Benefits of having your own domain name

August 2013 | Domains

Still wondering about whether or not to buy a domain name? Wait no longer. There are great benefits in having a quality domain name. A business card only goes so far but a website opens your company’s door to potential clients across the globe twenty-four hours a day. An effective domain name can also yield significant returns for your enterprise. Descriptive domain names can be very useful on a competitive market.

Here are a few things to consider:

Credibility & Reputation – If you invest in a generic domain name, visitors to your website instantly know that you take your business seriously presenting a professional image. You can keep your domain for years by renewing it annually.

Instant Type-in Traffic – Generic domain names usually draw direct navigation traffic from the start. Recent studies suggest that type-in traffic is quality targeted traffic that generates more results than search engine traffic.

Marketing your business – You can use your domain name to effectively establish your presence online by supporting an existing brand or building a new brand under your domain name. Adopting a quality generic domain in the company’s marketing campaigns and promotional activities can promote a wide-spread recognition of the company’s products and services. Clients will soon associate the company name with the generic term of the domain.

Being Competitive – Try to buy the domain name of your choice before your competition does. Domain names grow in value at a fast pace and a quality domain name that you own is a domain your competition doesn’t have. It works to your advantage as generic domains can generate substantial traffic. At no additional cost, a quality domain name can daily drive hundreds of potential new clients to your company’s website instead of that of your competition.

Search Engine Ranking – There is a better chance of reaching top positions in search engine results for websites incorporating keyword-rich domain names.

Investing in Domains – Domains industry keeps growing dynamically and has become a lucrative investment zone. In fact, no other commodity goes up in value faster than domains.

Reasonable Pricing – Most domain names can be purchased at low cost. Once acquired, a domain name can be renewed for approximately $10 per year.

Business Growth – Well chosen domain names can help your business grow by reaching a larger audience and entering new markets. They can also attract new clients.

Many companies large and small have already purchased generic domain names to benefit from their business building potential. You can do it too by registering a domain of your choice at a reliable domain registrar.

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Snatching expiring domain names

August 2013 | Domains

Domain names, like real estate, are nowadays valuable possessions. Some of them being the envy of millions. In contrast to regular domain name registration process, acquiring an expiring domain name involves a different approach.

A domain name expiry date is not always what it seems to be according to a domain registrar. And the domain does not become available for new registration at the time of its expiry. In reality, it goes through a 40-day grace period during which it can be reclaimed by the initial domain holder. During the grace period, visitors attempting to enter the expired website are redirected to the homepage of the domain’s registrar.

If the domain holder has not re-activated the expired domain within the grace period, the contact information in WHOIS registry is deleted and the domain in question enters the redemption period. During that time, the domain is not yet available for sale to other parties and the initial holder of the domain still has a chance to keep the domain for a fee payable to the registrar. When the domain goes into the redemption stage, it can be expected that the domain holder is no longer interested in keeping the domain.

The next stage that the expiring domain goes through is the ‘locked’ phase lasting for about five days. If, during that time, the initial holder of the domain does not renew it, the domain officially expires and is removed from the ICANN domain database. It is then released and becomes available for purchase to anyone.

It is close to impossible to track and snatch the expired domains of choice and some domainers choose the option of placing a back order with domain registrars. This method, however, does not guarantee a successful purchase of the domain you want.

To maximise their chances, some domainers turn to companies specialising in snatching domains. They focus on the 3-hour drop period of expired domains during which domains are being deleted from the database and released into the domain ecosystem. Attempts at registering the domain manually during the drop period seems useless when competing with power servers of the domain snatching companies such as SnapNames.com, NameJet.com, Enom.com or Pool.com.

Each of the above companies functions in a different way, but generally the domain applicant registers with the company, provides credit card information and agrees to pay a fee (approximately $20.00) plus the amount of the winning bid upon the availability of the expired name. The fee is waived if the domain applicant does not receive rights to the domain.

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