Home // 2005 // January

Making Your Website Work for You: Attracting Visitors by: Marc S. Grobman

January 26, 2005 Reply

Just building a website is not enough. You need to get people to visit it. And just submitting to the search engines won’t do much. Here is a brief overview of 3 effective strategies to get people to your website: 1) Search Engines, 2) PR and Marketing and 3) Email Newsletters. Here is a quick list of do’s and don’ts for each:

Search Engine DO’s:

DO Optimize Your Web Site:
Make sure your website is built correctly and well organized. Your designer should (but many don’t) include Title Tags and Meta Tags, plus lots of good text content that features key words that your visitors will use to search. Title tags appear on the top of your web browser window and Meta Tags are hidden in the html code. Good website Organization also helps Search engines index you.

DO Get Links TO Your Site:
Good links not only bring traffic – they increase your importance in the eyes of the search engines. Get links anywhere you can: web directories, organizations to which you belong your partners, members or clients. Consider paying for inclusion on sites that will give direct links to your site. A good web designer or Search Engine Optimization company can help you grow these links.

DO Pay Per Click (Google AdWords or Overture):
Join a Pay-Per-Click program to advertise on search results. Get very targeted advertising in front of people who are searching for you. These ads come up like search results when people are entering key words that you pick.

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How to Select a Web Site Host by Mike Snyder

January 21, 2005 Reply

So, you know how to create HTML files (web pages) and want to start a website. You have a domain name but don’t know where to store the files (web host). You find countless web hosting companies offering a wide range of products but you can’t make heads or tails of all the features to decide which plan is right for you.

Does this sound like you?

If so, this article was written for you. Hopefully after reading it, you will have a better understanding of all the terms associated with web hosting and find a hosting company that is right for your business.

File Storage Space

Usually hosting companies sell different packages centered around storage space. Storage space is specified in kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), or gigabytes (GB); a megabyte is 1000 kilobytes and a gigabyte is 1000 megabytes.

How much storage space do you need? Well, that depends on what you are planning to do with your website. If you have only a few pages of text and little to no graphics or images, a 25 MB should be more than you will ever need. Most hosting packages start at 25 MB of storage space. When comparing web hosting companies for file storage space, be sure to check their terms and conditions to make sure they do not charge another setup fee for upgrading to a packge with more space.

One way to determine the size of your files in Microsoft Windows, right click the Start button and click Explore. Scroll down and select the file(s) or folder(s) you plan on using for your website. Right click on the selected file(s) or folder(s) and click Properties and you will see the size.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the measure of how much data flows through your site. It is usually expressed in GB transfered per month. If you are expecting a lot of hits (millions of page views) to your site you will need to get the most bandwidth you can afford. For new web sites it may take a while to get up to a significant bandwith. If you find you are approaching the bandwith limit, you can always upgrade to a plan with higher bandwidth. Some plans allow you to increase your monthly bandwidth for an additional monthly charge.

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Domain Names Security : How safe is yours ?

January 2, 2005 Reply

The security of domain name registrations is an increasing concern for domain name registrants and registrars. However, there are steps you can take to increase the security of your domain name registrations.
Domain Name Security is often neglected by most organisations. Infact a large number of hacking attempts do not really need to happen at the Web Server level. Most hackers can fairly disrupt your business by simply hijacking your Domain Name.

Most Registrars assign paramount importance to Domain Security. Its important you chosoe the RIGHT Registrar and who has implemented several security measures and safety locks to prevent your Domain Name from getting Hijacked or taken over.

There are basically TWO basic options offered by Registrars :

    Password based Security


All Domain Names have a password based security. All Domain Names belonging to a particular Customer can only be modified through the right Username and Password combination of that customer.

    Domain LOCK

– this is a MUST have for all due to the recently announced TRANSFER Policy by ICANN (Visit : http://www.icann.org/transfers/policy-12jul04.htm)

Several TLD Registries have the ability to create what is known as a Domain LOCK. Most Registrars offers this feature to Customers whereby you may place a LOCK on your Domain Name. Once a Domain Name is locked NO modifications can be made to the Domain by ANYONE. The Domain Name may not even be transferred to another Registrar. The Domain will remain in a LOCKED status until you yourself choose to remove the LOCK. This feature is by far the most powerful feature to ensure that noone can make any changes to your Domain Name without your express approval.
Ok..what should you do now ?

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