MARKETING IDEAS and TOOLS
Business Card Design Ideas
Brochure Design Ideas
Die Cut Business Cards
Scented Business Cards
Cheap Business Card Ideas
Unique Business Cards
Unique Brochure Ideas
Cheap Advertising Ideas
Business Card Layout
Promoting a Home Based Biz
Competitive Advantage
Email Marketing Tips
3 Ways To Spend Less
Selling With Color
Promotional Magnets
MARKETING STRATEGIES
Differentiate Yourself
Information Marketing
Building Customer Loyalty
Getting Customer Feedback
Testimonials
How to Define a Niche
Discovering Niches
Finding New Customers
Indirect Benefits
The Consumer's Perspective
Promotional Marketing
Pricing Products and Services
Viral Marketing Magic
Marketing Mix
STARTUP IDEAS and STRATEGIES
Home-Based Startup Ideas
Business Idea Brainstorming
Virtual Assistant
Internet Researcher
Event Planner
Wedding Consultant
Telecommuting Strategies
Freelance Job Strategies
WEBSITE MARKETING
Build Traffic to Your Website
Domain Name Ideas
5 Ways to Increase Traffic
Scavenger Hunts
Talking Avatars
Promote Your Web Page
Autoresponders
Internal Links
Link Exchange Tips
Viral Marketing and Email
Attract Your Target Market
Market Your Website Offline
KEYWORD TIPS
Keyword Competition
Keywords and Meta Tags
Prime Spots for Keywords
Keyword Phrases
AFFILIATE MARKETING
How To Get Started
Residual Income
Affiliate Agreements
ONLINE BASICS
Choosing Domain Names
Domain Name Extensions
Website Design Strategies
Learning HTML
Understanding HTML Colors
Are Your Colors Web-Safe?
How to Accept Payments
Bandwidth: Doing The Math
Find The Right Web Host
Publish Your Website
MARKETING YOURSELF
Resume Tips
Domain Names: The Basics
With a minimum of two and a maximum of 63 characters, your domain name can be virtually anything you choose. However, relatively short and easy to remember domain names will improve your chances of getting traffic to your site.
Easy to remember is good; easy to guess is even better.
Let's say that you sell blue widgets. The domain name BlueWidgets.com will give you a better chance of being found than WonderfulWidgets.com.
Think of it like this. If someone is looking for blue widgets, what are they likely to enter in their address bar?
Chances are, they'll go with "blue widgets" versus "wonderful widgets." This is one form of type-in traffic. Even better is the fact that it's free traffic!
Using that strategy, you can also get free traffic from search engines. If your domain name matches a keyword phrase used in searches, it can be a big boost to your site's ranking for that phrase. (To learn about more ways to use keywords, read Keywords Placement.)
The name you want may already be registered. When that happens, back-ordering domain names is an option.
If you need to get your website online now, though, you're probably better off selecting another name. It could be anywhere from a few minutes to never before a particular name becomes available.
That may be the best reason for registering a domain name as soon as you can - if it's one you really want. (You can register one for a year for less than ten dollars from services such as godaddy.com.)
Even if you have months to go before your site is ready, it's a good idea to snap up the one you want before someone else does.
Domain Name Brainstorming
Nancy Richardson
CreateYourMarket.com publisher
Need a writer?
Quick Tips:
Enclose a business card promoting your website with each piece of outgoing mail.
Ask customers who frequently do business with you for a testimonial.
Promote your website URL offline on everything from bumper stickers to your answering machine message.
Want to reach the highest percentage of your target market?
Advertise in specialty publications including newspaper supplements devoted to a specific topic.
Marketing is crucial, but it doesn't always have to be serious.
Some of the most effective advertising campaigns rely on humor. Don't be afraid to make your customers laugh!