Hi again,
I see most of you here on this forum seem to or are running some kind of home based business (internet) .

I do the magazine thing but also would like to hve a web site for when its too cold to go out and get the magazine. The magazine I run is free to public, i don't make my money off of the readers. I just want to have a web site so people can go online and be able to read the magazine online. I strongly feel that its best for most business to have a web site.
anyways ...........
Here is the deal...

I wanted a .com ,personally when i see a web adress i allways assume its dot com.
It just sticks out more to me I've never looked up a site thats dot anything else. My business name is allready taken under .com and im not trying to <mybusinessname4528.com> add any numbers or crap like that
(to confusing) I went to this site and it is not updated since 03. luckily 4 me it expires on bec 24 04 :abovehead .
i found myself on the net that said i can "backoorder " this site i had to pay like $30 or somthing like. I wasnt sure if it was like a scam or somthing and i dont like usimg credit cards on the net so i didn't.

Should I Back order this??????
Im I wrong about .com being the best reconized as appose to .biz ot .net etc etc
I know they are all for different things biz for smaller business and all that.
what if i back order it.......then what is that the cost of my <name> .com
or will i have to pay summin else after that??????????????

thanks again :thumbsup:

I also think people will assume ".com" first when thinking of a domain name so I'd go for that if at all possible.

Back-ordering is a legitimate service - I'd just stick with better known companies. One company is SnapNames (http://www.snapnames.com/). There is no charge to set up an account or to put domains on back-order. You'll only be charged if they are able to get the domain name.

The minimum for the SnapNames service is $60 and you will need to pay for that with a credit card. If others want the same domain, then there is a bidding process and you decide how much you are willing to spend.

GoDaddy (http://www.godaddy.com/) is another reputable company and they charge $18.95 for their backorders. The difference is with GoDaddy, you pay in advance. If you don't get your domain, you can apply the fee paid to another domain.

If a domain is important to me, I'll set up backorders with multiple services.

Not only do most folk assume the .com top level domain in a URL, but in the case of a commercial concern, it's also appropriate. .net is supposed to be for ISPs and networks, .org for non-profits, .mil for the military, and so on. There's also the geographically based domains, like ci.poolesville.md.us, which is supposed to be for civic and local governments, but that are often ignored in favor of Tier I top level domains.

In addition to that, I would advise anyone to stay well clear of what I would call the Tier III of top level domains, which would include .biz and .info. The .biz top level domain is infested with spammers, and some major ISPs do content level blocking of e-mail with come-ons with links to pages within .biz domain space. You don't want ISPs and prospective customers to assume that your organization is some fly-by-night spamming outfit.

Good luck!

thanks , both of you for replying i really appreciate it. :thumbsup:

Hi,

I hope you were able to get your domain name. :)

Teresa

Have you been to the site of "yourbusinessname.com".

Is it a working site?

If so, does it seem to be a viable company that will be around for some time?

If so, what are your chances of ever getting the name?

In other words, why backorder something that will probably never become available. The only time a backorder is going to do any good is if the current owner is not going to renew.

On the other hand, if the domain is just registered, but not being actively used, you might approach the owner and see if they would sell it to you.

Also consider who you are interested in attracting to your site. If your audience is "netizens" who sit at a keyboard all day and spend their waking hours on the net then some of what is discussed above is meaningful.

However, if your audience is Jane and John Q Consumer, the domain extension is of less importance.

If you have a brick and mortar store and an well established brand name, then having .com is the way to go, because people will try that first. No doubt about that.

But, how many just type the name itself in search engines, without worrying about the .whatever?

If, you are driving traffic to your site through links, it doesn't matter what the address. People are going wherever the link takes them.

In your case, I'd suggest going to GoDaddy and getting the .net address, since that does seem to be the next most popular. Or, if you have more than one word in your title, you might try with a hypen, or two. At the same time, from the way you describe inactivity with the domain, go ahead and backorder as well.

Bear in mind that it is usually at least 90 days from the time a domain name expires until it is actually "turned loose" by the registrar. maybe longer.

And please don't feel inhibited about using your card on the net. You can buy fakes and worse on the auctions and you certainly don't want to give your info to the spam emailers. But sites like GoDaddy are certainly safe.

I was one of the unfortunate thousands who recently had their card info stolen a month or so ago. They got 2 of my debit cards. My bank automatically issued new numbers and cards, but I have to pleasure of updating the new numbers with folks who have them on file.

One of my cards is known to at least 35 suppliers of one sort or another, all on-line. I've never had a problem. I just hope I've covered them all, I'm not anxious to get a call or email telling me a transaction was declined, even though I know they are using the old number.

Also consider who you are interested in attracting to your site. If your audience is "netizens" who sit at a keyboard all day and spend their waking hours on the net then some of what is discussed above is meaningful.

However, if your audience is Jane and John Q Consumer, the domain extension is of less importance.

The point is not what your recipients think of .biz or .info. What matters is what your recipients' ISP thinks of .biz or .info.

If John and Jane's ISP is blocking your mail because it originates from or contains links to a site under the .biz TLD, then it really won't matter who your target audience is. No matter which of Pete's categories they fall into, they won't see your mail.

Excellent advice, otherwise.