Tld: Top Level Domains
A top level domain is exactly what it sounds like: a type of domain name which is at the top level of the internets domain name system. There are over a thousand TLDs available but the most common include .com, .org, .net, and .edu.
The official list of TLDs is maintained by an organization called the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority and can be viewed here. IANA notes that the list of TLDs also includes ccTLDs and gTLDs, which well talk about next.
What Is The Difference Between An Addon Subdomain And Parked Domain
A parked domain is any registered domain name that isnt actively connected to any service like a website or email address. Typically, itll just show an error or a this domain is for sale page.
An addon domain is a domain that you add to your web hosting platform, like cPanel, by tying it to a specific directory on your server. For example, yournewdomain.com.
A subdomain is a separate subsection of your domain, singled out by adding a part like sub.youdomain.com.
As a common use case for subdomains, check out Wikipedia and its pages serving different versions of the same page in several languages:
English version: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_parking
French: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nom_de_domaine#Parking_de_noms_de_domaine
Understanding Domains And Trademarks
As you might imagine, many brands target their organization name as their domain name. For instance, GoDaddy uses GoDaddy.com, Pepsi uses Pepsi.com and McDonalds uses McDonalds.com.
The value of a branded domain cannot be overstated, but are brands awarded these domains under trademark laws? Are domain owners awarded any protection over their domain names?
The relationship between domain names and trademarks is important to understand before you purchase a domain and start building a website and business. There are risks to purchasing a domain name without researching trademarks first.
Domain availability doesnt protect from trademarks
Just because a domain name is available, doesnt mean there isnt a trademark protecting that brand name.
For instance, if you found a variation of GoDaddy that was available for registration, you could not purchase and operate a business on that domain because it would still be protected under trademark law.
Choosing a domain name requires more research than just availability you need to make sure that you are not walking into any legal conflict by picking a domain name that is protected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office .
When it comes to domains and trademarks, remember these basic considerations.
Related: Trademark vs. copyright Which one does your business need?
Protecting domain names with trademarks
Domain name and trademark case study: Nissan.com
Protecting yourself from trademark infringement
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Use Your Domain Name To Build Your Brand
Your domain name almost subconsciously plays a role in growing your brand. Think about it how powerful would the GoDaddy brand be if it had a domain name like BuyWebsites.com?
Businesses should look at the domain name as an opportunity to cement their brand identity into visitors minds.
Not only is GoDaddy.com the perfect domain name to grow GoDaddys brand, but its easy for consumers to remember and type in their browser when they want to visit the website directly. Look for branded domain names whenever possible especially if you can find an exact match brand name.
How To Buy A Premium Domain
Buying a premium domain that the owner has listed on an aftermarket marketplace works just the same as purchasing a regular domain name:
Youll then be the proud owner of a new domain name, and it will renew at the extensions regular price for any subsequent years that you own the domain.
Behind the scenes, a number of things can happen that will affect the time it takes to transfer ownership over to you. Some services make this process easy and others require a bit of back and forth, which can take a few minutes or a week as we gather the necessary information and make sure everything is transferred smoothly. Whatever the specifics may be, well handle it for you and ensure a secure transfer.
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Sell Your Domain Name
Stuff happens. Maybe inspiration struck at 3 a.m., when an amazing new domain name woke you from a dead sleep. And that other domain you already registered? It can still help you out.
You can get it in front of interested buyers via domain aftermarket sites that only take a small percentage of the sale.
One such aftermarket option is GoDaddy Auctions.
For an annual fee and a percentage of the sale, you can list your domain name for auction or set a buy now price and GoDaddy will handle all the details.
Related: 5 tried-and-true tips for selling domain names for profit
Make It Brandable Not Generic
Creative, memorable domain names are always better than generic ones. After all, your domain name is how people will find, remember, and spread the word about your business on the internet. Its much better to have something that aligns with your brand instead of a domain name thats made up of a bunch of general keywords.
For example, can you tell the difference between cheapcarinsurance.com and affordableautoinsurance.com? Which one would you trust when it comes to buying insurance? Probably neither. Both sound a little spammy, and theyre terribly generic.
On the other hand, youll probably know where the domain names progressive.com or geico.com are going to point you to. Those companies have invested in their brands, and theyve used them in their domain names. You can trust that these sites are legitimate.
Even if you havent built up trust and loyalty yet, you can start by choosing a strong domain name that fits your brand.
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How To Create Your Own Domain Name
If you want to promote your face or your name online, why not create a personal website using a customized domain? A personal domain is where you use your own name, followed by a top level domain like .COM or .ME.
The best way to start building a personal brand is to use your own name. And, because this specific domain uses your first name and last name together, you may have more of a chance of landing it. Simple, and easy!
Another way to create a personalized domain name is to use your name in conjunction with a hobby, such as johnsmith.actor, or hannahrowe.cricket. There are so many options out there, ready and waiting to be snapped up.
You’re Not Stuck With Paying Forever If You Want To Quit
You are under no obligation to keep paying for the domain name. That is, if you decide in the end that you want to close yourwebsite, simply don’t renew your domain name. Normally, when your domain name is about to expire at the end of its registration period,the domain name registrar will send you an email message to remind you that it’s time to renew. If you don’t want to keep the domain,just ignore the email and don’t pay for the next year’s fee. Their system will then automatically terminate your domain name atthe end of that period, and that’s that. When you type that domain into your browser after that date, you will no longer seeyour website.
Note: if you have originally asked your registrar to automatically renew your domain name, and now don’t want it done,you will need to return to your registrar’s website to disable the automatic renewal. Otherwise the registrarwill go ahead and charge your credit card for the renewal fee when the domain is about to expire .
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Complete The Domain Registration
As soon as you have completed the payment, youll be redirected to the control panel. Inside, there will be a setup box that youll need to fill out to complete the domain name registration.
Youll need to fill in all the fields with the correct details, such as your name, address, andcontact information. This data will be stored on WHOIS, the official domain ownership database.
After submitting your details, the domain registration will be processed.
Its possible to modify the domain ownership details using the domain management section within the control panel. Once the changes are made, you will have to confirm them via email.
What If My Domain Is Already Taken
If someone already has your domain, you might still be able to buy it, but it will cost more. This is because instead of buying it from a registrar for a standard price, youll have to buy it off of whoever has it. Many people register domains they think could be profitable and then sell them on domain marketplaces like Sedo and Afternic. You can try searching those services if you need that specific domain.
The cheaper thing to do though is to try a different top level domain . There are many mainstream ones like .org, .net, and .co, but also some more obscure ones like .xyz, .biz, and .business. Often these wont be taken, and you can find a domain with the same name by buying one of these.
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Make It Easy To Type & Remember
Even if a website ranks well in searches, its still important to have a web address that clients can relay via word of mouth. That can mean limiting creativity a bit, as its very difficult to visualize and remember domains with odd spellings of words, multiple hyphens or other characters, numbers and so forth.
People should know how to type it as soon as they hear it or after a very brief explanation. In the domain industry this is commonly referred to as the radio test. If your client is running an ad or talking about their business over the air, how do they say the domain? Something like katz4life.com presents far more of a problem than, say, catsrock.com for a web address.
Also try to avoid words that have more than one common spelling, such as ambience . If you must use one of these, try to register an additional domain with that alternate spelling. Its very easy to forward the variant to a primary domain, letting people find the website without confusion.
What If The Domain Isnt For Sale
So far weve looked at domains that the owner is looking to sell, but what about domains that the owner has not thought about selling yet? If you want a domain that someone owns but isnt actively seeking a buyer, its possible to approach them and see if theyd be willing to sell it. This will usually involve a higher than average price since the owner will need enough of an incentive to part with their domain.
If a domain name is taken and the owner isnt trying to sell it, we display a Make An Offer link which will connect you with DomainAgents. They will find the domains owner, negotiate a price and, if the owner is interested in selling, ensure a secure transfer of ownership.
Its possible for you to approach the owner yourself, but things can get very tricky when it comes to the actual transferring of the domain. Youll need to really trust the owner to not run off with your money before transferring the domain, just as the owner will need to trust that you wont take the domain and never pay them. A service like Escrow will help facilitate a safe transfer, but youll save yourself a lot of time and headaches by using a service like DomainAgents to do all the work for you.
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A Beginners Guide To Domains And How They Work
While everyone knows that different sites have different names, not everyone knows where these domains come from, or whos in control. If youve ever wondered, this post is for you.
Here is a walk through the world of domain names where we explain everything you want to know, from what they are and where they come from to how they work and more. And since this post is intended for everyone, amateur or professional, chef or plumber, young or old, you can rest assured its also code and geek jargon-free!
Lets get started!
Picking A Domain Name
Once you have decided which TLD to use, its time to determine the best domain name for your business. An important first consideration is the length of the domain name. Keep it as short as possible. The shorter the domain name, the easier it will be to remember and type correctly. Shorter domain names are also visually more appealing on marketing materials, both physical and digital. Thisisarray.com looks much cleaner than something like Wearethecompanyarraydigital.com and is much easier to remember and type. This is an obvious exaggeration but the more concise your web address, the better chance you have of gaining web traffic. Spelling is also important try not to get too creative with spelling, thatll just confuse users. Stick with common spellings in your domain name.
Whenever possible, domain names should also represent the brand or image that you or your company are trying to portray. Generally, companies will try to get their actual company name or at least a part of it as their domain name because it makes it much easier to remember or find through a search engine. For example, walmart.com, amazon.com, and google.com all use the company name as the domain name. Even if a user cant remember the specific website domain, they are likely to type in the company name into a search engine and find the site that way.
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How Do I Permanently Buy A Domain Name
Its not possible to permanently own a domain name since its not a one-time purchase the maximum period of registration is ten years. You will need to pay and renew your subscription if you want to keep using the same domain name.This is to cover the maintenance costs or domain tax collected by the ICANN.As the number of registered domains grows, the tax increases. Hence, registrars need to adjust their pricing accordingly, which is why the renewal fees are more costly than the registration prices.
How To Register A Company Domain Name For Business
Keen to start an e-business? A domain name gives your business credibility. If youve managed to register your company name, and have a landing page that confirms who you are and what your organization does, you gain instant trust points. It might be a good idea to pick up the same name with multiple TLDs, such as companyname.com and companyname.business, so that other businesses dont get their hands on it.
Once you have a company domain name, you can create a website for business, that includes products and service information for potential customers. As with any name, just start by searching to see if its taken. Fingers crossed its not!
Its easy to choose a domain to fit your brand. If you work in finance you can pick up a .LOAN, .ACCOUNTANT and a .FINANCE domain. If you work with technology you can pick up a .AI, .APP, or .DIGITAL. With so many options out there, the hard part will be deciding which you like best!
Keep in mind that if youre looking to register a company domain, you may be required to submit details such as your company registration number, specifically when registering for a ccTLD.
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