Getting Some Good Ol Internet Real Estate

Real estate has made many people large amounts of money inthe offline world, no doubt. But is there a way we can utilizethe same concepts from the offline world and bring them online?

Good question. And the answer is absolutely! However, you'llneed a couple things before you can get some good ol' internetreal estate...

First, you'll need a domain name...

Well, ok.. What exactly is a "domain name"?

In technical terms, a domain name is the unique name thatidentifies an Internet site. But to put it into terms thatI personally use, it's the website address. For example,my main home business websites domain name is:

http://www.homebasedbusinessindex.com

It's very important that you create some kind of onlinepresence for yourself and your business. So a website is anabsolute must have. I definitely recommend starting outgrabbing your own domain name, right away.

The best place for this, is in my opinion is Go Daddy. Atthe time of this writing, you can get domain names for anextremely low price of only $8.95 per year. The url forthis website is: http://www.godaddy.com

Let's talk a little bit about what your domain name shouldrepresent.

If you're interested in promoting baby stuff, like cribs,clothes, toys, blankets, diapers, etc.. Then you would wantthe domain name to reflect what it is you're trying to sell.

So, a couple examples of good domains might be:

thebabystore.com
infantclothes.com
babycribsandmore.com

Now, another thing I'd like to mention here, is that whileit's not entirely a "bad" idea to brand yourself with yourdomain name like pepsi.com or levis.com, I recommend whenyou first start out, begin small. You can always get moredomain names and websites later on down the road!

When choosing your domain name, it's very important tochoose a .com domain name. Now, I'm sure you've seen othersout there that end with .net, .biz, .org, .info, etc... But I don'trecommend these, and I'll tell you why.

In my opinion, it's all about credibility.

I don't know what kind of magic a .com extension has, but99% of the time when I go to a .com site, I'll almost instantlygive more credibility to them than someone trying to sell mesomething on a .biz extension!

And also, for everyone who wants to come back and visit yoursite, people will type in .com 75% of the time anyways.Meaning that if you don't own the .com, you're missing outof website traffic, and potentially sales because they'llend up going to a different website. So this is yet anotherreason why I choose to use .com endings on all my domainnames.

Now, before I get into something else just as important as thedomain name itself, I'd like to go over a quick recap ofwhat we learned about domain names.

1) Establish your online presense by getting a domain name

2) Make the domain name reflect what your site will beselling

3) Always choose a .com ending for more credibility, and forthose who choose to come back to your website!

After you choose a domain name, you need a place to "keep"it. After all, the domain name itself won't do a thing forya, unless you host it.

After you have chosen several good domain names, you shouldnarrow it down to just one. After you have registered it(like GoDaddy.com), you should begin the next step with youronline business.

Getting A *Web-Host* to host your website!

What exactly is a "web-host"?

By definition, a web host is a service that allows you toupload and store a site's HTML documents and related fileson a Web server. But in MY OWN terms, it's the way anyonein the world can access your website.

If you don't have a web host to 'host' your domain/website,you won't be able to proceed. Yes, it's that important!

Here are some good tips when looking for a web-host:

1) Speed
Customers that are seriously worried about speeds that aviewer can see their site, need to consider how fast theservers are. Although bandwidth and connections are majorfactors, server speeds are equally important.

2) Customer Service
Service is another important aspect to consider whenshopping for a host. Hosts offer a variety of customerservice options. Services offered can be 24-hour toll freenumber, 24-hour email help, Frequently Asked Questions pagesand help forums. The amount of help you might need dependsmainly on your experience and problems you encounter fromthe server.

3) Reliability
Checking out the reliability of a service is also veryimportant. Hosts usually have several backup systems in casesomething goes wrong with the main servers. They also canpromise less "down time" by backup power systems such as adiesel generator.

A general rule of thumb is to make sure your web host has atleast a 97% uptime guarantee. So if you find that yoursite is being "offline" the 3%, many times they offer moneyback to keep you a satisfied customer!

Luckily for you, you won't need to go in search for a webhost though! I've already done the majority of the work andfound the two very best (especially for online businessowners)! Here they are:

Thrid Sphere Hosting:
http://www.thirdspherehosting.com

Host 4 Profit:
http://www.hostforprofit.com

My #1 choice of the two is Thirdsphere Hosting because ofall the extra marketing goodies you have access to. Plusthey also give you a way to accept credit cards on your sitewith their "automation station". I have used both, but atthe moment, they are the ones that are getting mybusiness.

Every single one of my sites are now hosted by ThirdSphere!

Alrighty.. Let's take a quick recap for your websitehosting...

1) You must have a dependable web-host to have an onlinepresence and to have a website.

2) Speed is very important when choosing a host

3) Customer Service should always be top notch

4) A guaranteed 97% "uptime" is highly recommended

So, after you get a domain name and website hosting, youronline presense is coming closer and closer!

Stick with it, because you're in for the ride of your life...

Article written by Jason Gazaway, webmaster and owner of http://www.homebasedbusinessindex.com and publisher of the "HBBI Newsletter".