www.YourDomain.

com
 Introduction

Buying a domain name is a relatively simple process, but it can be

confusing managing them. There are a lot of options to consider, and
there are hundreds of registrars to choose from.

There are several important decisions you’ll need to make. It’s not enough
to simply register a domain from the first place you find. You need to
choose the best possible domain for your website, buy from a registrar
you can trust, and manage it effectively.

You’ll also need to decide whether or not you want to use WHOIS
protection, whether to park the domain, and how long to register it.
Believe or not, these things do make a difference.

In this report, you’re going to learn all of these things and more. You’ll find
out exactly how to register a domain and manage it correctly.

So let’s get started.

 Choosing a Registrar

The first thing you need to do is decide which registrar you wish to use.
GoDaddy is a popular choice, but I don’t recommend it. According to many
people, they are prone to disabling domains even over false spam reports,
and then charging a huge fee to reinstate the domain, even if you can
prove you did nothing wrong.

NameCheap (http://www.namecheap.com) is a popular option. They have

free WHOIS protection for the first year of each domain, and they have a
coupon each month that lets you get a nice discount, making each domain
less than $10.

I will use NameCheap as the example in this guide, because I consider it to

be the best registrar. It is affordable, the support is good, and their
interface is easy to use.

I don’t recommend using the domain services of a hosting company. They

will often hold your domain hostage and make it difficult to transfer it if
you decide to leave their hosting. Always register your domain yourself,
and always do it directly through a registrar.
 Finding a Domain Name

Many people believe all the good domain names are taken. This isn’t true.
While it’s true that you aren’t going to be able to pick up books.com or
anything similar, there are still plenty of great domains available.

In order to choose the right domain for your purposes, you need to decide
what you’re going to use the domain for. There are two main
classifications.

Keyword Domains

If you want to create a niche-based blog or website or you want to invest

in a domain that you can sell for a profit later, you’ll want to buy a
keyword-based domain name.

You should look for domain names that have high-traffic keywords. If you
wanted to make a site about Discount Golf Clubs, you would ideally want
to get DiscountGolfClubs.com.

Keyword domains, especially for keywords that get significant numbers of

searches, also have great resale value. You could buy a domain for $10
and flip it for hundreds, or even thousands.
Branding Domains

If you want to create a site that will be branded like Twitter or Flickr, you
can be a little more creative. You’ll want to get a one word domain (or two
at most). But you can use creative spelling.

When buying a domain for branding purposes:

1. Look for a word that won’t be too difficult to spell. Flickr is relatively
easy to remember, but Fotograffi might not be. Too many letters
are changed. People might not remember which ones are different
from the original word. It should be memorable.

2. Choose a word that fits your niche. For a site about golf, you might
get something like Puttr.com, for example.

3. Integrate your branding. Make sure you can craft a logo that will
help people remember your domain name.

Warning: Do NOT search for domain names on any registrar until you are
ready to buy! Some registrars make deals with speculators to provide
recently searched names to them. They buy the domains and then charge
a premium for them later.
 Registering a Domain

Once it’s time to register a domain, you need to keep a few things in mind.
First, don’t use fake information during the registration process. You could
get your domain taken away from you later, which would be a real shame
if you’ve built significant traffic to it.

Second, you’ll probably want to register all of your domains with the same
registrar. It gets tedious having to worry about your domains at multiple
registrars.

You’ll also need to decide whether or not you want to use WHOIS
protection, and how long to register the domain for.

WHOIS Protection

Many people automatically opt for WHOIS protection, but this isn’t always
the best option. Some SEO experts have suggested that Google and other
search engines may penalize sizes who have their registration information
protected.

Additionally, some customers may not trust you if you protect your
information. This could result in lost sales.
However, if you are worried about people finding out what you’re doing
or coming to your home, you may wish to use WHOIS protection or at
least give a P.O. box instead of a street address.

Registration Length

You can register your domain for only one year, or most registrars will
allow you to register a domain for up to ten years at a time. If you can
afford it, go for a longer registration period.

For one thing, you won’t be at risk of accidentally forgetting to renew your
domain. You’d be surprised how often this happens. You may not get the
reminder email, and if you don’t have it set up to automatically renew,
you could lose the domain.

Another major reason to register for at least two years at a time is

because some SEO experts believe Google may give a boost to sites with
longer registrations. They believe Google may think a site is more
trustworthy if it is registered longer, because spammers usually register
for only a year, assuming they may get banned quickly, anyway.
 Name Servers

In order to use your domain, you need to set up the name servers. This
tells computers where to find your domain when someone tries to go
there. It connects your domain with your web server.

I’m going to show you how to set up your name servers with NameCheap.
You’ll need your name servers from your hosting company. You may be
able to find these in your control panel, or in the welcome email you got
from them. If you can’t find them, contact your hosting company and ask.
You’ll need two. They will look like this:

ns1.yourserver.com

ns2.yourserver.com

Log into NameCheap. Beside “Number of domains in your account”, click

“view”. Then find the domain you want to modify and click it. In the menu
on the left, click “Domain Name Server Setup”.

Click the selection field beside “Specify Custom DNS Servers (Your own
DNS Servers). Then enter both DNS servers and click “Save Changes”.
You’re done!
 Domain Forwarding

You may not always want to host a website or blog on your domain name.
You might want to use it to forward elsewhere. For example, article
marketers often use domains to forward straight to their affiliate links.

It’s very simple to set up domain forward with NameCheap, but you can
only use it if you are using their default name servers. You’ll have to
switch them back to NameCheap’s before you proceed.

Log into your account and select Manage Domains. Click the domain you
want to forward and choose “All Host Records”. In the “@” field, enter
your domain name. In the “www” field, enter the URL you want to
forward the domain to (for example, your affiliate link.) Be sure it says
“URL Redirect” under “RECORD TYPE”.

To transfer the name servers back to NameCheap, click your domain and
select “Transfer DNS Back to Us” from the left menu. Then tick the boc
beside “Transfer DNS to NameCheap Default DNS and click “Save
Changes.” Do this before you attempt to set up forwarding; otherwise,
you won’t have the option available.
 Domain Parking

You can make money with your domain name when it’s not in use by
parking it. You won’t make a lot unless your domain is visited very often,
but it’s better than nothing if you aren’t currently using the domain,
anyway.

As with forwarding, you can only park a page if you have changed your
domain to NameCheap’s default name servers. Once you have done that,
go to “Manage Domains”, click your domain, and select “Customize
Parked Page”. You can then change your parked page to whatever you
want.

Keep in mind that you won’t be able to add images to a parked page. You
can only use text on it. But you can use various types of ads there. Just
make sure they allow parking, because some companies (like Google
AdSense) don’t allow their ads to be displayed on websites with no
content, like parked pages.

Parking your domain can help you make a little money while you decide
what to do with a domain, or while it is under development.

Good luck!