WebSpawner.com Blog

A domain name is a unique web address that can be entered into the Address Bar of a web browser (Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, or other) in order to visit a web site; for example, the domain Google.com connects to the Google search engine site.

Choosing a good domain name can help a web site be successful and bring in additional visitor traffic.

If you have created a web site with WebSpawner you can use your own registered domain name with your WebSpawner site; just contact WebSpawner Customer Service for assistance. If you have an Enhanced account, the configuration of your site to work with your registered domain is available at no additional cost!

Your selection of a domain name must be unique and not registered by another individual or company in order for you to be able to register it. The easiest way to tell if a domain is already registered is to visit a domain registrar such as Misk.com, type in the domain you are interested in, select extensions (discussed below) and click the Check Domains button as shown here:

But exactly how does one choose a GOOD domain name? Following are some tips to help you select a good domain name that will benefit your web site.

Select a domain name that is short and easy to spell and remember. The domain eBay.com is much easier for people to remember (and to type) than a longer one such as ASiteWhereYouCanAuctionAndBuyStuff.com, and the selection of that simple domain name likely helped lead to eBay’s success.

For a business site, a domain name which matches your business name or brand name is an excellent way to go (examples: Apple.com and Amazon.com). If you are just starting your business, you may want to find and register a domain name first, then name your business accordingly to promote branding.

For small businesses who do not have well-known household names, domains containing relevant keywords are highly recommended. Consider a domain that contains keywords related to the type of business you provide and reflects your offerings… for example, GreatHaircuts.com might be a wise choice for a hair stylist who does business under his or her own personal name rather than under a business name. Hyphens may also be used to separate multiple keywords in a domain, as in Reliable-Automotive-Service.com.

While shorter domains are generally better than longer ones, don’t abbreviate excessively or just use business initials as the domain name may end up being harder for people to remember… for example, FireHouseBBQ.com is longer but may be more easily recalled than fhbbq.com.

If your site advertises a business which serves only a local clientele, the inclusion of a town or city name in the domain may be beneficial to pinpoint your location and describe your offerings even if the city name is not part of your actual business name… for example, JacksonHoleBBQ.com.

While one-word domains are short and easy to remember, many of those domains will already be taken. Don’t be discouraged though… be creative and look at two- or three-word phrases that represent your site’s content.

Consider the most appropriate extension (.com, .org. .net, etc.) for your domain. The extensions are also called TLDs (Top Level Domains) and are intended to generally organize the internet into sites of different types. The .com extension represents commercial business sites but is usually highly desirable due to being the most well-known TLD in general. The .org extension is typically used for non-profit or service organizations, while .net is used for networks. Other extensions include .edu (educational institutions), .gov (government agencies), and .mil (military), just to name a few. You may also think about using a country-specific TLD extension - such as .co.uk, .ca, or .eu - if you are offering products or services only to people who live in your home country. For a list of country-specific TLDs, see this wikipedia article.

Consider legal trademarks of other businesses when selecting your domain and select something that will be uniquely yours… you don’t want to invite confusion which may lead to unnecessary legal action.

Finally, remember that you never really own a domain name; you only have control of the domain for the period of registration. If you let your domain expire without renewing in a timely manner it is entirely possible for someone else to register it! Mark your calendar and set yourself a reminder to renew your domain’s registration BEFORE it expires.

Creating a steady stream of incoming visitors can be a challenge for any web site, especially a newly-created one. To give your web site and online business a real chance to succeed, you should take steps to increase exposure of your site and to pull in as many visitors as possible.

Banner Advertising is a very easy and cost-effective way to promote your web site and immediately generate additional visitor traffic. With banner advertising, your logo and message are displayed in a 468 x 60 pixel image on other web sites, and viewers who click your banner are immediately taken directly to your web site (they don’t even need to type in your web site’s URL address). It’s the easiest way to bring new visitors to your site, and banner advertising can help establish your brand name through repeated exposure to viewers.

The WebSpawner.com site and network of more than 4.6 million user sites receive millions of visitors every month; these are people that you can draw in to visit YOUR site with very little effort or cost. As a WebSpawner member you can start an advertising campaign for as little as $5 and have your ad displayed for ONLY HALF A PENNY per viewer! Purchase a larger campaign with more displays and SAVE EVEN MORE, further reducing the cost of each banner ad display.

You won’t find advertising on TV, newspapers, or radio for prices this low. Best of all, you control the total cost by the number of displays you choose; there are no surprise increases in the expense of your campaign.

Starting a banner ad campaign is easy; you just fill out a simple order form, upload your 468 x 60 pixel banner ad image, and select the number of ad displays you would like. WebSpawner takes care of the rest for you, launching your banner displays campaign and providing you with a link where you can log in and view up-to-date reporting on the number of times your banner ad was displayed and clicked. And remember: every viewer who clicks your ad immediately sees your web site!

If you’d like to take advantage of this low-cost promotion opportunity but do not have a banner ad to provide, WebSpawner can take care of that for you, too… just select the option on the order form to have a custom banner ad designed for you for a small flat fee, and answer a few quick questions to give some instructions for our designers. You’ll be contacted with the chance to view your new custom banner design (and request any needed changes) before your displays campaign begins.

In just a couple minutes of your time (and for very little cost) you can start bringing in fresh new traffic to your web site, and every new visitor could mean a new lead or sale for your online business. Log in to your WebSpawner account (or create one today) and click the Promote Your Site tab in the Member Menu, then click the Banner Ad Displays icon as shown in the image below. Start your banner advertising campaign today and start getting more traffic to your web site!

The SuperLinks Directory is a searchable human-edited internet directory of quality content website links and articles, organized by topic for easy navigation.

Unlike search engines, which include millions of links in effort to index every site on the internet, the SuperLinks Directory includes only quality web sites which will be useful to its users. By using real live human editors to review and approve sites for inclusion, SuperLinks Directory strives to provide a quality online resource for web surfers everywhere.

You may have heard about “link farms” and other reciprocal linking schemes used in order to try to gain an advantage of higher positioning in search engine results; however, the major search engines like Google and Yahoo frown upon these and can actually penalize your site’s listing position as a result. In contrast, the human-edited aspect of SuperLinks Directory results in only quality web sites being included, and a link from SuperLinks Directory to your site will be viewed as a quality inbound link by major search engine algorithms… this can result in higher positioning in search engine results and perhaps even a boost in your site’s PageRank score.

Additionally, a link in the SuperLinks Directory can increase traffic to your web site directly as SuperLinks users can find a direct link to your site under a category in which they are interested, without having to wade through page after page of search engine results to find your listing.

Perhaps best of all, submitting your site to the SuperLinks Directory for inclusion is absolutely free; there are no fees required, and no strings attached. SuperLinks Directory is ad-supported, and does not charge for submission of links or articles. Creation of a free account is required before you can submit a link or article, and submissions must comply with the posted Submission Guidelines.

If you manage a web site which presents quality content, or if you are a writer and would like to expand your reader base, you can benefit substantially from inclusion of your articles or link in the SuperLinks Directory. You have nothing to lose, but additional traffic to gain. Visit the SuperLinks Directory at www.SuperLinksDirectory.com today to create your FREE account and submit your article or web site link!

“Crazy Art” here, celebrating Independence Day!

In honor of the 4th of July, I’d like to offer YOU some explosive deals to help your website spark up some additional visitor traffic! For a limited time only I’ll slash an additional 20% off of our already low prices on any Search Engine Submission package. And, to get your banners really “waving” in front of the millions of monthly visitors to the WebSpawner network, I’ll double the number of displays on any Banner Ad Display package. If you don’t have a banner ad, we can even design one for you.

These offers are only available to WebSpawner members, but you must act quickly… login to your WebSpawner account today and look for the offer in the Member Menu as shown below. Don’t delay… both of these Star Spangled Savings offers will end July 15th!