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Longer Definition of Reseller Hosting
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The Biggest Benefit Of Using A Long Domain Name As A Marketing Strategy

by Justin Koh

In the world of 21st century, it is no longer surprising to find that most business had already establishes a web presence to support their brick-and-mortar businesses. There are many advantages of establishing a web presence on the Internet such as selling globally to prospective customers and disseminating information to the public.

Most business owner would have already understood the importance of a web presence to their business. What most of them had failed to understand is that the domain name in their website can contribute significantly to their online marketing strategy.

First, we look at a few rules of a good domain name. Most would agree that a good domain name should:

1) be able to describe your business when people first look it.
2) include hyphen in between the words to make it easier to read.
3) have an appropriate .com, .net, .biz, .info, .org to reflect the nature of the business.

What I differ in opinion is that a long domain name “mysuperduperbrandflyingsite.com” can be as effective as a short domain name “superduper.com” depending on the context where the domain name is used. Many people would definitely disagree with me on this point as they believe that a short domain name is easier to remember. However, a long domain name can be just as effective depending on the context where it is use.

Having a catchy long domain name such as http://www.dont-miss-a-thing.com or http://www.once-in-a-lifetime.com/ would definitely helps to draw attention to your business promotion rather than promoting your website name http://www.yourcompanyname.com which is mundane.

When people reach http://www.dont-miss-a-thing.com or http://www.once-in-a-lifetime.com, you can communicate a short sales message before driving them to the appropriate web page.

Thus, depending on the context where the domain name is used, a domain name can actually help to make or break your overall marketing performance.

Justin Koh is the contributor of this article for http://www.domainnamecenter.info
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

Description: A long domain name can still be effectively profitable when used rightly. Find out how.

Domain Name Registration - Key Tips
Copyright 2005 Keith Thompson
Author: Keith Thompson

Domain name registration is a necessary, easy, and strategically important first step in establishing an online presence, whether for business or otherwise. A well-chosen domain name registration can set you up for success with your new site in so many ways, the most prominent of these being increased search engine traffic. Here’s some vital elements to consider when executing your domain name registration.

A good domain name registration, particularly for an online business, (which is the main focus of this article) is easily done, but at the same time requires choices that will impact your site’s effectiveness. So here, in no particular order, are some things to bear in mind when doing a domain name registration.

The extension - Will it be a .com, .net, .org, .info etc.
Any of these will get spidered and indexed by the search engines, but if you can get a .com for your chosen name you’d be better off, as this extension is more common and carries an air of legitimacy with it.

Try not to have you domain name registration with your web host. The reason being that should you decide to part ways with your host, (and this isn’t uncommon!) it’s potentially a massive headache to move your domain as well. Split them
up: you’ll be glad you did!

Your domain name registration, purchased from a reputable company should run you somewhere between $1-10, depending on the extension and the amount of time you sign up for.

Probably the most important aspect of your domain name registration is the choice of keywords to use in your domain name. Try to use the main keyword or phrase you’d like to optimize the whole site for, and see if you can craft a domain name around it. The search engines seem to favor keyword-rich domain names. Nuff said.

Keep it short if possible. A shorter name is easier to
remember than a long one.

Don’t use your company name unless it has your keywords in
it. There’s no point in ranking high for your name if no
one is looking for it yet.

Try to keep your domain name registration topically
relevant. As search engines get smarter and smarter, sites
that display total relevance will rank higher than catch
all sites.

Lastly, be sure to avoid other companies trademarks and copyrights in your domain name. For example, let’s say you’re an affiliate of The Sharper Image. It’s tempting to use some version of that name to promote your affiliate site, but don’t do it, unless of course you’d like to meet their lawyers!

To sum up, your domain name registration is easy to do, but important to do well. It can make the difference in whether you get found or not!

—————————————————-
Keith Thompson is the webmaster at http://www.domain-name-registration-today.com where you will find the latest news and information on domains.
Keith Thompson is the webmaster at http://www.domain-name-registration-today.com where you will find the latest news and information on domains
Contact him at http://www.internetmarketinghere.com

On the World Wide Web, site performance ultimately drives customer retention and revenue. In fact, slow performance is a top reason for dissatisfaction with e-commerce Web sites. A slow, sluggish site is therefore not an option for any serious e-tailer.

In order to avoid losing customers or revenue because of non-responsiveness, industry participants suggest that sites with e-commerce capabilities select dedicated servers for their hosting solution. Dedicated servers combine the advantages of a Web host’s technical support with dedicated connectivity, sole use and precise control over your Web site’s server.

Novice webmasters often start out with simple sites that feature relatively static content. For this reason, most initially select a shared hosting solution, in which many likeminded webmasters are hosted on a single server. But as a site becomes increasingly popular, a dedicated solution will be required. Shared hosting becomes increasingly inadequate as the popularity of a Web site grows. This is because shared hosting cannot provide the robust or scalable bandwidth and computing ability needed to power a premier site.

Typically, shared hosting equipment services a minimum of 250 Web sites each. Customers therefore compete for the scarce and limited memory resources that one piece of equipment can provide. When a fellow customer develops a site that consumes nearly 50 per cent of the server’s resources, the rest of the Web hosting customers must share the balance remaining. This inevitably results in slow, sluggish and gradually deteriorated service for you and your clientele. Dedicated hosting, however, provides a solution that is individualized to the specific requirements of your site alone.

Most packages are customized to your needs to ensure that the services that you provide your customers are fast and efficient. Key components of most customized packages include increased bandwidth and storage capacity, increased IP address allotments, administrative access, operating system selection and increased performance and security.

Premium dedicated hosting that is suitable for a high-traffic site will cost you approximately $200 US per month. This is a huge increase over shared hosting service that typically costs you $25 US (or less) per month, but the benefits you receive for the increased price quickly become self-evident.

Dedicated hosting allows you to leverage cost-savings and return on investment by outsourcing your Internet requirements. Using the resources of hosting professionals, you can avoid spending a huge sum of money to host your site in-house while enjoying all the benefits of tier-one Internet services.

These benefits include broader bandwidth and data transfer opportunities. A dedicated server package will allow you to maximize the bandwidth potential of your site because you will no longer need to share Web server resources with others. This means that you will be able to take full advantage of the high-speed network provided by your Web host. Also most established hosting companies provide full redundancy through the aid of multiple network connections. As a result, your Web page download time will be faster and always available, increasing service to your customers and ultimately your income.

A dedicated solution also provides the benefit of a fully insured location and protection against fire, theft and data lost. Most providers financially insure their equipment and premises, and make sure that all equipment is bundled with data backup devices and uninterruptible power supplies in case of disaster. These benefits, along with a lot of data storage space, greatly enhance the safety of your Internet venture. The majority of dedicated plans offer at least four gigabytes of storage space as opposed to an average of 100 megabytes offered with shared plans. This translates into more space for graphic and other storage hungry content. Another great advantage about more storage space is that huge log files can be archived, rather than be deleted constantly to appease shared hosting disk space constraints.

Dedicated solutions are also beneficial for serious webmasters because they provide superior administration tools. With a dedicated host, your hosting company permits you to customize and configure your server as you see fit. Once you sign-up for a dedicated solution, it is considered yours. Most hosting companies use a ‘leased server’ model, in which they own the physical server, but grant you exclusive, full control over the equipment.

This means that you can select which operating system (Windows Server, Windows 2000 or Linux) you wish to use and custom configure it for your specifications. As administrator, you will be able to use programs such as PC Anywhere, FTP Daemon or Telnet, to develop your internal file infrastructure. These programs will also allow you to install any ancillary, interactive e-mail, streaming media or e-commerce application on your server. Most Web hosts will not allow you to install, or compile your applications on shared servers due of the interference it causes other customers, but as the sole administrator of your dedicated solution, you will be able to make such decisions at will.

You will also be able to add new sites with ease with the allocation of multiple Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that are assigned to your solution. Most dedicated servers come with a minimum of 5 separate IPs. These unique addresses allow you to add new domain-based sites to your server. They also make analyzing Web traffic from multiple sites more efficient and effective.

Dedicated solutions are thus favored by webmasters of popular sites because of the high level of service they provide, which is a necessity in today’s Internet economy. Dedicated solutions allow webmasters to concentrate on their core business, while the Web host focuses on ensuring maximum uptime and fast connectivity for your customized Web server. And because this segment of the industry is growing exponentially, it can be expected that high-end, premium dedicated hosting providers will enforce their service guarantees with high-quality levels of customer care. Such enhanced competition will ensure that webmasters gain access the to fastest performing dedicated solutions so that they can improve customer retention and revenue.

Dedicated hosting permits individuals and business to lease pre-configured, state-of-the-art equipment and connectivity from a hosting service provider. Instead of simply sharing server space on a virtual server, dedicated hosting gives you the opportunity to lease an entire server for your own exclusive use.

Dedicated services include the lease of pre-configured equipment and connectivity from a hosting provider. The equipment and connectivity are fully managed by the hosting firm, providing its customers with a customized Web server in first-class data center facilities.

With a dedicated server, you can exercise total control over your Web presence. You can choose the operating system and software you wish to use, and individualize settings for your multimedia and e-commerce requirements. Dedicated servers are a good choice for customers that require custom software or enhanced server control but do not want to make the significant up-front investment required in purchasing a server.

Dedicated hosting is more desirable for users with more sophisticated needs, since it permits the deployment of more complex applications, as such databases, streaming media, and high-end e-mail solutions. Dedicated hosting solutions also have the ability to host multiple sites on one machine. Such solutions are usually provided on a world-class network connection, and include 24×7 monitoring of the server and network availability.

The fact that the hosting provider owns the dedicated server is a significant benefit to you because they are responsible for maintaining the equipment and the redundant connections to the Internet. If a hardware component fails, the provider is responsible for replacing it at no cost. The other advantage of dedicated service is that it is custom-designed for each customer. Advanced hosting providers will allow you select specific CPU speeds, disk space requirements and other hardware components. Such automated server specification processes maximize your return-on-investment by ensuring that you only select the hardware you need.

Dedicated servers are excellent service options since only a consumer and their visitors can access the server. This means that Web server performance and the security of e-commerce applications are enhanced.

Because of these advantages, dedicated servers can be considered a superior service allowing you access to more reliable avenues of content distribution and control over your hosting environment. With more control, however, comes more responsibility. Customers who select dedicated hosting solutions will require a certain amount of competency in IT and server administration issues in order to properly maintain the server. This will mean a greater investment of time and human resources than what a “virtual” or “shared” server requires. Furthermore, dedicated servers will require a much larger financial investment.

Dedicated servers are usually offered for a single inclusive monthly fee to Web developers, e-commerce operators and content distributors. The cost can range from between $99 to $2,500 per month, depending on budget, and the level of customer care and technical support required.

Dedicated servers are therefore considered an entry-level hosting solution for the small to medium sized enterprises.

Rapid growth happens often with popular Web sites. They start out using a simple shared account, only to consume so much of the server’s resources that they are forced to a dedicated server. Other times, a company will simply want the flexibility a dedicated server offers, even if they do not operate a high-traffic Web site.

Put simply, a dedicated server is a computer located in a data center that is used for a single Web hosting account, whereas shared accounts can potentially share a server with hundreds of other sites. A site on a dedicated server has the same Internet connection as all the other servers, but it doesn’t have to share it with anybody. This can be a tremendous boon for anyone who operates a large site.

One of the things that dedicated servers provide is customizability. Since the client is going to be leasing the entire computer rather than just a portion of it, many Web hosts allow the client to select the components used in the server. These can range from hardware, such as disk size and the amount of memory, to software. Most hosts can set up dedicated servers with Unix or Windows-based Operating Systems - the choice is typically left to the site owner.

There are typically two categories of dedicated servers: managed and unmanaged. Managed servers are usually operated by the Web host, while the client provides the Web site data. In these cases, a good host will fully monitor the server and have technicians standing by in case of difficulty. An unmanaged server is operated and maintained by the client; the Web host provides the storage space, physical security, and bandwidth. However, often a Web host will have a consultant available to assist clients operating an unmanaged server - this is usually provided at a nominal fee.

Looking for a suitable dedicated server is something that takes time and research. Not all Web hosts are created equal, and neither are all dedicated servers. There are several issues that must be addressed before a client can choose the best server.

First of all, what does the Web site actually need, and how much space will it need to grow? This is an incredibly important question, as any computer has limited capabilities. Before one can select a dedicated server, one has to know exactly how much disk space the site will require, along with memory and bandwidth.

Second, what amount of customization and upgrades will the Web host allow? Many Web hosts offer specific dedicated hosting plans, and have the client choose between them. Some offer full customization of the Web server. What works best depends on the Web site.

Upgrades, however, are another matter. If a Web host doesn’t upgrade its machines on a regular basis, there is something wrong. Technology is infamous for moving extremely quickly, and a Web host that doesn’t keep its machines up to date will quickly find itself, and its clients, falling behind.

Third, where is the server stored? A good host will keep the server in a safe, secured environment, usually at a data center. A Web host that stores a dedicated server elsewhere is usually a bad sign.

Finally, what support does the host offer? Even for unmanaged servers, there should always be an account representative available to handle client concerns. There should also be a managed hosting plan that one can opt into, just in case managing the server solo is too much. Also, upgrades and customizations should be seamless, with little or no impact on the users of the site.

Operating a Web presence can become very involved once a company’s hosting requirements progress beyond simply needing a dedicated server. Managed services are therefore geared toward organizations that don’t have the time or capital to invest in server administration.

Managed services normally provide equipment procurement, provisioning and installation, and network monitoring and management backed by Service Level Agreement. Managed services also provide end-to-end network management and maintenance support for locations around the world.

Think of a managed server as a glorified dedicated server armed with extended features and support. A managed server will come equipped with the features one would expect from a dedicated provider, including choice of OS, routing equipment, network connectivity and complete administrative control. However, instead of leaving most of the administrative tasks to the customer, a managed provider will typically handle that as well. Many companies will often assign you a dedicated service representative who will cater only to you and a handful of other accounts.

This support also comes in the form of proprietary control panel technology that enables the inexperienced administrator to easily set up and maintain sites on a server. This is achieved through an intuitive and user friendly point and click method rather than by typing complicated commands at a prompt line.

Many hosting companies offer a supplementary suite of features and services that related to managed hosting, including application and database management, high-availability services and load balancing.

Most reputable Web hosting firms will offer managed Web hosting services, and will back up their services with performance guarantees and Service Level Agreements.

Unmanaged services, on the other hand, give the customer complete remote server administration capability and freedom. The downside to this is that unmanaged servers require a large amount of time and technical expertise, as the customer is ultimately responsible for the instillation and management of the server - not the Web host. For this reason, unmanaged servers are only recommended for individuals and companies with extensive server administration resources or expertise, as well as a significant amount of time available to take care of the server.

If you’re unsure about which service to choose, give serious consideration to choosing a managed server. While taking the managed route is more expensive, it is also much more reassuring for the inexperienced administrator. Remember, you can always downgrade your account to an unmanaged service later, once you’ve acquired some expertise in server administration - though once you opt for the personal attention you will receive through a managed host, you might think twice when the time comes to change.