Sticks and stones may break your bones! But names could make

(Permission is freely granted to use this article so long as our 'about the author'/resource box remains at the end of this article and with all links incorporated in the article live.)

This article is designed for those who are just building their first web site, particularly if they are interested in building a web site that could make them an online income. (Note: If you are still looking for a way to build an effective website'then you really should 'click' and read through this source initially: 'How to build a website that can become a real online business!')

If you are like we were a short while back, then you will probably find yourself being tempted by cheap hosting offers, intrigued by the numerous (and largely dubious) Internet 'Get Rich Quick' schemes, and maybe bemused by the concept of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and what it means for your web site building ambitions.

Every year millions more websites are being launched. Currently (May 2005) there are around 65 million active sites up and running (source: NetCraft), which account for many thousands of millions of pages! Many of these sites are published by novice web site builders, like you. Some will be doing it for fun, for a pastime, others will have recognized (as we have) that the Internet can easily become a way of starting a small business that can earn you anything from a bit of 'pocket money' to many thousands of dollars a month'depending on how seriously you take it'

If you have decided to take web site building seriously, then, to be fair SEO is something you cannot avoid. Particularly if you are intent upon building websites that actually get visited! If you are naive enough you could even be persuaded to part with $1000's a month to let someone do it for you! (OK so maybe YOU couldn't be persuaded'why? Because you're reading this'if you were paying SEO companies $1000's a month you probably wouldn't have had the insight to 'surf around' and find this article! :-)

But maybe you have quite recently built your site, and 'published' it through a typical low cost domain registration/hosting company and are finding that you are getting few or no visitors? (Maybe you don't even know how many visitors come to your site?) Then it is likely that getting to grips with some simple 'optimisation' techniques could help your site to be found by more than just the handful of family and friends you have given your URL address to!

Now, you could take advantage of an incredibly economical total package of web site building, hosting and optimising services from a company like Site Sell (the company we use) because along with the domain name of your choice, all the advice and coaching you'll need is included in the low subscription fee (as is a fully supported, easy to use web site building and optimization technology)'BUT'

If you are determined to do it for yourself, no matter how many hours it's going to take and how much frustration it causes then in this article, the first of a series, we'd like to suggest that you start by taking a good look at your domain name (or what you are planning/hoping to register as a domain name) and ask yourself' 'How good is the domain name I have chosen?'

The first thing that the Search Engines (SE's) get to know about your site is your domain name. They use programmed web crawlers, or 'spiders', to check out the domains appearing on the 'Net for their relevance as answers to the millions of queries they are receiving'So, the more relevant they judge your site to be, the more likely it will be prioritised by SE's, which means that your site appears earlier in search results, which naturally means there is more chance surfers will 'find' and look at your web site. This is critical to the growth of your online business.

So, as an example, let's say you are 'promoting' a travel destination, for instance, the Dominican Republic, then -

What if your chosen domain name is:

'www.fredsmith.co.uk' (No! don't bother trying it, you'll only end up with one of those 'pesky' domain sellers) ' it won't tell the spiders, or anyone else, anything - except (perhaps) your name (if you are indeed Fred!)...certainly it won't appear to be relevant to the site topic. And as for those 'robotic' things that judge whether your site should be selected, when searching for results, well it won't give them a clue about your site...

So what about:

'www.holidaysite.co.uk' is this any better?'Yes it mentions holidays'but where? Are they in the UK? An URL that ends in '.co.uk' would seem to imply the site may be about UK based holidays. But if your site isn't 'regional', or at least not 'UK' based...it is still better to go for '.com' (if you can get it!) if only because some itinerant visitors with faulty memories, who didn't bookmark you, will usually try this option first (IF they remember your site name at all!)

Whereas something like:

'ww w.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com' Now that simply delivers the message'it's about the Dominican Republic, and it relates to visiting the place...so 'one tick' for optimising the site you are building from the name forwards'By the way, please DO TRY clicking it'it's our travel site, which already ranks within the top 1/8th of 1 percent of most trafficked web sites on the Internet (source: www.alexa.com) after only 7 months, as of May 2005, up and running!

If you have recently launched a site and your domain name isn't really that good or relevant'then bite-the-bullet now, drop the irrelevant one you have and buy another better name. If you are still thinking of a name, then consider the foregoing tips before you register a domain'and bear in mind -

If you decide to consider the 'fully supported route' which will save you A LOT of time, frustration, and ultimately expense'then'the best option for developing a site most effectively'with all the SEO pressure taken off you'(because the bulk of the work is done for you)'is by building your site using a company that truly offers a comprehensive package of : host ing, support, guidance, and website building and optimisation tools '.It even includes your domain name in the deal'pick it, register it, and move one step closer to having a great effective website'today!

If you are still sceptical about a deal like this or want to review previously published articles and tips, before you jump into the rapidly expanding world of web publishing, then take a look at our 'blog' for more evidence at NET PROFIT! And we hope you too will be on your way to making your own 'Net profit, real soon.

Al Smith and Ruth Ramos, net-profit.blogspot.com< /a> © Copyright 2005, All rights reserved.

About the author: Al Smith and Ruth Ramos publish http://net-profit.blogspot. com. They may also be contacted through the blog or via the travel site, www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com, which may already be the best Dominican Republic tourist information resource on the 'Net.

One Response

1. Armada ac Adapter on August 22, 2011:
   I hope you realize how well you have presented this topic. You must have done tons of research for this article. You stayed on topic, kept it interesting and used good grammar throughout this article.