A good hosting provider recognizes that our success depends on your success so, as part of their core corporate culture, they provide all the tools you need to build, launch and manage a successful web-based business – including the information you need to do it RIGHT!

So welcome to the second in a series of “how-to” articles on topics related to web success. Well keep it simple, eliminate the techno-babble and provide, not only the tools, but the know-how to achieve web success.

Your success is our success.

#1 Choosing A Domain Name

Your domain name is your on-line address. Your full address will be http//www.your domainnamehere.com or.org or.edu or some other extension.

You choose your domain name. In many cases, it’ll be the first business decision you’ll make so weigh the choice of domain name carefully. A good domain works for you. A bad one can doom your on-line venture the day you register it.

Some dos and don’ts about selection.

1. First, it costs a few bucks to register a domain name.

Your domain and information about ownership of that domain will be dutifully registered. Your ownership information will appear in a directory called Whois, an index of domain names that is public information. Anybody can find out who or what business entity owns a given domain.

Consider this when you enter personal information while filling out your registration. You may want to use a PO box instead of your street address or register the name in your company name rather than your personal name.

In any case, it costs a few bucks to register a domain name and the name has to be re-re-registered annually.

Some web hosts register your name free for the first year and send reminders that your domain is up for re-registration so pay the fee. Either way, (1) the few bucks it costs to register a domain makes the web available to any one with a couple of dollars and (2) don’t forget to re-register your domain name each year. It’s possible (easy) for domain hounds to snag a domain that has expired and take over your client base simply because you forgot to re-register. So, re-register.

2. All the good domain names have been taken.

If you mean names like lawyers.com, cars.com and firstaidsupplies.com, yes, someone owns the rights to those domains – domains that was probably registered 15 years ago before most businesses even knew what a domain was.

A lot of site owners have turned to made up words for domains. Examples? ning.com, zoho.com and yuuguu.com. They’re catchy, though, and that makes them easy to remember.

If you’re opening an on-line business (that’s why you’re reading this) use your imagination. Your name should be keyword dense, even if it’s long. Your name should tell people and search engine bots something about your websites so if “amazing chocolate delights.com” is taken try “really amazing chocolate delights.com” or “incrediblechocolatedelights.com.” Keep trying until you find a domain name that says something about your business.

If you’re service provider – a local insurance agency or certified financial planner, choosing a name is simpler. Use your name and title: “DrJamesMillerMD.com,” “PeterHughsCFA.com” and so on. This is how people in your service will know you – Dr. James Miller or Peter Hughs. These are good, solid domain names – especially for businesses and individuals seeking local business using localized search.

3. Skip the punctuation.

You’re determined to have “amazingchocoloatedelights.com” as your domain name but it’s taken. So, clever you, try “amazing-chocolate-delights.com” with hyphens in between each word in the domain name. Don’t do it.

Search engine users often forget these punctuation symbols and you end up sending visitors to amazingchocolcatedelights.com (without the hyphens) and losing a sale. Instead, come up with a domain name that’s easy to remember and doesn’t use any punctuation.

4. Choose the right extension.

You can be a.com, where com stands for company or commercial (depending on who you listen to). You can be a.org – usually indicating a not-for-profit or an advocacy group, though more and more professional service providers are using the.org extension.

If you teach something, or sell materials to institutes of higher learning, go with a .edu extension – indicating an education or educational site. This is especially important for sites that provide continuing education units (CEUs) for professionals that require on-going education and training.

For example, private detectives in some states must accumulate a certain number of CEUs each year to keep their licenses active. So, a web site that offers on-line courses (CEUs) for private detectives would be better off with an edu extension to clarify exactly what the site is about – education, as in “privatedetectiveeducation.edu.” Now that’s a domain name that’s keyword rich.

5. Consider registering similar domain names.

If you come up with a really good domain name, some people may try to piggyback on your cool domain name by registering similar domain names. You can protect yourself from this type of activity by registering similar sounding domain names and simply parking them on your server. No charge.

6. Don’t be cute.

Amazon.com is a well recognized name. Interesting that the name says nothing about what Amazon is or does but it sure is easy to remember.

Check it out. Domain goofs register misspelled variations of Amazon to collect visitors who weren’t… ummm… paying attention. So they register Amozon, Amozan and variations hoping to get search engine users who enter misspelled domain names.

You’re wasting your time and your money. Visitors will bounce once they realize they aren’t on Amazon and you don’t build a whole lot of trust and good will by taking advantage of the mistakes of search engine users.

7. Take your time.

Your domain name is that important.

If you need some help, call your web host for some advice. Any good web host, like Green Host It will help you through the registration process. In fact, we might even recommend the name you ultimately choose.

Think before you choose because once you choose your name, you’ll live with it for a long time. You’ll build your business around it. It’ll appear on business cards, invoices, TV ads – anything and everything to do with that business.

So don’t rush because you THINK you have a good idea. Bounce your choice off of friends and family. Do they “get it?” Do they understand why you chose it? If so, it’s probably a good choice for a domain name. If they don’t, keep working on it.

Before you do anything – before you develop a business model, a revenue model, a purpose of the site, before you establish your company’s core values and develop a tag line for the company, think long and hard about the best name for your new W3 enterprise.

Choosing the right name can mean the difference between world wide web success and another web failure.

Ms. Rosendahl has over 19 years experience in systems analysis, hosted applications, and management as well as 13 years experience in web hosting and Internet marketing. Ms. Rosendahl has a Bachelors from Houston Baptist University with a double major in Computer Information Systems and Business Management. Stephanie is the founder and CEO of Austin, Texas firm – GreenHostIt.com green web hosting.

Article Source:  Web Success Series Number 2 – Choosing Your Domain Name

The top web hosts recognize that their success depends on your success so, as part of their core corporate culture, a good host provides all the tools you need to build, launch and manage a successful web-based business – including the information you need to do it RIGHT!

So welcome to the first in a series of “how-to” articles on topics related to web success. We’ll keep it simple, eliminate the techno-babble and provide, not only the tools, but the know-how to achieve web success.

Your success is our success.

Where to start? Well, if you don’t know anything about the world wide web, that’s the place to start. How does it work? How do you connect to it? How do search engines, like Google, rank your site on search engine results pages (SERPs), for instance?

This is your marketplace and it’s “raw-meat” fierce online. Check out a few stats:

There are 225,000,000 web sites currently online so if you’re just dipping in your toe, a lot of people have a good head start on you. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, has a BIG head start on you – especially of you’re planning to build an on-line book store.

So, before you shell out any dough on a web host – the company that stores your web site and provides access to the web so visitors can find you – before you start your keyword analysis, or you start designing you web site, do some research to determine just what you’re getting yourself in to.

6,000 new web-based businesses launch every day. You better get moving. The web-based marketplace is the fastest growing, most competitive marketplace in the history of humankind. Each day, 6,000 new competitors for web surfers’ attention go live, making your job of reaching success that more difficult.

94% of all web sites fail within 12 months. Now, if that ain’t a cold slap in the face, NOTHING is. The deck is stacked against you. The odds are not in your favor. But…

…there are millions of people earning good money on the W3, either as full-time business owners, or to supplement their day job paychecks. Not only can it be done, it’s done every day by people who are no smarter or business savvy than you are. So, yes, the odds ARE stacked against you but, if you do it right (we’re going to show you how to do it right) you can make money of the web.

Special note: There are like a million “get-rich-quick” web schemes out there. You pay $149 and some guy you don’t know will tell you how to make a million on the web. Avoid these jokers like the Ebola virus. IF they could make a million bucks on the web, they would tell you how? Why add another piranha to the tank?

You have 6.4 seconds to keep a visitor on site. That’s a scary stat. It doesn’t give you much time to grab a visitor’s attention and it gives you no time to get across your corporate culture, mission statement, bios of company officials and so on.

There’s an old saying in advertising: the headline is half the job. Think about that when you start to plan the look and feel of your web site.

And how do you do that? Here are five tips to start you on your digital journey to web success – IF you do it right. (The good news is you can build and run a web site for a whole year for less than a hundred bucks so you can’t lose too much. You lose more than that in the car seat each year.)

1. What is the purpose of your web site?

Basically, there are three reasons people put up a web site, all of them involve selling, or at least persuading:

- to sell products (everything from stoves to pukka shell necklaces)

- to sell services (accounting, medical, house painting – we DO something for you)

- to sell a message: advocacy groups, not-for-profits, political candidates – all trying to sell you on their “message” to vote, donate, support, volunteer or contribute in some other way – even by spreading the message by word of mouth.

So question number one: Why are you building a web site? Everything else develops based on your answer to this simply complex question – and it is both simple and complex so give it some thought.

2. What is your target demographic?

These are the people you’re trying to reach: retirees, nurses, pregnant moms, home schoolers, building contractors, Republicans – define your broad demographic.

Then refine your broad demographic by identifying the “sweet spot” of that broader demographic. The best way to do this? Write a brief description of the perfect buyer of your goods, services or messages.

That’s the sweet spot of your market. And that’s the group of prospects your web site targets in everything from look and feel to the language you use in your site text. If you’re trying to hit teens, a dull, beige site motif will send site visitors bouncing. A lime green, edgy, screechy looking site will grab the attention of that sweet spot and pull them in.

3. Perform a market analysis.

This is so easy to do thanks to search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Simply type into the search engine’s search box words that describe your business to see who or what pops up. If you’re projected business hits a broad demographic you’ll quickly discover that you have millions of competitors, all of whom have a good head start on you as you sit at the kitchen table trying to decide if this is a good idea or not.

Also, type in some keywords into Google’s search box. Keywords are the common words search engine users enter when they use search engines to find whatever it is they’re looking for. Use your intuition to enter in keywords you think your sweet spot buyers would enter and, again, see who or what pops up.

That’s your competition. Ready to go head to head with these e-trepreneurs? You better be.

4. Develop your unique positioning statement.

A unique positioning statement (UPS) is sometimes called a unique selling position (USP), but no matter what you call it, you better develop one early in your planning.

Visit competitor sites to analyze what you think they’re doing wrong and what they’re doing right. Start on the first SERP since search engines sort SERPs using complex mathematical algorithms to assess what each site is about and how relevant that site is to the search engine user’s query (keywords entered).

Make a list of the things that will distinguish YOUR web site from the 560,000 other web sites selling the same product or service. Develop a list of at least five points that will make your web site unique. For example, your minimal market research shows that no other competitors offers free shipping so guess what?

SHIPPING IS ALWAYS FREE AT XYZ SPORTING GOODS appears at the top of every page of your web site to distinguish you from the competition that makes a few points on margin by charging for shipping and handling.

Or how about:

WE GUARANTEE EVERYTHING WE SELL

NO QUESTIONS ASKED!

If the competition doesn’t offer a hassle-free return policy and you do, who are site visitor’s going to buy from?

YOU!

5. Create a business plan.

And write it down.

It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t require a bunch of legal boilerplate. But it should answer the most basic questions any business owner asks:

Where will I get the money to build the business?

How much money will I need to launch my business?

Where will I get the money to market the business? (in a highly-competitive marketplace)

What will I need to launch my business?

How will the business function day-to-day? (You working it full time? Using a drop shipper? Your kid?)

How much money can you afford to lose? The prudent business owner always calculates the worst case scenario, no matter how gruesome.

What are my short- and long- objectives? Short-term goals include things like launch date, 6-month earnings, 12-month earnings and so on. Long-term objectives include the means you’ll employ to grow your business, i.e. expand service offerings in year two, add a brick-and mortar outlet in year 4 and so on.

How you gonna make this bird fly?

When developing your business plan be sure to include the all important question: How will I make money? There are 10 ways to make money from a web site. With a little study you can monetize your web site to develop several revenue streams, each contributing a little to your bottom line. This way, no one source of business revenue carries the entire weight of business success.

So, start thinking before you do anything else. Who? What? Where? When? How? Why? Ask each of these questions. Conduct some market research. Visit some web sites that provide impartial, utile information so you know what you’re getting in to.

In other words, do your homework before you spend a single penny. Day dream – a lot. Ask yourself a bunch of “what if” questions. Talk to friends and family. Talk to business owners who can help you with co-op marketing or wholesale pricing.

Too many web site owners believe the hype. They think the world wide web is the fast track to fast wealth. It’s not. But it is the last, best place for anyone with the desire to own a business, to build a company without taking out a second mortgage. 6,000 people do it every day.

Just take your time. Don’t deny the possibility of failure. In fact, add that to your list of things to think about. Then develop a plan that’s bullet-proof – one that addresses all of the possible causes of web business failure.

Ms. Rosendahl has over 19 years experience in systems analysis, hosted applications, and management as well as 13 years experience in web hosting and Internet marketing. Ms. Rosendahl has a Bachelors from Houston Baptist University with a double major in Computer Information Systems and Business Management. Stephanie is the founder and CEO of Austin, Texas firm – GreenHostIt.com green hosting.

Article Source:  Web Success Series: Number 1 – You Gotta Start Someplace

WordPress is well known for its ease of installation. Under most circumstances installing WordPress is a very simple process and takes less than five minutes to complete. Many web hosts now offer tools (e.g. Fantastico) to automatically install WordPress for you. However, if you wish to install WordPress yourself, the following guide will help. Now with Automatic Upgrade, upgrading is even easier.

The following installation guide will help you, whether you go for the Famous 5 Minute Installation, or require the more detailed installation guide.

• Things to Know Before You Begin Installing WordPress
• The Famous 5-Minute Installation
• Detailed Installation Instructions
• Common Installation Problems
• WordPress in Your Language
• Installing WordPress in Your Language
• How to Install Multiple Blogs
• How to Install on Your Own Computer
• Easy 5 Minute WordPress Installation on Windows
• Getting Started with WordPress (much more installation info)

Things to Know Before Installing WordPress

Before you begin the install, there are few things you need to have and do.

You need access to your site and its directory and software to proceed with the installation. These are:

• Access to your web server (via shell or FTP)
• A text editor
• An FTP Client
• Your web browser of choice

Things You Need to Do to Install WordPress

Begin your installation by:

1. Checking to ensure that you and your web host have the minimum requirements to run WordPress.
2. Download the latest release of WordPress.
3. Unzip the downloaded file to a folder on your hard drive.
4. Be prepared with a secure password for your Secret Key
5. Print this page out so you have it handy during the installation.

Now here is the information I promised you.  I use Bluehost for most of my blogs.  They have two free apps available that will get WordPress up and running in well less than 5 minutes – Fantastico or Simple Scripts.  You do not need to use ftp or file manager or anything else.

CLICK HERE TO SIGNUP FOR BLUEHOST.COM

This is my list of the top 5 places to submit articles.  They are all quality sites with good page rank and they have do follow links.  There are a lot more sites but these are the cream of the crop.  I suggest you focus here.

Ezinearticles.com

Suite101.com

Buzzle.com

Goarticles.com

Helium.com

It is a work in progress so be sure and tell us what you think.

Here are five suggestions on how to get started making money on the internet:

5 Suggestions How to Get Started Making Money on the Internet

1. Make a list of all the things you are really interested in and that you can write about without too much effort.

2. Pick one area from the list and write 5 articles

3. Get a free blog from Blogger and name it something with your focus area in the name

4. Do not buy anything from the so called internet gurus – avoid this stuff like the plague or you will go broke

5. Two weeks after you post your articles (it is best to post 1 a day) check to see if you wrote any more and    posted them.  If you did not write any more articles then you need to find another area of interest.  You have    to be passionate about this area or you will not put in the time to keep it going.  This is called finding your    niche and putting content on your blog.

You are probably wondering how this will help you to make money on the internet?  I will cover this next time in the article on monetization.  There are actually many stages to this process and initially all you need to know is one thing.  Till next time,  Jim