•7 Steps to success
7 Steps to success by Clare Lawrence7 Steps to successBy Clare Lawrence Every webmaster wants a successful site, if you follow this step by step guide you’ll do well. Step 1 Search engines such as Google return web pages, based on keyword or key phrase searches. Your first step therefore is to decide which keywords you want to target. Your choice needs to reflect what your target audience is likely to input. Once you’ve selected your keywords then you need to use them on your pages, an ideal...
•An Alternative to the .COM Domain?
An Alternative to the .COM Domain? by Clare LawrenceAn Alternative to the .COM Domain? By Clare Lawrence CEO Discount Domains Ltd, March 2003 Small countries such as Tonga, Turkmenistan and Niue are offering an alternative to customers that have been squeezed out of the Internet as .com domain names have been registered. It is sometimes the unhappy task of a Domain registrar company, such as Discount Domains to tell clients that their preferred names in the .com domain are already...
•Choosing a Great UK Domain Name
Choosing a Great UK Domain Name
The first, and most critical, step for registering your domain name is choosing the right one. The perfect domain name is memorable, unique, easy to spell, and will rank high in searches. Here's what to do.
1. Keep it simple. The shortest and most direct domain name is always the best. You'll have to get creative to find it, though, because almost every single word in English is gone. Most of the best domain names being registered today are a company name,...
•Detagged domains.
Detagged domains. by Clare LawrenceDetagged domains. By Clare Lawrence 29th September 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service.What is a DETAGGED domain name? We get asked this question regularly. Only UK domain names can be detagged. A domain name that has been DETAGGED is no longer hosted on valid name servers.What happens if there are no longer valid nameservers showing against a domain name? If no valid name servers are showing this...
•Domain and website tools
Domain and website tools by Clare LawrenceDomain and website toolsBy Clare Lawrence 29th October 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service. I use several tools to monitor the performance of my own websites, by regularly reviewing their progress I can see what works and what does not. Ranking tools Where is my listing? Want a tool that can tell you which page your site appears on by keyword? www.top25web.com/cgi-bin/report.cgi Top25web...
•Domain Name Organisations
Domain Name Organisations by Clare LawrenceDomain Name Organisations By Clare Lawrence 29th September 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service.The following are some of the important organisations in the domain name industry. ARIN American Registry for Internet Numbers is a a not for profit organisation established to handle the administration and registration of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in North America, some of the Caribbean, and...
•Domain Names
Domain Names by Clare LawrenceDomain NamesBy Clare Lawrence 11th May 2004 Domain names are relatively straightforward! Or at least that’s the theory!! The domain name is also, but technically not quiet correct, known as the website address. Using an ISP’s domain name can look amateurish in an e-mail addresses, it is much more so with websites, giving the impression of hanging on another’s coat tails. The only exception being when a firm wants to re-inforce a local or professional affiliation...
•Domain registries from around the world.
Domain registries from around the world. by Clare LawrenceDomain registries from around the world. By Clare Lawrence 29th September 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service.Do you sometimes come across exotic looking TLD's? Ever wondered which domain name is from where? I created the following table out of interest. Watch out for the new .eu TLD. [ The European Union is working on the its own TLD. ] Commercial TLD' .aero Aviation .biz...
•Dynamic Pages
Dynamic Pages
by: Clare Lawrence
Dynamic pages and the Search Engines By Clare Lawrence 10th March 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service.
Do search engines such as google penalise dynamic pages?
Dynamic pages are used to deliver content from a database to websites the advantage being that data can be updated and the contents of pages changed without the need to reload pages etc.
Google publishes guidance notes on its site at...
•Global Domain Sales
Global Domain Sales by Clare LawrenceGlobal Domain SalesDomain name growth 1992 – 2003 March 2003, updated December 2003 By Clare Lawrence CEO Discount Domains Ltd Domain name growth is starting to recover, but we are a long way from the rapid growth we saw in 1998 –2000.I am confident that the market for domain names will move back into a growth phase in the next two or three years time, its true that the dot com boom was a “bubble”, but we are now seeing a maturing in the market with more...
•Good Domain Names
Good Domain Names by Clare LawrenceGood Domain NamesBy Clare Lawrence 13th September 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK domain registrar No matter what domain name you buy its unlikely to be worth $ millions straight away, but with some careful though and preparation you can maximise your domain names potential.Using hyphensAlmost every word in the dictionary has been registered already so its more than likely that you will have to register a combination of words....
•Google
Google by Clare LawrenceGoogle By Clare Lawrence 15th August 2004 How can I do well on Google? I get asked this question a lot. Google has grown hugely over recent years and now accounts for smoothing like 55% of all web searches. Google is too important a search engine to ignore, but what’s required to get to the top? Well a starting point is to read Google’s guidance to webmasters: www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html Hopefully this sets the scene, Google is fighting a war against...
•Google and its data centres.
Google and its data centres. by Clare LawrenceGoogle and its data centres. By Clare Lawrence 2nd January 2004 Ever wondered how Google manages its 3 billion plus index? In this article I explain how big G is organised. Google uses data centres, these spread the workload between more than 10,000 computers. How Many Google data centers are there? As of 2nd January 2004, there are 13 data centres, these are located across the globe. More are added from time to time. Domain IP Address...
•Google Answers
Google Answers by Clare LawrenceGoogle AnswersBy Clare Lawrence Google the leading search engine now offers access to a team of experienced web professionals, for a modest fee. How it worksSimple post your question and a fee and a research will get to work on your chosen subject. The higher the fee, the more work gets done. Google has its reputation to protect and therefore the quality of its research team is very high and there advice is pretty reliable. The research time doesn’t have...
•Got a Domain name, but what’s next?
Got a Domain name, but what’s next? by Clare LawrenceGot a Domain name, but what’s next? By Clare Lawrence 15th August 2004 Have you got a domain name, but not sure what to do next? Well read on. Registering your own domain name is a great start to getting a web presence, but to get established on the Internet you need a few more things. Most domain registration companies will post up a holding page, often called domain parking. Usually these are a little more than an ad for the registrar,...
•How best to use Links
How best to use Links by Clare LawrenceHow best to use Links By Clare Lawrence 21st August 2003 Introduction Google is the world’s leading search engine and it measures link popularity as a key component of its ranking algorithm, using what is calls PageRank. Read the following quote from Google’s advice to webmasters: www.google.com/technology/index.html PageRank Explained PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an...
•How to rank well in the search engines.
How to rank well in the search engines. by Clare LawrenceHow to rank well in the search engines.By Clare Lawrence 30th May 2004 I get this question all the time!. Everyone wants to be listed on the first few pages of the search engines. Here is what I tell my customers:-a) Firstly do your research, being at the top may not be all the helpful! I have sites listed at No1 or 2 for less popular phrases and they only get a couple of visits a week. b) To get to the top, you need good content, that...
•How to understand the Domain Name System
How to understand the Domain Name System by Clare LawrenceHow to understand the Domain Name System By Clare Lawrence 13th August 2004 Ever wonder why DNS systems came into existence? Efficiency. Every computer has a distinct IP address, and the Internet needed an elite method for obtaining these addresses and for managing the system as a whole. Enter ICANN. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number manages the DNS root of the Internet domain namespace. ICANN’s role is to manage...
•Internal Pages
Internal Pages by Clare LawrenceInternal Pages By Clare Lawrence 15th August 2004 Internal pages often get overlooked when web sites are promoted. Google the leading search engine resolves web pages and not sites. To maximise your websites traffic, you need to promote each page separately. If your website is about a particular theme, then you can refine each page so a site about web hosting might contain sub pages about FrontPage hosting or PHP hosting. To optimise each page, select your...
•Links and link building with Google.
Links and link building with Google. by Clare LawrenceLinks and link building with Google. By Clare Lawrence 1st June 2003. Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK provider of domain names and web hosting services Google is the leading search engine, so having the right strategy for optimisation on Google is essential. FFA sites Having a link on your website to an FFA (free for all) otherwise known as a links farm will not damage your PR. What will harm your site and your...
•Links and search engines
Links and search engines by Clare LawrenceLinks and search engines By Clare Lawrence 29th September 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service.What is linking? Linking involves linking your websitesite to another with the aim increasing traffic and directing the web visitors to other interesting content. How can link popularity be improved? The following are all worth considering 1) Trade links with other Web sites. Make sure that the Web...
•Meta Tags
Meta Tags by Clare LawrenceMeta Tags By Clare Lawrence Meta Tags are hidden description fields that help search engines to categorise websites. They are also of reduced importance than a few years ago. Correct use of meta tags is nevertheless a factor in search engine algorithms and worth getting right. A few considerations:- - Shorter tags are more focused than longer ones.- Usually the first phrase has greater weight than later ones.- The title tag is of most value- Description and...
•Registering a domain name
Registering a domain name by Clare LawrenceRegistering a domain name By Clare Lawrence 29th September 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service. If your planning your own website, then your really need to consider getting your own domain name. They aren't free but if your serious about building your own corporate or on line presence the a domain name is one of the best investments you can make. The Domain Name System or DNS allows for...
•Submission scams
Submission scams by Clare LawrenceSubmission scamsBy Clare Lawrence 19th August 2004 Submit your site to 1,000,000 search engines and directories for $19.99. Sounds too good to be true. Well it is! 90% of submissions sites are a waste of money. It’s a common fallacy that you need to submit your site to search engines on a regular basis. Once your site is part of an index such as Google there is no need to re-submit. If only part of your site is listed, then check your navigation structure...
•Tips on Domain Name Choice
Tips on Domain Name Choice by Clare LawrenceTips on Domain Name Choice By Clare Lawrence 3rd November 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service. Before buying your domain name, give some thought to the followng:- 1) If possible use your sites name as the basis of your domain name e.g www.discountdomainsuk.com for Discount Domains UK. This might seem common sense but not every site follows the convention. If you use your name in your URL it...
•UK Domain Names Alternatives
If you've tried to register a domain name recently, you've noticed; all the really good .com names are gone. Try it. Choose any animal, any generic medication, any sport, any mode of transportation, even emotions or silly names. You have very little chance of finding any of them free in the .com listings.
Fortunately, for businesses that do business primarily within the United Kingdom, Central Nic offers the alternative of the uk.com domain extension. You might think that this isn't an...
•Want a better website ranking?
Want a better website ranking? by Clare LawrenceWant a better website ranking?By Clare Lawrence 8th June 2004 Almost everyone wants to improve their rankings in the search engines, also known as Search engine results placement. How to do it? The web is full of services offering to submit your website to 1,000’s of search engines and directories for $19.99. As you might imagine nearly all of these services produce very disappointing results. How should I go about it? I focus on Google, the...
•Web Site Basics
Web Site Basics by Clare LawrenceWeb Site BasicsBy Clare Lawrence 8th June 2004 The web or internet is an exciting place, but can seem very daunting to the novice web designer. You want to get a web site up and live, how is it done, and how can it be done cheaply? Domain Names The first step is to select a domain name, try and choose a name that is easy to remember, short, and if possible one that describes your website. Nearly all the obvious domain name have gone, so you may need to use...
•Web Statistics
Web Statistics by Clare LawrenceWeb StatisticsBy Clare Lawrence 15th August 2004 Web statistics are a vital part of promoting your website. On the Internet it’s very easy to spend dollars on advertising and pay per click and be disappointed with the results. By using web statistics properly, you can monitor what works and what doesn’t. Web servers collect logs of site activity but you need software such as the great free product webaliser to monitor and interpret them. Webaliser turns these...
•Which Directories
Which Directories by Clare LawrenceWhich DirectoriesBy Clare Lawrence 19th August 2004 There are literally 1,000 of directories on the web and new ones pop up every day. Which ones should I submit to? Well firstly, provided a directory’s pages are indexed by the search engines (e.g. Google) and each page has a definite theme, then they all are! A few directories do however, have a strong effect on search engines rankings and have sufficient visitor volumes to warrant the effort to get a...
•Which TLD
Which TLD by Clare LawrenceWhich TLDWhich top-level domain (TLD) to choose?By Clare Lawrence 10th March 2003 Clare is the CEO of Discount Domains Ltd a leading UK Domain name registration service.I am often asked this question. Is it possible that search engines such as google give preference to the .com TLD? Or are TLD’s all treated equally?As a test I picked a random phrase “Technical services” and did a search on Google.com. The results:1. .org 2. .com 3. .com 4. .net 5. .co.uk Trying the...
|
|