5. Select a domain name
Don’t try to do too many things with your name like for example use all the keywords. I’ve come to the conclusion that so much is at play when it comes to SEO and selling a concept or attracting people to a site that the shortest, easiest to remember and to spell name is the best option.For example I created site like search-engine-optimization-professionals.com and realized that this is so long and so complicated (not the “s” at the end – I actually debated for or against the “s” and selected both domain at one point) that all this was pointless. Additionally Google started penalizing sites with “-“ in their names.
Bottom line, find something easy to spell and remember.Finally, as a personal preference, I do not recommend that people buy their domain name through their hosting company. I personally use Godaddy as much because I started with them and have too many domain to move somewhere else but any specialized domain registration site is what I would recommend. This being said there are no specific rule here so whatever works for you…
Resources:http://www.sedo.com/main.php3?language=us
Bottom line is who cares what you select today? For under $8.00 for a domain per year you can afford to buy a few and test them? Who knows, you may have some variation and I am testing them to see what kind of action I get if any. A couple of years ago someone some-one suggested that I get some wine sites and I got a few but came up with the idea of some name that would personalize these sites. So I got what was available (www.mycaliforniawinery.com or www.buy-california-wine.com – Yes, at the time the “-“ was still working) but was not satisfied since most good stuff was gone. I thought about it and decided to select a bunch of things that were “customized” around the concept of myxxxxcorner.com (for example mycaliforniawinecorner.com, myredwinecorner.com, mychardonnaycorner.com, etc.). I must have spent $80.00 and by the end of the first year abandoned half of them.Keep in mind though that if you want to brand a name, what I describe above will not work. However, there is always the option for sub-domain like wahetver1.domain_name.com, whatver2.domain_name.com, etc. but SEO is peculiar for these so it is another issue to consider.
There are many options for what may be your best option, and I suggest that you think through but at the very minimum secure a few domains that you think may work for you.
6. Create a Website
Some people spend a fortune on this and I think it is not very smart unless there is an absolute need to have very specific look and feel to create an image or ambiance. Most people on the net do not seem to care much about web design if you believe what you see. Amazon, Yahoo, Google are not exactly the most attractive sites on the Net yet they work for the people who use them and that the key… work!Bottom line you want to start with a simple site and take it from there. There are plenty of sources for free templates and I encourage you to take them into consideration.
Where I think your money would be better spent is on a program that allows you to manage your website. There are free ones (open source) like Joomla, Drupal, Magnolia and paid ones that are often specialized solutions like Salesforce but cost a bundle. I personally use neither and rely on Micromedia Dreamweaver and the assistance of my php programmer to do what I need because I like 100% control over my website.As a result my recommendation is to get a copy or Dreamweaver and start learning the basic of building and maintaining a website. It’s not the easiest route but this with the “ready to go” template makes it best approach in my view.
Resources:
http://allwebcodesign.com/http://www.templatetuning.com/
http://www.flash-template-design.com/http://www.dreamlinestudio.com/
http://www.oswd.org/http://www.zerodollartemplates.com/
http://www.webmastersplaza.com/http://www.dreamlinestudio.com/
http://watson.addy.com/http://www.whitegyr.com/flash-templates.htm
http://www.freeflashsites.com/http://www.bizweb2000.com/
http://drupal.org/
Finally you must have noticed that some website show a small icon next to their domain name and if you want to create something like that it’s super easy. Just create some kind of logo (keep in mind that since it is tiny it should be something easy to recognize like a letter) and go to http://www.favicon.cc/ and you’ll see how easy it is to do
Whatever you decide to do, do not waste too much time re-inventing the wheel on this one. What you need is a simple, easy to navigate websites that is attractive and pleasing to the eye and “Paramount” has something to say, hence # 7 below.7. Create Content for your Websites
Well, here is another vast and interesting subject. Many people think that they are great at writing content and they go on and write long tirades about their websites and business and loose the point, let alone the attention of the visitor. Others read some SEO articles about content and learn that you have to include as many keywords as possible. So they go on and load their text with so much stuff that it becomes a weird concoction of words that barely make any sense. Yet, other who may have tried both approached and failed hire a web copy writer to do all of the above.In my opinion the secret of great content for a website starts with something that has been around for centuries and that is applied very commonly in all newspapers, TV promos, etc. It’s the headline… If you have a great headline that grabs the visitor’s attention then you have already done half your job.
How does it work for a website? Simple -- You must capture in a few words that describe what this site is all about. In other words whatever made you decide to start this business in step 1 should now be explained in a short statement. For example if you decided to sell used technical manual online because no-one else does it then state it “The Place for Used Tech Manual”Resources:
http://www.articlecity.com/
http://www.articlehub.com/Marketing/
http://rdf.dmoz.org/http://www.advertisingknowhow.com/members/articles.php
TIP: In case you need content in a hurry and for a temporary period of time, you should know that Wikipedia allows anyone to use their content as long as it is recognized as originating from Wikipedia
Finally while this is not really content related, you should not forget to check on the option to add a search capability to your website. Here are some free and paid solutions.Additional Resources:
http://www.freefind.com/http://www.spiderline.com/
http://www.atomz.com/
8. Select an ISP
There are thousands literally these days and all offer the same things (more or less).There are three main option:
I - Shared Hosting – You along with hundreds of others are hosted on the same machine(s)II - VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting – A space within a machine or machine is dedicated to you and only you and you get basic admin support
III - Dedicated Server – A server is dedicated to you and only you and the admin support is a bit more advancedBottom line is that if you are going to have a few links on what is mainly a content site with very little or no functionality then get a shared plan. If on the other hand you are going to run a data base and need to install some apps to run your business then VPS and dedicated is for you. The big difference between the two is volume and capacity between the servers, and this is when you need to make a decision between VPS or Dedicated.
Resources: ISP that I like and usehttp://www.hostgator.com/
http://www.serverintellect.com/
http://www.hypermart.net/Regardless of where you decide to host your site, I would suggest that you make sure that you can upload your files via FTP and to get an FTP solution and always backup your websites’ files. This will allow you to switch to another ISP provider if you are not happy with the one you first selected*
* Hence you want to register your domain with an independent registration provider independent of your ISP. This will allow you to make a simple change of DNS when you want to switch.Ready to continue? I'll have more about optimization, Press Releases, using social media, etc. in a couple of weeks (around May 25), so come back and check it out.
Next topics will include the following:Read Part 3 of the Plan of Action for Internet Success by clicking here
- Optimize your Website
- Press Release
- How to Use Social Media
- How to Use eZines, Blogs
- Paid and Free Listings
If you need assistance contact me by clicking here
Also check out my on-going posts about Internet Marketing Success 101 at jtouboul.com
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