Choosing Domain Names for Professional Sites: Six Guidelines – Domain Name
Choosing Domain Names for Professional Sites: Six Guidelines
Syd Johnson
A professional or business site is one where the primary purpose of the site is to facilitate business transactions. You can sell items directly online or exclusively offline, but the result is the same. You want customers to buy products and/or service directly from you.
To create a domain name for this type of website here are a few guidelines:
Shorter is better
Make the name easy to pronounce
Think long term
Stick to Categories and Topics
Do a trademark search
Always have a tag line
Shorter is better
If you want to make real money online, try to keep your domain name as short as possible. In the online world, the choices of where to shop and get information is overwhelming. A shorter name will instantly be memorable. It is always easier to remember short words and phrases. A shorter name is good for word of mouth advertising online and offline. Customers can easily remember the the URL and therefore they
Protecting Your Domain Names – Domain Name
Protecting Your Domain Names
Dr. Peter Liu
Domain Dispute is no longer news unless a Madonna or Julia Roberts type of celebrity gets involved. However, greater now than ever is the risk for domain registrants to lose their domain names when they get involved in a domain dispute. The risk is originated from the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy the Policy approved by ICANN and the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ACPA passed by U.S. Congress. The direct risk comes from reverse domain hijackers, biased panelists, and the unprepared registrants themselves.
Innocent registrants are prone to ignoring measures to protect their domain names. They tend to think they are safe and would win even if some party would complain to WIPO-the worst arbitration organization for innocent registrants. Thus, they often do not take steps to protect their domain names. As a consequence, they are likely to lose their domain names in a domain dispute. Preparation both BEFORE and AFTER you receive a complaint is equally important. Generic domain names are no exception. Net-firms.com usid.com received a complaint from netfirms.com and netlearning.com the registrant received a complaint from NetLearning, Inc. are just two examples proving how easy it is for a common word domain name to get hijacked.
The following suggestions may be useful when preparing yourself for a potential battle for your domain names.
1 Make sure your domain record, including the ownership and administrative contact information, is complete, correct, and current. If it is incorrect, the panelists will take it as evidence against you. Therefore, check your domain record often to see if any change is made without your authorization.
2 Write down your idea or business plan about what you would use your domain for and get it notarized.
3 If possible, register your domain name, i.e., yourdomainname.com, as a trademark with the trademark authority in your country. If you registered your domain name as a trademark successfully, it is to your advantage. Once you establish your rights to your domain names, your domain name is entitled to legal protection even if it is stolen.
4 If you start up a business, register and or use your domain name as your business name, if possible. Use your domain name with the TM sign on your letterhead, envelope, business card, or wherever possible. When you design your web site, make sure to put the TM sign with your domain name. Print a copy and have it notarized by a local Notary Public. If your site is designed by others, make sure to get a certificate that shows your domain name on it.
5 When you do advertising, make sure your domain name shows up in the ad. If you do online advertising, even with goto.com, print a copy of your link ad that is properly dated. Keep a copy of that ad and all communications between you and your ad service provider as evidence.
6 If you are not planning to use your domain name in the near future, register it as an intent-to-use trademark with your trademark authority. For coveted domain names, i.e., mostly single worded and popular, yet generic names, you may not be able to get them registered as a trademark. For those domain names, use them as soon as possible for any legitimate purpose, such as for business, non-profit, or even a personal or fun activity.
7 When using a domain name, try to use a fee-based web hosting service that would enhance the impression of seriousness of your business. Free web hosting is costly because it will harm your business in various ways.
8 Never merely put simple links on the pages and never link your domain to porn sites. By doing so, you will be doomed if you come across some self-authorized or puritan panelists.
9 If you consider selling your domain, do not sell it until you establish your rights to it. When you receive any offer to purchase your domain name, do not answer unless you know who the person is. The inquirer may be a spy. Again, talk to a lawyer if possible before you do anything.
10 When challenged directly by a company or individual, you should never answer until you consult a legal professional. Any of your good-willed answers may be used as evidence against you later or help your challenger to shape a plan against you. Do not put out a web site for your domain in a hurry as a response to the challenge you receive. Such an action may prompt some panelists to believe you have done some thing wrong.
11 When you receive a complaint from WIPO, you should RESPOND if you want to defend your domain names. Many panelists would treat you lightly and rule in favor of the complainant if you fail to respond. If your domain name is critically important and you are well financed, hire a COMPETENT lawyer! The fee can be anywhere between $1500 and $5000 per response. Or, some lawyers will charge on an hourly basis, usually between $200 and $500 per hour. Do some searching and ask for references when you choose a lawyer. Furthermore, you should consider paying $1500 to have a three-panelist panel. With WIPO, you are likely to lose if only one panelist is assigned to your case. When you request three panelists, you have the right to designate one panelist for the dispute panel. By carefully choosing a registrant-friendly panelist, you will increase your likelihood of winning.
12 If you lose at WIPO, you have 10 days to appeal to your local federal court or the court that has jurisdiction over the registrar. 13 If the challenger goes directly to court to sue you, you should file your response timely. Do not get scared because the plaintiff may do this simply as a tactic to scare you by the fact that a court action is more expensive than dispute arbitration. The most important thing is to establish your rights to your domain name. Keep any and all evidence that is indicative of your using your domain name for a legitimate activity. And finally, be careful to avoid the traps that would endanger your rights to your domain names.
The tips in this article are intended for reference only and should not be construed as legal advice.
About The Author
Dr. Peter Liu is a consultant to Marsgerm.com web hosting service at http://marsgerm.com. He runs http://www.domainmanual.com. Contact him at shopseek2@yahoo.com if you have any comment.
new@domainmanual.com
Good Domain Names Make Your Dreams Memorable – Domain Name
Good Domain Names Make Your Dreams Memorable
Terry Nicholls
"What was the name of that website It was good. It has something to do with..."
Is your web site like many others
Domain names always on the tip of a visitors tongue, but not quite memorable enough
Your choice of domain name needs to be easy to remember, as well as focused enough that your visitor will know right away what your site is about.
A Few Rules
Some rules do apply when deciding on a domain name:
Domain names must be at least two characters long but no more than 63 characters, not counting the TLD.
You can use any combination of letters, numbers, or hyphens, but you cant use a hyphen as the first or last character.
Domain names are not case-sensitive, so my-home-based-business-advisor.com is the same as My-Home-Based-Business-Advisor.com.
Choosing A Domain Name
Choosing good domain names is almost as important as choosing your actual business see our Startup Ideas page.
There are many different schools of thought when it comes to picking good domain names.
Some say to choose a short, concise name.
Some like numbers in the name, some dont.
Hyphens and underscores -- as opposed to words all running together -- are another debated topic. Its mostly a matter of easier reading for your human visitors. Which do you find easier to read
myhomebasedbusinessadvisor
my_home_based_business_advisor
my-home-based-business-advisor
Generally, the hyphens between words make domain names easier to read for most people.
While search engines dont rank domain names, a keyword-rich name will let your visitors know what your web site is about before they get there. This makes them more comfortable because they know what theyre getting in advance.
Also, when you get other sites to link to yours, that link is usually based on your domain name. This means that your main keyphrase which you used as your domain name will be the actual anchor text and search engines do give additional ranking for that.
Domain names play a major role in making your dream memorable to the world.
Take the time to do it right and your dream of a home-based business will be seen all over the world!
For a more detailed explanation of domain names and domain registration, and more great advice for your home-based business, please visit My Home-Based Business Advisor.
Terry Nicholls
My Home-Based Business Advisor
my-home-based-business-advisor.com
Copyright © by Terry Nicholls. All Rights Reserved.
About The Author
Terry Nicholls writes from his own experience as someone who wanted to start his own home-based business. Now that he has, visit My Home-Based Business Advisor - Helping YOUR Home Business Start and Succeed for free help for YOUR home business, including ideas, startup, and expansion advice.