What Is A Domain Anyway?

Let's start right at the beginning, with a definition of what a domain is. A domain represents a part of the Internet. It is your own grub stake, a portion of virtual real estate where you can say what you want to say, present what you want to present about your business. It's www.yourbusinessname.com

Why Do You Want A Domain?

You've got to think of an Internet domain as a property. It's a property that can become anything you want it to be: a store front, a mall with a series of stores, the ultimate repository of information on any given set of products or services, the headquarters of a cause. A domain is your own personal empire, waiting for your energy, imagination, and determination to shape it into being whatever you want. What it will be, how big it will get, how profitable it will be depends on you. A domain is your ticket to dreaming and achieving big things.

Where Should Your Domain Be?

Start from the assumption that there are lots of sharks on the Internet. More people want to be on the Internet with their own domain than understand how to achieve that objective. Knowing this, some people with advanced technical skills but without moral grounding take full advantage of this fact to fleece the newbies. When you get your first domain, consider yourself a tenderfoot and act accordingly; unless you've had experience, tread carefully.

Keep in mind that when you register a name, that's what you've got -- a name. Nothing more. Many newbies think that by registering a name, they get a domain. Not so. Domains are provided by Internet Service Providers who are actually renting you a portion of space on their server. These portions are represented by numbers assigned by the ISP. Thus, http://www.Collina.net is actually http://209.95.108.211

Clients are charged a fee not for name registration but for hosting. If you're not careful you can get badly taken advantage of by unscrupulous companies which may even charge you nothing for name registration... but thousands of dollars, or more, for hosting services, domain design charges, monthly maintenance fees, hit limits, etc. Quickly you'll find any hope of profit evaporating.

This is why you've got to go with a reputable company, to ensure that you're not confused and taken in by things like these.

You're told you need 150 megabytes of space with your domain. One way ISPs take advantage of the unsuspecting is by offering them more space than they need. With 150 megabytes of space, you could post the equivalent of over 10,000 pages of information. This is more space than 99% of domains will ever need. In fact, 99% of domains will never even use 10 megabytes of space. Disreputable companies make you feel you're "getting it all" by selling you 150 megabytes of space; what they're really doing is selling you space you will never need. They can then turn right around and sell this space again and again to others, who won't need it either!

The name of the game for Internet success is traffic. Yet some companies basically say, "If you get any hits over a certain number, we're going to assess you an additional fee based on usage." This is highway robbery! You should never have to pay a fee based on hits.

You're told that registration with major search engines will solve your traffic problems, especially if your domain is linked to one of their main pages. There's an enormous amount of misinformation floating around about search engines. Sure you want to be in them. Equally, you can't base your success on being in them. Think for a minute! You want to be in search engines. So do the millions of other people who have Internet web sites and domains. People are registering their sites every minute of every day.

To summarize:

You need a lot less space than you think.

Traffic limits are always a no no.

Search engines are good, so get your position up there.

Links only work if the domain you're linked from has substantial traffic.

Be clear what fees you're paying for everything and anything before you sign on the dotted line. Unfortunately, once you've signed things can -- and often do -- get sticky. If you're unhappy with your ISP and want to change, they often make that as hard as possible, up to and including making it difficult for you to transfer your domain name to a new ISP. Beware! We do not do this.

Thinking Through What You Want Your Domain To Do For You, Setting It Up Accordingly.

From my standpoint there is one reason and one reason only to have a domain: to make money. A domain is not a toy or a status symbol. It's a tool, a tool designed to make your business more money at less cost.

When you're clear on the objective, it's easier to evaluate whether a thing should go in your domain or not... and easier to evaluate the outcome to see if you've achieved the objective.

In this connection, consider this question: do you have the time and inclination to manage your domain yourself? If so, the first thing you need to get is a copy of Microsoft FrontPage 2000. FrontPage enables you to most easily manage your domain by allowing easy presentation of material. It includes such features as counters (so you know how many people have visited), forms, discussion groups, protected web sites, and much more. For details visit http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage

If you're not going to manage your own domain, you need to be clear on what the party contracted will do, how long it generally takes, and what the charge is. My recommendation, however, is this: get FrontPage and learn to do things yourself. In the long run, it's faster, easier and more economical. And you won't be held hostage to some techie with attitude.

Your domain must be composed of.

Elements to capture the prospect/visitor's e-mail address . client-centered information, information which talks about what the prospect wants to achieve and shows him how your products and services will help him achieve just that. Interactive devices designed to get the prospect involved with your site and spend more time at it.

You want people to be clear that they get VALUE when they visit you, that you have thought through what they want and have worked hard to give it to them.

Last Words

As more and more people become comfortable with the Internet, more and more of these people are going to want their own domains. No wonder. A domain gives you a piece of virtual real estate which you can transform into the income-producing property of your dreams; a property which can be continually expanded, continually improved. People who are starting their domains now are like the western pioneers who took raw acreage and, by dint of their own brains, determination, commitment and unconquerable spirit, turned it into productive farms, orchards, ranches, and plantations, doing what was necessary to ensure every greater productivity and prosperity.

People just like you are doing this right now on the Internet with their own domains. It is a very exciting period, a period when the basis of millions of new Internet-related fortunes are being established right before our very eyes. The only question is whether you'll do what's necessary to build your domain and your fortune. Or whether you'll merely watch others seize the initiative and do it.

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