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Domain Name Selection

Domain names are your business identity over internet. It should be short, relevant to your business theme and easy to remember. Finding such domain names has become very difficult because some hundreds and thousands or even millions of domains are being registered every day but it's not impossible. You can get an attractive and relevant domain by doing some research.

Before you decide to select a name for your online identity, you should do some keyword research (especially when you intend to sell something online). Use Google keyword tool to research your business keywords. Find out what people are searching for and how they use different words to find there required product. This little practice of keyword research will not only help you decide a good, relevant and SEO friendly domain name but you'll also know what exact keywords you should target in your SEO and advertising campaigns latter on.

Keyword Based Domain

The domains that comprises of a set of keywords are termed as keyword based domains. Once you have selected a set of keywords that you are going to use in SEO and other website promotional activities, try a combination of two most relevant keywords as your domain name. Now, a question that might have come to your mind would be why to try a combination of two keywords? Why not to try one single keyword to find a domain name? There are two reasons for this; one is its very unlikely that you would find a single keyword domain. As I mentioned earlier, thousands of domains are being registered every day and it's simply near to impossible that you would find a single keyword domain name available for registration.

The second reason is an SEO practice. People who are searching for a product or a service to buy will always use a phrase or at least two or three words search string. For example, if you want to buy a domain name, your search query would be, 'buy domains' or 'cheap domain names' etc. You will never type the keyword 'domain' as your search string when you want to buy one but if you are performing searches to know the meaning of this word or you are doing some kind of research over domains, you might search for this single word and people who are researching are not your target market rather those who are searching to buy. So, always try a combination of keywords as your domain name.

Another question that you can raise is why to use keywords in domain name? Again, it is a good SEO practice. One of some hundreds of search engine ranking factors is keyword in URLs. If your domain name consists of a keyword, search engines will consider your website relevant to the topic of searched keyword and the chances of your website, being ranked higher, increase tremendously.

Domain Name Extensions

Selecting which extension you should go for depends largely over availability and your target market. The most common domain extensions are.COM and.NET. You should only shift to a specific country domain extension (ccTLD, Country Code Top Level Domain) if both of these extensions are not available and the.COM &.NET domains are not functional. For example, if your selected set of keywords is 'buy cheap domains' and the.COM &.NET extensions are just taken, there is no operational website over them, only then you should move on to the ccTLD. If any of these two top level domain extensions are operation websites, then it would be very hard for you to compete with the same business name, even if you get a ccTLD.

You should only shift to a country specific domain if your target market is from that very country only. Search engines, especially Google, ranks such websites higher in results but only if the search is being conducted from that country. For example, if you have selected a.CO.UK extension and your target market is also UK then your website will be ranked higher than websites with extensions other than.COM &.NET in the search result page of Google's.CO.UK extension. On the other hand, your website might not even appear in search results if the search is being conducted over Google's.COM.PK extension.

Similarly, if there is already a.COM or.NET extension website present on internet with the same name that you have selected in.CO.UK extension, your website will not be able to rank higher easily even in Google's.CO.UK extension. It is because that.COM or.NET website is already there, is older than your website and caters the audience from all over the world. Remember, generic TLDs always rank higher than ccTLDs.

Be very careful in selection of ccTLDs for your website. My suggestion would be to search for a generic top level domain (.COM or.NET) to select for your website. Try different combinations of keywords or you can also use a hyphen (-) in domains. Although many people don't like using hyphens but there is nothing wrong in using it. In fact, it's better to get a keyword domain with hyphens rather than going for a ccTLD.

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Understanding the Concept of Workgroups Vs Domains in a Windows Local Area Network

Sharing information has become a simple process with the advent of e-mail, just attach a file and the recipient get the document you sent. However, in a small business, there is often a need to share more than one file; you may want to share programs or program data, printers, a scanner, or simply just your Word docs.

A Workgroup, also known as a peer to peer network, allows you to share files, printers, scanners and other resources. Typically, with a Workgroup, you make every workstation a member of the same workgroup, and set up shared folders on one or more workstations. You can also set up your printer to be shared. If you have an extra computer, you can designate it as a dedicated sharing computer. This computer then becomes a pseudo-server. It's not a "real" file server, but operates as one, with limited functionality.

A Domain provides this functionality and much more, by having one or more File Servers, and workstations attaching to the Domain to access the Server(s) which manage security as well as access rights. Think of a Domain as a city, within which exist businesses (File Servers), and residences (WorkStations).

So...which is right for you? If you have a small business with very few employees, and are not too concerned with security of your data, or access rights to folders, a Workgroup will do just fine.

Some things to consider with a Workgroup:

1. It's best to have one computer act as a Server, and have the other computers share files from that "Server". This cuts down on traffic. If you have several computers sharing their drives, and users are going back and forth from one machine to another to access data, there will be more traffic on your LAN, causing collisions and bogging things down.

2. It's also a good idea if possible to have one computer be a dedicated Server. This minimizes the possibility of having a user "hang up" the computer he/she is working on, thus locking the other users out of the system while it is being re-booted. Additionally, if no one is using that computer while is is working as a Server, chances are it will be less exposed to potential virus or malware attacks.

3. Any machine that works as a server should be protected by a good UPS; that is, a battery backup unit.

4. The machine that acts as a server should have its Power Options disabled, Hibernation disabled, and its NIC (Network Interface Card) set to not shut down to save energy. Any of these features enabled could make the Server inaccessible to the workstations.

5. The Server must have a backup device with backup software programmed to perform unattended backups. Ideally, as part of a good disaster recovery plan, your network should also have a remote or on-line backup in place. (what good is your backup if you can't get to your data?).

A Domain give you many more features than a Workgroup. This is an overview of things to consider and benefits of setting up a Domain:

1. First, your workstations MUST run Windows XP Professional, or Vista or Windows 7 Business Edition. These versions of Windows are designed to work with Domains.

2. Your Domain will include at minimum 1 File Server. This File Server will be a Domain Controller. As a Domain Controller, the File Server (if running any server version of Windows) will host Active Directory. Active Directory is a database that will store each user's name, with their assigned access rights based on the groups they belong to. For instance, a user can be a member of Group Domain Users and have access to files and folders, or he/she could be a member of Group Domain Admins, giving him/her rights to anything on the network. Active Directory also keeps track of computers, so it knows not only which user is authorized to logon to the Domain, but also which Computers can attach.

3. Domain Controllers use Policies. These policies can simplify management of the users and computers on the network, by implementing rights and managing access when a user logs on to the Domain.

4. Security and permissions are very granular in a Domain. That is, you can be as general or as specific as you need with regards to giving users access to folders and files. A good up-front, well thought out design of your Network will help you simplify data organization and management as your network grows.

5. Getting back to the Server; a server should have redundancy for its disk drives. For small networks, a mirrored drive system will do. For larger networks, a RAID 5 system might work best. In a mirrored drive system, your File Server will house 2 identical disk drives. Both drives will appear to you as only one. On the server, you will see one C: drive. When you write or save a file, it is saved on both drives simultaneously. The benefit of course, is that if one drive crashes, you can continue to operate off the other drive. Many servers offer "Hot Swap" drives. This allows you to remove the defective drive and replace it with a new one, without shutting down the server. The server will detect the new drive and you can rebuild the data to the new mirror.

6. Another big benefit to having a Domain is central management. For instance, you can install an Anti-Virus program on the Server which will update its virus definition files regularly. The software on the server can be deployed to the workstations, and that software can be programmed so all the workstations have the same features enabled or disabled. Additionally, the server can "push" the virus definitions to the workstations, thus ensuring all workstations are on the same version. This can be done with other programs as well, it is not strictly for Anti-Virus protection.

This is a birdseye view of Domains and Workgroups. There is of course, much more to them. Many books have been written on the subject. The hope is that this concise information will help you reach an educated decision on your selection of Workgroup or Domain for your small business.

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The Golden Rule Of Domain Name Use!

The most basic and the "golden" rule of using a domain name (and website) is that you should maintain control as the registrant of your domain at all times! Your domain name is the life-blood of your online presence. You or your business should always be listed as the registrant of the domain name on the WHOIS database as the registrant is the legal owner of the domain. How to find the domain of a function, do it yourself. Do not allow someone else to purchase the domain on your behalf and list themselves as the registrant. Most problems involving your website, host account, contractors, etc. can be fixed. But losing control over your domain can be catastrophic!

For example, if you rely on a web site designer to apply for and register your website domain name, the registrant information could be incorrect. The individuals that purchase the domain name on behalf of you or your business often list themselves as the registrant, purposely or otherwise. If there is ever a problem with the domain, the domain hosting needs to be changed or the domain needs to be redirected, sold etc., you or your business will not have authority to do so unless you or your business is listed as the registrant of the domain!

Host providers such as GoDaddy or Network Solutions do not list themselves as the registrant of your domain or website (like all other reputable ISP's). However, I strongly recommend you always carefully read the terms and conditions of your Host or ISP agreement to be certain if you are dealing with an unknown or new registrar.

You can share limited administrative functions with your designer or other third-party. But, you should maintain complete control over the actual domain account administrative functions (user name and password) at all times. In other words, make sure you or some trusted employee is named as the administrative, billing and/or technical contacts of the domain registrant. Any person or entity named as a contact on the WHOIS database has the power to affect your domain name. At a minimum, the billing contact should be someone who you can at least trust will ensure the domain name is renewed before it expires.

Controlling your domain name is also extremely important since you should have the ability at all times to transfer the domain to another host provider at your will. If you use an unreliable hosting service, you will want to be able to redirect the domain name server (DNS) to another host provider. If you decide to hire a website developer to create your website and/or handle the domain name purchase and registration, you MUST read your web site development agreement carefully. You must make sure that the agreement does not contain any language that says that the web site designer owns the domain name or allow your designer to list anyone other than you or your business as the registrant!

I recommend that you set up the hosting account yourself through the host provider and then provide the FTP (file transfer protocol) user name and password information only to the designer. Ideally, you should simply designate the web developer as an account executive without providing any FTP account information (Go Daddy allows you to do this). DO NOT provide your main domain account user information (user i.d. and password) to your designers or any other third-parties. Otherwise they will have administration information to the domain account and could potentially exercise control over the domain(s).

This article was written by Philip A. Nicolosi, J.D. Mr. Nicolosi provides legal services through his law firm, Phil Nicolosi Law, P.C., focusing on startup and small business law, Internet & technology law and commercial transactions.

Mr. Nicolosi serves as a trusted advisor to numerous startups and small to medium sized businesses. This includes representation for a wide range of business law matters including business organization, corporate/LLC governance, regulatory law, contracts and transactions and most other matters outside of litigation. Mr. Nicolosi provides guidance with e-commerce, Internet marketing and technology-related legal matters. He also assists startup technology companies with seed financing, venture capital and exit transactions.