| Food for thought: |
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On the highway of the Internet a great Domain
Name is an electronic billboard, a very short classified ad, and a brief
business card all in one.
Though they are small, Domain Names continue
to take an ever larger role in today's advertising and are actually advertising's
nanotechnology or 'Ad Nano'.
With many web sites on the same subjects with
similar merchandise or content the advertising merits of domain names
draw attention to specific sites and unique information.
Not only an advertising and marketing
tool for business, Domain Names are more and can be almost whatever you
want them to be for nearly any purpose imaginable. One
Internet Domain Name address allows the creation of an infinite number
of Sub Domains and eMail addresses.
A
personal Domain Name is a ‘doorway to the future’ and shows
you are thinking.
Domain
Names are Internet addresses that never change no matter where the person
or business they belong to may go.
On today’s Internet a Domain
Name connects its site to anyone, anywhere, in the world.
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| Where did Domain Names
come from? |
What exactly is a Domain Name?
A way to identify and connect to a unique Internet address.
A Domain Name is the key part of a uniform resource locator
(URL). Examples would be: www.DomainName.com and www.AdNano.com . A URL
is the address of a set of information on the World Wide Web. This information
can be the Web Presence for, a large corporation, an individual’s
resume, a town or city, a shoe store, a private site for the family, or
anything imaginable.
Starting in the early 1960s the U.S
Government funded research to develop the technology of electronic communications
networks. The early networks connected government, university, and research
facilities. Into the 1970s this network grew and the methods to handle
the transfer of "packets" of data were standardized into Internet
Protocols.
During the 1980s a system to handle
the quickly increasing number of unique addresses on the Internet was
developed. Each address with it’s own unique Internet Protocol (IP)
number could now be indexed and addressed by a system called the Domain
Name System (DNS). Names and phrases are more easily recognized and remembered
than strings of letters and numbers, and the DNS (domain name system)
connects these useful names with their dull, awkward IP (Internet Protocol)
addresses.
At first one organization handled
the registration of Domain Names and a percentage of fees charged was
returned to a fund to support and promote the Internet. In the 1990s,
as the commercial value of the Internet became widely applied and the
number of registered names increased, the Internet became essentially
self supporting. No longer was a large portion of the registration fee
needed to maintain the Internet. Various practical reasons of scale led
to the introduction of competition in the registration process, and today
there are many Registrars of Domain Names all over the globe.
These Registrars provide a service
much akin to the registration of automobile license plates. An identifying
domain name no-one else has is registered in one year increments and can
be kept as long as the registration is renewed. The registrar enters your
new Domain Name into the Domain Name System (DNS) so that someone, anywhere,
can connect to the Internet Protocol (IP) address where your particular
set of information is stored, and the packets of data then exchanged can
be quickly routed to their destinations.
While your data can be stored on your
own computer and accessed directly by users on the Internet, most Domain
Names are set up to point to IP addresses of computers called web servers
which are connected to the Internet in such ways as to handle huge amounts
of data at tremendous speeds. There are Hosting Companies with web servers
which will host small web sites with minimal needs for less than $15.00
per year. Large busy sites with more complex and critical needs pay more,
however competition has continually lowered the price of hosting to a
level where other compelling factors in the marketplace overshadow the
costs of maintaining a web presence. |
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| Why are Domain Names
important? What makes a name superior? |
A Domain Name gets a chance
to make a first impression.
Advertising
and Domain Names have much in common. Domain Names at their best are memorable
and compelling, and at the same time are subliminal ads.
Domain Names are advertising's Nanotechnology, or AdNano.
In ad terms a Domain Name is a ‘hook’,
to appeal to some interest or belief of the viewer to induce them to investigate
further. If possible a Domain Name should convey information about a site's
purpose. Information such as what’s good about a product, and unique
aspects of the site, the company, or the product are ideal starting points
for developing a Domain Name. It is very good if a Domain Name includes
or can directly relate to keywords which describe your site. A Domain
Name that relates important basic information about a site's content,
and that is funny, clever, or in some way easily remembered is a superior
name.
While highly memorable names can be
effective at longer lengths, the ideal Domain Name is as short as possible.
Typing in a long phrase may discourage potential visitors to a site. One
typing error made while entering a Domain Name of any length will prevent
a site from being found. Shorter names are less to remember, and also
take up less space in print ads. Names that are easy to spell, easy to
say and make sense when related to their site are apt to be effective
Domain Names.
While a site's content, appearance,
and ease of use are important factors affecting repeat visits, the most
significant factor is often a memorable Domain Name. In a sea of similar
sites, the recognition of a memorable Domain Name secures a superior number
of repeat visits.
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Who benefits from and
what are the benefits of owning a Domain Name? |
The uses of Domain
Names have become so widespread and their benefit and utility is so multifaceted
and diverse that any person, company, municipality, organization, or group
can find at least one compelling reason to have a Domain Name.
A Domain Name allows
the establishment of a presence on the Internet and a permanent World
Address.
Domain Names are distilled advertising
and in the latest technological terms are, Ad Nano, advertising's nanotechnology.
A well constructed Domain Name conveys much information in as short a
space as possible and also is the address of where to find more about
that information.
Several targeted Domain Names can
be pointed to various parts of a web site, and thus bring many diverse
interests to the appropriate pages of the site.
A Domain Name is portable and universal.
A site's files can be moved from one hosting ‘server’ to a
different host’s server and the Domain Name will still connect with
the data from anywhere in the world.
Domain Names can connect to private
sites. There’s no need to tell anyone other than the family or those
in the group about a Domain Name. To exclude those who 'guess' your name
by chance, a password can be required to enter a site.
Each Domain Name is unique and is
the property of those who have registered it. Names can be very valuable.
Business.com and Altavista.com each sold for millions of dollars.
With your own Domain Name you have
a stage, a gallery, an arena to display your talent. Your portfolio, resume,
or hobby can have a unique descriptive address on the web.
Owning a Domain Name does not require
you to have a web site. You can register your Domain Name any time and
start using it when you are ready.
A Domain Name can just be used to
enable a special eMail address.
Generally, unless the use of a domain
name infringes on the rights of someone else who can show prior use or
interest through copyright or trademark, once you register a Domain Name
it is yours, you own it. |
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| When should you get
a Domain Name? |
The time to get a Domain Name is now.
The longer one waits to register a
Domain Name the more likely someone else will have thought of it and it
will be taken.
What are some ways
to find a good name?
As soon as a catchy
name or phrase to identify your domain pops into your mind you should
write it down. Examine the name closely, being as callous, skeptical,
and ignorant as others may be when they see the name for the first time.
The next step is to check if it is available and what other names exist
which are close to the same or are misspellings of your potential Domain
Name. Checking to see if there could be any conflict with holders of an
existing trademark or copyright is advised. Ask close friends their opinion
of a name before you purchase it. Others will have different perspectives
and may see some problem overlooked due to your enthusiasm. Other than
your own brain, sources of winning Domain Names are the many Domain Name
resellers who list clever, memorable names which they have registered
and offer for the right person to put to good use. When looking for a
name for your site, browse through the lists of names at resellers for
that special name and ideas that have eluded your thoughts.
When marketing strategies and name configuration
ideas appear, remember that the key is memorability.
Versatile Digital
has formulated many Domain Names for use in Internet advertising and is
adept at creating Ad Nano (domain names) for specific purposes. A browse
through the domain names offered on our two domain sites may turn up just
what you are looking for, and if nothing else will offer new perspectives
for your search.
Our DotCrucible.com
site offers names created primarily for business and advertising. With
the 'real time search' feature on the DotCrucible site you may test a
new Domain Name you have thought of for availability, register it at a
bargain price from a most agreeable registrar (registrars have different
terms and conditions), and find out who owns an existing Domain Name.
At DomainPizza.com
names for a myriad uses are offered 'pizza priced' by their size. Both
sites have handy, continually developing resource pages.
We hope we can be of further assistance
in the development and marketing of
your Internet Ad Venture. |
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all rights reserved |