Three Reasons To Register An XXX Domain - Or Not!

.XXX is on the way and there appears no way to stop it.

So what to do, buy in or ignore it? There are probably more reasons to register an .XXX domain than the three I'm proposing, but these are the only three that make some sort of sense to me: first reason, you're in the porn business; reason two, you're looking to make an investment; three, you are looking to protect your brand.

At first glance reason number one looks like the best reason to register a .XXX; after all, if you're in the porn business and these domains are officially for porn sites only, shouldn't you have one? Oddly one of the business sectors most fervently opposed to .XXX was the porn industry. Porn dealers felt that making an official porn domain would only further stigmatize and ghettoize them. Not only would porn filters find it easier to keep them out, but paying customers would stay away to avoid being stereotyped dirty-old-men (or women) by search bots and cookies; every industry has dot-coms, but only one will use dot-xxx.

Reason number two, buying .XXX as an investment, looks like a loser at the moment. For one thing they're expensive, selling in the hundred dollar range; for another, how popular can they be if their own industry isn't thrilled with them? Most porn sites are still happy with their dot-coms; they have no intention of giving them up or allowing them to be taken away without a fight. Besides, with the recent ICANN announcement allowing unlimited generic domain names, how long do you think it will be before someone with money decides to underwrite .PORN--or even better .SEX. Which do you imagine will bring a better price, .XXX or .SEX? The only thing that could change this equation is the growing opposition to ICANN's new plan; if such powerful groups as the Association of National Advertisers have their, way the idea of an unlimited proliferation of domain names will be strangled in the crib.

Reason number three, protecting your brand, is perhaps the best reason to register a .XXX domain. Existing porn sites as well as trademarked, heavyweight businesses and national organizations of all kinds are already doing exactly that. Bet on the same people owning the dot-com "sex" and the dot-xxx "sex;" while the dot .XXX's for "IBM" or "NCAA" will never see the light of day! The real question for each of us lesser luminaries is, can our brands withstand the existence of a porn site with the same second-level name and a .XXX? That's a question that each individual domain-name registrant must ask themselves. Chances are they can; chances are most registrants' don't own all the possible domain extensions like "net," "org," "info," or "co" for their brands now. Why worry about one more? And for those that think they must, you had better hope ICANN is stopped before the floodgate of new domains opens because you will never stop paying.

Mike Nardine owns CheapMikesDomains where you benefit from cheap domains and affordable, reliable hosting along with friendly, individualized attention and free advice. Give us a try. You will never be just another number at Cheap Mike's!

Reduce the Risk of Getting Burnt When You Buy a Used URL By Doing Your Research Beforehand

Search engine visibility relies heavily on two key ingredients - your Website's Google PageRank and the power and applicability and of your Website's domain name or URL.

To promote a boost in Website traffic, some companies will purchase used URLs that had previously belonged to other companies. These companies are hoping to garner search engine traffic and branding benefits by purchasing these used URLs.

This might seem like a sure-fire, easy strategy for a company to gain more traffic, however there is substantial risk involved when choosing to buy a used URL. Purchasing a used URL is similar to buying a used car or truck - you take on any problems associated with the URL just as you do with a used car or truck. If you buy a used car or truck and a week later it needs a new alternator, it's your responsibility to pay to get it fixed. In comparison, if you purchased a used URL that has marks against it - or even worse it's been blacklisted by Google for violating its policies - those negative marks are now your problem.

The best way to avoid getting burnt by buying a used URL is to do your research in advance. Used URLs don't come with CarFax, but there are several free tools available for you to check out a URL's history and to keep you from purchasing a lemon. Some very basic research you should do include the following:

First check the WHOIS database. Here you can verify the registration history of the URL to see its original creation date. URLs that are several years old generally gain favor with Google.
Once you've checked the WHOIS database, you'll next want to verify if any of the URLs pages have been cached by Google. Verifying cache is a very simple procedure. Simply type in "cache:yourwebsite.com" into the Google search and hit return. If the search query returns no results, that could be a red flag that Google has blacklisted the URL you're looking to buy.
Lastly, you'll want to see what type of websites have backlinks to the URL. Make sure that any backlinks are related to the URLs content and purpose and aren't spammy or of adult content. To check backlinks to the URL, go back to Google and type in "link:yourwebsite.com" and run a search query. If the search returns less than ideal results and the URL has backlinks that look spammy or unrelated, you should probably avoid that used URL.

When it comes to used URLs, there isn't a guaranteed way to know if you're purchasing a dud, but you can decrease the likelihood getting burnt by doing your research before you buy.

Chris J Everett is the Owner of the Webvolution Designs Atlanta Web Design & SEO Company. An SEO/PPC enthusiast, he leads the development of custom web development and internet marketing projects for small and medium sized businesses. For more information, he can be contacted via his company website at http://www.webvolutiondesigns.com/

List of Domain Names Available for Bidding: Are There Good Domain Names?

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Want To Become A Domain Trader? Think Again

Back in 1996/7 when I started building websites and buying domain names, the Internet was only just starting to take off. Then, you had loads of high quality domain name available and.com was the only sensible ending to a domain name.

At that time, I admit, I did not realize the opportunity in owning and reselling domains. I bought some good domains and played around with them for my own web designs but never had any real intentions on monetizing those sites or reselling the domains. When it came to renewing those domains I had lost interest in them and did not renew them. All of those domains are today used by big corporations for their websites. The following years saw the rise if the domain trading industry and domains selling for as much as several million dollars in some cases.

The current state of domain trading
Today, the domain trading industry has changed and slowed down. The reasons are many:

• Lack of good.com domains.
• More variety in domain name endings, for example.biz,.co,.me,.info & more.
• The arrival (and dominance) of Google search and social media.

In my opinion the main factor above is the arrival of Google that has revolutionized how people use search engines and find the content they are looking for. In the past users used to simply type in the name of the brand or the product they were looking for and add.com to the ending. That would give them the main site related to that product, brand or topic.

Today we barely look at web addresses. We simply ask Google and check out some of the page 1 results that Google provides us with. If we like it we either memorize the address or bookmark it in our browsers or via social bookmarking services such as Delicious. Because of this the domain name or the domain name ending does not play as much role as it used to for online marketers and thus lowering the importance of having that perfect domain name for your business.

What will the future bring for domain traders?
Things are not looking very good for domain traders these days. Increased role of social media is bringing in even more ways for people to discover things online and the major search engines are always working on ways to improve their algorithms to serve up just the right results for each search query.

If you are thinking about a career change then you might want to put the professional domain trader idea on ice for a while (at least). Sure, every now and then we will hear about domains (new and old) being sold for ridiculous amounts of money but those will be few and far between. This evolution is a good thing for sure as it puts the focus on quality content rather than just a domain name with the right words. This just underlines the fact that online - content is king.

EmergingMediaBlog.com helps you gain competitive advantage in your online marketing by educating you on best practices in internet marketing & social media for small businesses.

What Are Parked Domain Names?

Internet sites have their own domain names which are basically their address in the World Wide Web highway. There may be several ways why people will register their domains in the internet, most of them for business purposes. However, there are times when people who want to reserve a domain are not interested in using their web address right away. The only way for them to reserve their domain without having to give it up or having to pay for monthly fees is to park their domain name. This arrangement is simply called domain parking.

There are a few services online which helps or allows a person to reserve or park a domain name for later use. This reservation can be used any time the domain owner is ready to use it. The thing with domain parking is that a lot of savings can be done by not having to pay monthly fees. The best thing is that the domain is still reserved for future uses. In simpler terms, this is can be compared to reserving a house and lot for future purchase. The reserved house and lot will not be sold to other people for a period of time.

Another way of possibly saving from this kind of arrangement is that there are now web hosting sites which make use of parked domains for advertisement publishing. This way, an underdeveloped site being still practically parked will have ads on its page, and this already allows the underdeveloped site to earn money. The domain resellers and other website hosting services make use of these parked domains by posting ads that earn while the sites are still not being used. There are even business plans regarding this issue that allows the owner to earn while having his or her domain name just being parked.

There is a popular term being used to describe the money making scheme that is used to take advantage of domain parking and that is monetization of parked domain names. There are now several web hosting companies which offer income for domain name owners who have their domain names parked under their hosting system. They take care of posting the ads which collect revenue as times passes, and they provide the domain name owners a percentage of the revenue being earned by the parked domains.

Nowadays having a website is really no longer the only way for a person to earn money. Even in little amounts, an investment such as domain reservation can grow just as long as one will take advantage of all the choices being laid out to him by legitimate hosting sites or hosting companies regarding domain reservation. One can even consider this kind of investment as a one-time investment since the only payment needed will be for the reservation of the domain name. The income generated is definitely more than the amount of money generated in the bank when one deposits his or her money in the bank.

I am a father of two gorgeous kids and lover of WordPress. My first intention was writing reviews on top webhosting and domain name providers but with time I've got more involved with WordPress and Web Design and I love it. You can visit my site DomainsFlow.com.

Crash Course on How To Find a Domain Name

When it comes to your online presence, few things are more important than your domain name. However, many businesspeople still do not realize how to find a domain name that fits their demographic and exactly why the name they choose matters. One good way to think of your domain name is to liken it to the outside of your building in the real world, if the outside of your building does not look trustworthy people may not go in, the same can be said for your domain name. There is a reason that certain names are sold for thousands upon thousands of dollars, because simply put, your domain name is of vital importance to your internet marketing.

Nevertheless, many people wonder why it matters to get their domain name now, after all they see no immediate need for a website. However, realize this, names are like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike. There is not going to be another name exactly like yours. It is unique, and once it is taken, it can be virtually impossible to get it back.

There are a few important things to remember if you are unsure how to find a domain name.

Try to get the.com one first

When it comes to extensions for a domain name, .com is without a doubt the most accepted one. If you are interested in having a domain name to launch your business a com account is going to add instant credibility to your business. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule that have shown that other extensions can be successful, but in reality, com is the way to go.

Shut down spelling errors

When you are looking for a name that fits you, try to find one that has only one possible way to spell it. There are quite a few people who forget an 'L' here and add an extra vowel somewhere else, make it easier for your visitors to find you by cutting down on possibly confusing spell.

Short and sweet

Are you more likely to remember 'Eerie' or 'Kleinfeltersville?' Both are located in Pennsylvania but you are much more likely to remember the shorter name. The shorter the name of your domain name is, the easier it is to type and to remember. Besides, if you have a short name it is much easier for your visitors to tell other people about your domain name as well.

Try to keep slang out of it

Even though the younger generations are going to understand what you mean if you texted 'wat u doin 2ite?' you still want to stay away from slang as much as possible. This can lead to a name being both hard to remember and confusing.

Hopefully you now understand how to find a domain name, as the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Domain Name System(DNS) Management Tips

The internet is full of resources that are stored across servers in various locations and accessible through Domain Names. These Domains are mapped to the location of data storage through the means of IP Addresses and this mapping is accomplished using a system of creating Resource Records called Domain Name System (DNS). The DNS for a Domain defines the location of the resource, relevant to the particular Domain, and is retrieved as the DNS resolution of the Domain happens. The DNS resolution starts when a user requests for a Domain at the browser and ends with either the web page on screen or a relevant error message.

Most Domain Registration providers offer DNS Management as a part of the Domain Management control panel, however, this used to be a chargeable service until not too long ago. Slowly the providers have realized that DNS Management service, is an integral part of the Domain and thus has to be provided without a cost. Now, while it may look that DNS Management is necessarily a part of your Domain Registration, it is not necessarily that way. In fact, it is always suggested that the DNS Management should be configured with your hosting provider. This is since all of your resources, for the Domain Name, is with the Hosting provider and therefore it is advisable that the DNS Management be done at the Hosting servers.

While there are quite a few DNS Management Records that can be added for a Domain Name, the most common are listed as below:

Address (A) Record:

This is the most basic of records and points a Domain to an IP Address. This record is used if the DNS Management provider and the Hosting provider for a Domain Name are 2 different companies.

Canonical Name (CNAME) Record:

These are records that are used as Domain aliases for multiple Domains. Like abc.in can be CNAME to abc.com, which will display the content of "http://www.abc.com" when a user requests for "http://www.abc.in".

Mail Exchanger (MX) Records:

The MX record is useful for designating the servers that handle emails for a said Domain Name. So if a user is sending an email to "abc@123.com", then the MX record will define the IP Address for the servers that is handling emails for 123.com, and the email process will proceed.

Besides the above, there are following DNS resource records can be added for a Domain Name:

1. NameServer Records

2. Text (TXT) Records

3. Service (SRV) records

4. Start Of Authority (SOA) Records

While DNS Management can be seen as a bunch of a few records that associate Domain Names to IP Addresses, it is the back bone of the internet and is the core requirement for the smooth functioning of all internet services.

Author is a SEO expert at a Web Design in Mumbai Company