will be disabled It will turn off some of the features that make your site experience more efficient and some of our services will not function properly.
However, you can still place orders User Login over the telephone .
Third Party Disclosure
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information unless we provide you with advance notice. This does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety.
However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
Third party links
Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our website. These third party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.
Google
Google's advertising requirements can be summed up by Google's Advertising Principles. They are put in place to provide a positive experience for users. https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/1316548?hl=en
We use Google AdSense Advertising on our website.
Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on our site. Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to our users based on their visit to our site and other sites on the Internet. Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.
We have implemented the following:
• Remarketing with Google AdSense
We along with third-party vendors, such as Google use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookies) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) or other third-party identifiers together to compile data regarding user interactions with ad impressions, and other ad service functions as they relate to our website.
Opting out:
Users can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Settings page. Alternatively, you can opt out by visiting the Network Advertising initiative opt out page or permanently using the Google Analytics Opt Out Browser add on.
California Online Privacy Protection Act
CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law's reach stretches well beyond California to require a person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting personally identifiable information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals with whom it is being shared, and to comply with this policy. - See more at: http://consumercal.org/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa/#sthash.0FdRbT51.dpuf
According to CalOPPA we agree to the following:
Users can visit our site anonymously
Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our home page, or as a minimum on the first significant page after entering our website.
Our Privacy Policy link includes the word 'Privacy', and can be easily be found on the page specified above.
Users will be notified of any privacy policy changes:
• On our Privacy Policy Page
Users are able to change their personal information:
• By emailing us
• By calling us
• By logging in to their account
• By chatting with us or sending us a ticket
How does our site handle do not track signals?
We honor do not track signals and do not track, plant cookies, or use advertising when a Do Not Track (DNT) browser mechanism is in place.
Does our site allow third party behavioral tracking?
It's also important to note that we do not allow third party behavioral tracking
COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)
When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under 13, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation's consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children's privacy and safety online.
We do not specifically market to children under 13.
Fair Information Practices
The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.
In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur: We will notify the users via email
• Within 7 business days
We will notify the users via in site notification
• Within 1 business day
We also agree to the individual redress principle, which requires that individuals have a right to pursue legally enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or a government agency to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.
CAN SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.
We collect your email address in order to:
• Send information, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions.
• Process orders and to send information and updates pertaining to orders
• We may also send you additional information related to your product and/or service.
• Market to our mailing list or continue to send emails to our clients after the original transaction has occurred
To be in accordance with CANSPAM we agree to the following:
• NOT use false, or misleading subjects or email addresses
• Identify the message as an advertisement in some reasonable way
• Include the physical address of our business or site headquarters
• Monitor third party email marketing services for compliance, if one is used.
• Honor opt-out/unsubscribe requests quickly
• Allow users to unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of each email
If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you can email us at
• Follow the instructions at the bottom of each email.
and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.
Contacting Us
If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us using the information below.
Next Big Biz
1808 Hewitt Ave
Everett, WA 98201
privacy@nextbigbiz.com
(425) 320-4020