A good domain name is, and will always be, essential for any
online business. If you ask me, the internet is still only just
evolving from infancy. It's a long way to maturity.
Still the world has come a long way since Ken Olson, president &
founder of Digital Equipment Corp. etched his name in history,
when he proclaimed less than 30 years ago, "There's no reason
why anyone would want a computer in their home."
How technology has changed our lives within a span of a single
generation. Sooner rather than later, more and more businesses
will want to go online and cater to a global market instead of
being content with the local neighborhood. And one of the first
steps after deciding what business you want to do, is getting a
good domain name for your business.
A domain name can make or break an online venture. A domain name
is a company's identity online. It is your brand, your
personality, your trademark. So, choosing the right domain isn't
easy.
BuyDomains.com argues that:
"Today .COM and .NET names have established recognition and can
identify your company on the Internet forever. For this reason,
they have considerable resale value and serve as excellent
investments.
Over time, most, if not all companies will conduct a
considerable portion of their business over the Internet. A
domain name that is easy for your customers and prospective
customers to remember is the key factor in generating new
business and conducting business on the Internet.
Having relevant "keywords" to support your domain name is also
an important consideration and will enable customers to find
your online business effortlessly through Web based search
engines.
Another excellent marketing tactic you should consider is to
have multiple URL addresses (including your domain name) point
to the very same Web site. This is very simple .....This will
allow you to keep your legacy domain name, while multiple new
e-business names conduct commerce and are listed in the search
engines, significantly increasing your Web site's overall
traffic."
A web site is a worldwide advertisement that runs 24/7. For the
price of one print ad, or one-tenth of a 30 second commercial,
you can have a solid web site designed and running every single
minute of every single day. Show a company how a few thousand
dollars invested in a domain name & a web site now can translate
into 100 years of sales and effective promotion, and they will
all be scrambling to get in line.
Most companies, even small ones, will tell you that having a web
site is no longer an option. It offers the business owners the
opportunity of having potential customers view their products or
services day or night, without needing to an outlay of huge sums
of money.
But then, many small and medium sized businesses that are
already online have poor or difficult sounding domain names.
Names that they would readily change in an instant if they had
the right domain name. So there will always be people and
companies who will be looking at the domain resale market for a
better name for their business. This is key.
When Anysoft, a Massachusetts company, acquired any.com for
$30,000, their vice-president, Emily Shain, said it was worth
the money because the domain name was such a vital marketing
tool that would help customers find them easily.
If you are at the right place at the right time with the right
name, you could find yourself pocketing some nice cash.
Even governments are getting in on the act. The New Zealand
government shelled out NZ$ 1 million for newzealand.com. As a
result, there was understandable criticism in the NZ parliament
over the purchase as being a waste of tax payers money.
What was the government's response? Mark Burton, the NZ Tourism
Minister had this to say, "There is no question that this domain
will provide an invaluable portal for... commercial entry into
New Zealand for those interested in tourism, commerce, and
industry.
The South African Government offered US$10 million for
southafrica.com. It has also been reported that korea.com was
sold for US$5 million to True Net, Korea's largest Internet
service provider."
Author, Tariq Ghafoor writes, "I feel that there's still reason
for optimism in the domain aftermarket but in order to profit
there's a crucial need to alter one's perception and strategy
just like our brethren have been forced to do in other web-based
businesses."
It's true. The heady days of the domain gold rush has seen its
final sunset. We are seeing shifting trends in the arena. To
cope with the changes, a domain speculator needs to see himself
as a domain entrepreneur and begin to organize his domain names
and increase their value and prepare them for prospective
buyers.
About the author:
Edwin John is an author and webdeveloper
His ebook "How I Sell My Domain Names" ranks #1 on Yahoo and
Clickbank.
http://www.OpenForSale.com;>http://www.OpenForSale.com
Find out if your domain name is wanted:
http://www.DNames.org;>http://www.DNames.org
