Now there’s a term you may not be familiar with. First there was hijacking of planes, then we coined the term car-jacking; and now it has moved to cyberspace. You might wonder why in the world someone would want to steal your domain name. Well, when you consider how valuable some of those names can be, the crime becomes understandable. Domain names like business.com, porn.com, movies.com, and so on are worth millions (they’ve actually sold for that much over the last decade)!
So, with that in mind, how does domain name hijacking occur, and what can you do to prevent or correct it? Now, first and foremost, domain hijacking is different from merely re-registering a domain name where the registration has expired and someone takes it over. That is perfectly legal. In the case of hijacking, a thief tricks the domain registrar into changing the registration information for the domain name to their name. Normally, this is but the final stage in a case of identity theft. So, if you find that a domain name of yours has been stolen, don’t just work to get it corrected; you also need to contact your bank, credit cards, and so on. Any unusual activity with any of your accounts needs to be investigated and halted.
In a typical case of hijacking, an individual will file some sort of false documents with the domain registrar to convince them that they are now the legitimate owner. Once this theft is discovered, the reaction from some domain registrars can be difficult to deal with. A lot are more than willing to quickly correct the matter, but some are absolutely adamant about not admitting to any fault on their part. These days, with people worried about lawsuits, some companies are loathed to admit that they accepted forged credentials. So, you may have to threaten, or even carry out, legal action in order for the domain registrar to correct the matter.
In some cases, people will not bother to take action against a hijacker. If the domain registrar is highly resistive to helping, a lengthy and complex lawsuit may have to be carried out. In that case, you may look at the situation and realize that the time and money you have to devote to getting your domain name back is too costly to justify. And, when you consider that the internet allows people around the world to hijack a website, your theft could be half a world away; this makes a lawsuit extremely difficult. Meanwhile, the whole time that you’re fighting to get your domain name back, the thief can do anything that they want with it. They can re-name the website, re-direct traffic to their website, and make money off of it.
So, when selecting a domain registrar, talk to them about the security measures they have in place. Ideally, you want them to at least use an authorization code. This may mean paying a bit more for your website, but – in the long run – it can prove beneficial. If your website is part of your livelihood, to lose it means to lose your income. So, you must protect it as you would your home and business – with security.
Despite what many people think, it is not always easy to choose the correct domain name. There are a variety of factors that will influence the name or names you select. Here we’ll go over some of the information you need to know when registering your domain name. The perfect domain name for your business will be easy to remember, professional and convey what it is that you do. This way it will be easy for customers to find you online, even if they forgot the term they searched for to find you or they accidentally erased the bookmark. Remember that just because a name is available doesn’t mean it’s the one you should choose.
One of the first things that will influence the domain name you choose is the name of your business. If you operate a brick and mortar business, you’ll want to select a domain name that is as close to your business name as possible. If you are operating an online business, you have many more options available. Since you can register the name before creating the site, you can take the time to select the best name.
What if there are several different ways to spell the name of your business? Well then you’ll want to register all of them. The reason is that different people will spell the name differently and since you want to attract as many customers as possible, it’s worth the 10 dollars or less to register as many as possible. Once you do, you can set up the site on one and re-direct all the others to it. Along the same lines is the case of acronyms or abbreviations. Say that your name is TLC Inc. and that is the name that your customers know. In that instance it would be acceptable to register TLC.com if it was available, but what if it isn’t? Then you would be better off registering threelettercompany.com than tlc-inc.com. But in general you will want to avoid acronyms or abbreviations.
You will want to avoid certain things when registering your domain name. You will want to avoid choosing a name with hyphens or dashes. The reason is that most people won’t remember them when typing out your domain name. For example yourname.com is a lot easier to remember than your-name.com or your_name.com and really you want a name that is not only easy to remember the first time, but is easy to remember the second time and beyond.
You will also want to avoid anything but a .com name. That is the default for most people. The .net or .biz names are fine if you are able to purchase the .com, then you can redirect them to your .com. The .com name also looks more professional.
Be sure that the name you choose isn’t trademarked in anyway. New laws have recently been enacted that prevent something called “cyber squatting” or using a name that doesn’t belong to you. You can get into some serious legal trouble by using a trademarked name.
Your domain acts as your identity on the Internet. It is a kind of personal signature that tells a lot about you. Hence, it is equally important to have an appropriate domain name as it is to have a website. Here are some tips and tricks to choose a domain name that will help you in the long run and will also prove to be attractive for the Internet surfers.
It is a good practice to keep the name of your domain and your website one and the same. This helps people remember your domain name by your website name. Believe it or not, this will be a big advantage to you because it is a commonly accepted fact that people like to remember the fewest of things and with the least of efforts. Another advantage is that visitors to your website will find it easy to navigate if they can recall the domain name in short order.
The second important point to be kept in mind while choosing a domain is that if your domain serves business purposes for you, then you must choose your brand name as the domain name. The chief reason for this is the fact that people recognize popular brands or items much faster than anything else and if your domain name is same as that of your brand name, then you know how much business potential it has. Now consider this situation in which your competitor has a domain name or a product name similar to yours. In this scenario, you know the loss of business it can cause if an unwary customer lands in your competitor’s website all due to a poorly chosen domain name.
As a general rule, shorter domain names are considered better for the simple reason that shorter ones are obviously easier to remember than others and a person intending to visit your website does not have to spend a ‘lifetime’ typing out the domain name in the explorer. The chances of committing spelling errors are reduced substantially while using a shorter domain name. This saves a lot of frustration. But then the advantage of a long domain name is that search engines are more likely to find longer ones than shorter names.
It is best to avoid hyphens in your domain name as in all probability; users will leave it out unknowingly while typing it out. Also, no user would want to bear the pain of typing extra characters at any point of time. But the use of hyphens may enable you to stick to the domain name of your choice, in case other similar names have already been used up.
It will be good to use unconventional words like “the”, “my”, “your”, etc. in your domain name as these will give your domain name a distinct identity.
It is also important to choose the name of the top level domain in such a way that reflects the true nature of your website. If your website is set up with the primary intention of commercial activities, then you must go with “. Com”. Same rule applies to domains of other nature as well.
After a name has been chosen, advertise it in every possible manner so that your site enjoys popularity and traffic.
It’s always best to try and find a “virgin” domain name. This way you don’t need to worry about what was there before you bought it. But what if the perfect domain for you is already registered to someone else? Well in that case you have two choices; pick a different name or buy the name from whoever owns it. While this may not always be possible, as in the case of a site such as cars.com or news.com, many times you can buy an existing domain name as long as you do your homework and you have some good negotiating skills. Here’s what you need to know.
When finding a domain name, always go for the .com. They are worth more in the long run. This also means that if you are buying an existing name, you’ll end up paying more for it because it is more valuable.
If you are buying an existing domain name, chances are you’ll be dealing with a domain name broker. These are people who specialize in reselling domain names; much like a realtor sells homes. In fact a domain name is nothing more than online real estate. Just like when buying a home it is important to know how far you are willing to go. While the perfect domain may cost you a million dollars, if you can’t afford to pay for it, then it is best to just walk away and choose a different name.
Once you find a name that you like that is within your budget, it’s time to do some research on the name. One of the first things you should do is do a search for the name with Archive.com. This will give you a screenshot of the site over the years, so that you can see what it was used for. The next place you should check is a site called dogpile.com. Dogpile searches Google, Yahoo, Live and Ask for any references to your website. This will also give you an idea about what the site was previously used for. Next check with Google AdSense to see if the domain has been banned. This would negatively impact your ability to make money from the site with Google AdSense. Yahoo Site Explorer is another site that can help you find information on your prospective site.
Next it’s time to put on your negotiating hat. One of the most important things to remember is to be realistic. You are not going to get a million dollar domain for a thousand dollars. But with careful negotiations you may get it for somewhat less than a million plus some fees.
It’s important to make sure that you are dealing with a reputable broker, since you obviously wouldn’t want to get robbed by someone who claims they have a domain that they don’t have, only to have you hand over a bunch of money. You should also never ask for feedback on a public forum about your prospective purchase either. It may tip someone off that you are looking to buy it and you may lose it.
By following these tips, you may find that you can obtain the domain name that you want at a bargain price.
Most of us, at one time or another, have landed on a webpage in which we have seen advertisements for free domain names. If you are shopping around for a domain registration service, you may have even wondered how a company can offer free domain names without some kind of catch being involved. The truth of the matter is that, while these companies offer a free domain name, which they will give you, they bundle the offer with other kinds of services for which you will have to pay for. Let’s take a closer look at why a company cannot give a domain name in the true sense of for “free”.
First and foremost, domain names and their registrations are regulated by ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Whenever a domain registration company issues a domain name to a customer the company has to pay ICANN a $0.20 fee and a maximum of $6.86 to VeriSign for that domain name. As should be obvious a company giving away “free” domain names would lose money unless they were able to make up for that loss in other ways. The way they do that is to bundle the free domain name offer with other services.
Other Services
Many domain name registrars will bundle a free domain name offer with their hosting service. A web host allocates space for subscribers to exhibit their websites on the server of the hosting company. Hosting services can vary from company to company, but are generally anywhere from $7 to $10 US dollars per month. What some companies will do is offer a free domain name with the purchase of a year hosting subscription. Those companies that offer a free domain name bundled with hosting services still make a profit after paying ICANN and VeriSign their fees.
Many domain name registration companies offer free extras when you sign-up for both a domain name and their hosting services. Some of those extras are web design tools, marketing web tools, and administration web tools, to mention a few. These little extras can be quite handy when fine tuning your website, marketing it, and maintaining it.
Whenever purchasing a domain name registration bundle you want to make sure you get the most value for your investment. This requires that you know what services you need as there are numerous service options. As you shop around for a domain registration company read the details about what each of their packages provide and compare those plans with the services of their competitors. Most domain name registration companies will be more than glad to help you and your business determine which of their bundle packages will best suit your business needs.
When you are interested in signing up for a free domain name know that the domain name itself may be free, but it is usually only when you sign up for a bundle package service. It’s the extras you are paying for so be sure you know what you are buying before signing up for a plan.