DAY 5 -- Refine Your Site Concept and
Register Your Domain Name
SBI! Modules Used Today -- Search It!, TNT HQ
Your DAY 5 goal is to refine your domain name choice based on some final considerations, and then register your perfect domain name.
Condensed Action Guide
This condensed version of the written Action Guide has all the essential elements of the full one. If you prefer to read and do not like too many details or fine points or distracting links, use this version. Close this window to return to the full guide.
Today's Action Steps
Major decision time! So take your time while you...
Refine your Site Concept and register your domain name...
- Make key decisions.
- What's the VPP?
- What's the spin?
- How narrow do you go?
- Other considerations?
- Read MYCPS!, vital for PREselling and VPP selection.
- Final evaluation... Loop back, if necessary.
-
Ready? Name that domain!
- key elements of a good domain
- when to use dashes
- make sure it's legal
- final checks
- Register your domain.
- Important SBI! Resources and Final Advice Before DAY 6
Your Domain Name Is Included in SBI!
Your domain name is included in the annual SBI! fee. So register your domain name ONLY through SBI!. Do not ever register it elsewhere. It's an extra expense and it is non-transferrable for the first 60 days (ugh).
After you register, your domain is automatically renewed annually.
Do not get fooled by notices, even if they arrive by snail mail, to renew your domain. They are fraud.
Step 1 - Make key decisions.
It's time to do some final MKL-evaluating and thinking. Time to make final adjustments to your Site Concept and domain name by answering the following questions, which go above and beyond the "know and love your niche" basic advice of earlier days..
What's the VPP?
A Valuable PREselling Proposition ("VPP") answers, in very few words and hopefully with just a touch of character, two critical questions about your Site Concept...
- What specific and high-value information does your site deliver?
- What is your unique positioning for this delivery (i.e., your angle of approach -- more on this in a second)?
A good VPP transmits these answers loud and clear. And the single best way to do that is to include your VPP in your domain name!
Do not be "OVERclever" or subtle here. Include your Site Concept keyword and add the VPP "marketing angle/theme" to it. Make your VPP/concept crystal-clear to your human visitor. And, of course, the engines rank your site a touch higher when your Site Concept keyword is included in your domain name -- so feed it to the spiders.
What's the Spin? (AKA "Positioning")
Decide upon your angle of approach. How are you positioning the information? Nori is a teen writing about her family adventures in Anguilla. Her site is called anguilla-beaches.com. But her dad (I know him personally!) might write in a more sophisticated tone for a site that he would call high-net-worth-anguilla.com.
See how the positioning can change a domain name? See how it will attract and hold a completely different subset of people who are interested in Anguilla?
Your domain name should contain your Site Concept keyword, of course. But the days are long gone when anguilla.com would be available. Of course, if your "keyword.com" is available, grab it. Otherwise, use the "extra words" in your domain name to transmit your Valuable PREselling Proposition.
How Wide or Narrow Do You Go?
The scope of your niche should be as narrow as possible, yet still offer lots of profit potential! Every success story starts small, then builds. And if you're like most people, you don't have the time to flesh out a big, broad concept (ex., the entire "Caribbean" -- stick with "Anguilla") all at once. If time is a limiting factor, stay especially narrow.
More reasons to go narrow...
- It will be tough to win at the SEs if your concept is too broad.
- Competition is "bigger and badder" in the big pond -- better to be a big fish in a small pond.
- You'll need to create a lot more content and devote much more time.
- You almost surely have more knowledge and passion for the narrow option.
- Same for your visitors -- tight, focused niches attract highly targeted customers who are easier to PREsell.
Choose a niche that "PREsells well." It's harder to PREsell a broad concept -- the narrower the niche, the more targeted the visitor... and the more enthusiastic. But if your topic is too narrow (ex., "Norwegian fashion models from the mid-1700s"!), the target market may be too small -- you may need to broaden the concept somewhat (ex., "Scandinavian fashion models").
Other Considerations...
-
Don't mix themes on your site or in your domain name. You'll dilute your site's Search Engine effectiveness and cloud the message to your visitors. Everything, from the domain name onwards, must all pull in the same direction. So, anguilla-beaches.com does not write about Antigua or Barbados. (It does, however, write about St. Martin because that is a common day trip, just a few miles away.)
Search Engines are concentrating more and more on the theme of the overall site. So if you choose to develop a broad concept, with several major sub-themes, it will be harder to win the war for the sub-themes than if you dedicated a single site to a sub-theme. In other words... the nichier, the better.
-
Review your Notepads. Do your ideas for Content point you in any interesting directions? Any special Monetization ideas? Site Info contains a ton of useful info, if you follow and explore the sites that BI! lists there.
-
"Flow towards the money." Your Site Concept/VPP/domain name/content should all flow naturally towards your Monetization options... the products or services you sell or recommend, your local business, etc.
Yes, even flow towards your Google AdSense ads (click here for an example). Think the "flow to the money" process through.
-
Remember both types of visitors... Spiders and Humans
- Register a Search-Engine-friendly domain name, one that contains your Site Concept keyword. That's the easy part.
- To the Site Concept part of the domain name, add a word (or two) that communicates your VPP. If it can catch the "voice" ("attitude"), that's even better (but hard to do while keeping it short).
Planning to sell a product (hard or digital goods) or service? Let's clarify the difference between VPP and USP.
A USP ("Unique Selling Proposition") is your service or product's most powerful benefit, in combination with a strong, unique aspect of your business. It answers that critical question...
"Why should I buy from (or hire) you?"
Where does your USP belong? Not in your domain name or on your home page. It belongs on the page that sells your product or service.
PREsell first (VPP), then sell (USP).
Step 2 - Read MYCPS!, vital for PREselling and VPP selection.
Now that you are ready to create valuable, PREselling Content, read Make Your Content PREsell! (MYCPS!). If you have already read it, please re-read it.
Writing to PREsell is about bringing your personality and already existing communication skills to the keyboard. It's about building personality, a unique spin, likeability, content with zip, etc., into your site.
Your "spin" or unique positioning is one of your most important decisions. Everything, including your PREselling voice, follows from it.
You don't PREsell after you've written the content. You do it BEFORE you write -- you plan it as you finalize what your content will be. Good PREselling means...
- write to communicate
- develop your own "voice" with flair and substance
- spin your site/biz/SELF into a unique position
- honestly convince people to trust and like you.
Use the guidance and strategies outlined in MYCPS! to create winning, relevant, info-packed content pages that make your site stand out from the crowd, that open your visitors' minds to your monetization offerings woven into your site.
MYCPS! is the all-important "bridge" from these first 5 DAYs of preparatory work to the next 5 DAYs of execution. Start reading this quick, easy, and invaluable book by clicking here. (Right-click to download.)
Content is the foundation of the C 
T P M process. Get it right and everything else falls into place!
The Voice and VPP Video covers highlights from Make Your Content PREsell! as well as best practices from the Tips and Techniques Headquarters.
Click here to get started (under the DAY 5 section of the Action Guide).
Step 3 - Final evaluation... Loop back, if necessary.
By now, you are confident and excited -- you've got it right. You have found the "right" blend of specificity and profit potential. You know your positioning and your target market. And you have both your Content Blueprint in hand and a Monetization plan that outlines several ways to monetize those who find and love your content.
What if you don't?
If you are concerned at this point that your Site Concept is too broad or too narrow, or that it's "just right" but does not project the expected profit potential, you have several "loop back" options...
i) Loop back to DAY 4 and review/improve your monetization plan.
-OR-
ii) Loop back to DAY 3 and brainstorm more high-profit keywords. Grow and fine-tune your Content Blueprint.
-OR-
iii) Loop back to DAY 2 and develop a whole new Site Concept.
Some people who should do this, do not. Why not?
Because they don't want to feel that they wasted all the time invested up to now. The thought of doing it all over makes them feel tired, depressed, frustrated. But this is merely a problem that needs solving. And remember this...
- Looping back, even if it's "all the way" to DAY 2, would not be a waste. It would be a tremendous saving in future time and energy.
- And "doing it all over" for a new Site Concept, if you do need to go back to DAY 2, is a snap. Now that you've done it once, the entire brainstorming process can be done in under one hour.
Let me put it this way...
If DAY 2, 3, or 4 basically points to a "monetization failure," and if you still proceed...
Then you are wasting time. Big time.
So loop back to DAY 2, if necessary.
-OR-
iv) Recognize that you're "in it" more for the passion than the money. Is your site just a hobby? Do you just want to build a site about something you love? Are profits secondary? If so, go for it! Your passion can be its own rewards.
As long as you recognize that now, you won't be disappointed... and might be pleasantly surprised. Passion does go a long way!
But if the M of C T P M is important, loop as far back as necessary until you are sure that your SBI! site will indeed "show you the money."
Step 4 - Ready? Name that domain!
A good domain...
- is short and sharp
- is meaningful -- conveys a clear message
- is easy to spell
- is easy to remember
- is unique, descriptive, and "you"
- is solid, classic, not hokey
- contains your VPP for human visitors
- contains your Site Concept keyword for spider visitors
- is attractive to humans (ex., "anguilla-beaches.com" "anguilla" is there for the engines and "beaches" is there for humans)
- ends in the classy ".com," ".net" or ".org" (by far, the best regarded by surfers).
When do you use dashes in your domain name?
If both versions of a 3-or-more-word domain are available, use dashes because they make the word breaks more obvious to the eye. Also, the engines usually treat a dash as a space. So they may be more likely to "see" the entire string as separate words.
For example, which is easier to read?...
pricing-on-the-net.com or... pricingonthenet.com
Dashes are less important if your domain name has only two words in it. See how netpricing.com and cyberpricing.com don't really need the help of a dash?
Use dashes (even if the domain only has two words) if the non-dash version is already being used by someone else. But be sure that you are not violating anyone's trademark (details on this below).
Note: If your business is 99%+ online, the offline issues of dealing with dashes are not so important (i.e., telling people how to spell it, people forgetting to put the dash after reading your print ad, etc.).
Here's the bottom line...
Domain names are so cheap that it's a good idea to take both versions (with and without the dash), just to make sure that a competitor does not take names that could be confused with yours. You can always make one domain point to the main one.
See Name Park It! for more information. You will be able to access Name Park It! after you register your SBI! site's domain and build your home page. (It's in the Activity Center in Site Central.) For now, though, register the domain you plan to use for your site.
Offline vs. Online, and Branding
If you already have an offline business, it may be important to use your business name as your domain name rather than create a new domain name for it. On the other hand, you could give the site a name that uses your VPP, then use Name Park It! to park and redirect your business name to your site. This works particularly well with business cards and other forms of offline, local marketing.
If you want to brand your site, you'll want to get really creative and come up with a one word domain name. For example, if you wanted to brand a site about credit cards, you might use the name "creditopia.com" or "crediteria.com" (sorry, they're both taken!). Easy to remember, and have a VPP ("credit utopia" or "credit cafeteria").
Or you may find a domain name by simply adding a letter or two as a prefix or suffix to your site concept keyword (ex., ianguilla.com).
You'll have to be more creative to come up with a short domain name that's still available, but a little extra time spent now could pay big dividends later.
Use the following Search It! resource in the Domain Names category to find potential domain name ideas.
- Domain Names > DomainsBot Domain Namer
http://searchit.sitesell.com/ -- Use the tutorial to ensure you get the most out of your query.
Then make sure that the name you want is not already taken (your registration will fail if it's not available)...
- Domain Names > Check Domain Availability
IMPORTANT: If you do use any third party domain-brainstorming or domain-checking services, do not register domains through them. Return here and use the registration URL on this page. Otherwise, it will take 60 days before the Internet permits you to transfer a new domain name.
And use only Search It! to do your domain name checking. Some domain-checking services will hold a domain name for 4 days (called front running, or domain "tasting"), making it unavailable for you for those four days until they release it (if they ever do). The services accessed by Search It! have been checked and don't grab the domain names you're thinking of using.
Make Sure It's Legal
It is a devastating, cataclysmic and stupid shame to build up a thriving site and then receive a "cease and desist" letter to stop using a third party's trademark. So before you "name that domain," dot your i's and cross your t's...
Use Search It!'s Site Legalities category (shown above) and then pick the Trademark Check Search Type that is right for your country.
Check with a local trademark lawyer to be doubly sure. The sites highlighted in Search It! are all pretty good, but not perfect. You do not have to register a trademark, but you should ask a local trademark lawyer to make sure you are not violating anyone else's mark.
All Set? Sure of Your Choice? Or...
Got cold feet? Want a last check or two to be sure? Here are four suggestions...
- Review Make Your Content PREsell! -- it has some great advice about domain names.
-
Write your home page content before your register your domain. This will give you a stronger feel/preview for both your passion and your VPP/voice/spin. Highly recommended.
Can't choose between two Site Concepts? Do it for both.
- Check out this SBI! forum... Finding Your Niche
- Niche Choose It! -- you have already used this terrific little module to help choose your niche. Now use it to finalize your domain selection.
Step 5 - Register Your Domain
Go to the following URL to register your domain...
http://buildit.sitesell.com/register-domain.html
Want To Transfer a Domain?
Now that you've done the full 5-DAY process, are you still convinced that your previously owned domain is the right one for your business? Our experience is that 2 out of every 3 people change the domain to one that better reflects their Site Concept keyword, contains their VPP and meets all the previously mentioned criteria.
But, if you are sure that your original domain name is the best one, and if you are willing to put up with the bother of transferring (explained in the "Get Ready for SBI!" e-mail) and if you promise not to get upset at us for any problems (because nothing about transferring is under our control), then click on the link above...
It works for transferring domains, too.
Simply follow the instructions. You will need the Order Number that was provided to you in the "Get Ready For SBI!" e-mail that you received right after your order.
The registration process will confirm that your domain is available. After you successfully register a domain, you'll receive two e-mails, usually within minutes...
- "Site Build It! Is Ready for You!" This e-mail sets you on the proper road for the second part of your journey... DAYs 6 to 10.
- "Site Build It! MAIL" This e-mail tells you how to set yourself up to receive and send e-mail, either via your own e-mail software such as Outlook, or through your browser via SBI! WebMail.
Important SBI! Resources and Final Advice Before DAY 6
Time now to introduce you to some SBI! resources that you will find invaluable during DAYs 6-10, as well as some final words of advice. Here we go...
Reference Library for Content in Search It!...
SBI! Forums
And, as you move forward with Site Build It!, don't forget the Site Build It! Forums... THE Place for Friendly, Success-Focused Discussion.
The forums cover all parts of the 10 DAY process. But one thing at a time...
Start building content -- great content drives C T P M, and that drives EVERYTHING!
One forum also explores the secrets that explain the difference between success and failure... Why Do Some Succeed While Others Fail?
Failure? Not everyone succeeds at SBI!, of course. Your chances are the best with SBI!. But, as in life, sports and any activity, not everyone wins.
A failure merely means that one or more mistakes were made. Learn from them. Try again -- you will be much smarter the second time around.
We'll go to the ends of the Earth with an SBIer who is trying. But if we can't seem to help them, it's best to part ways.
Why? Two reasons...
- Everyone at SiteSell wants small business people to succeed online. We want it with a passion.
- Life is too short. We love what we do at SiteSell and don't want to be part of anyone's life pattern of failure. Download the Why People Fail (WPF) e-book (that so many have raved about) from this special thread within the forum... Is Success Merely the Absence of Failure?
The Tortoise
Eliminate any "Get Rich Quick" ideas that the Internet may have put into your head. GRQ does not exist. Instead, we replace it with this thread in the How And Why People Succeed forum.... The Way of The Tortoise
Special Purpose HQs
All the best material from Site Build It! Xpress e-zine (SBIX) goes into the HQs accessible via Site Central. There are no back issues. Anything important is saved and built into the HQs, while eliminating outdated material...
- Tips 'n Techniques HQTips 'n Techniques HQ
- Monetization HQ
- SBI! Resources HQ
- Traffic Stats
- Search Engine HQ
- Value Exchange HQ
- Image Search HQ
- Local Search HQ
- Other Search HQ
Find It!
Wondering where you read or saw something? Want to access a specific help section quickly? Not sure where certain tools are located? Find It! is for you. Be sure to bookmark it...
Your Business-Building Checklist
Focus on your business. And use "Your Business-Building Checklist" to stay on track. (Click here to download your copy of the checklist, if you haven't had a chance to review it yet.)
Heading Into "The Second Half"
End of DAY 5. You have not "spent" 5 DAYs preparing. You have invested them.
No matter which monetization options you choose, you must first have targeted traffic and lots of it. And to attract that traffic, you must first build high-value focused content.
High-value content, content that gets found, is the critical lynchpin for building a viable, profitable, vibrant Web business.
Ultimately, it all comes down to what one of my "hero entrepreneurs" once said. I'll repeat it here because perseverance is the single most common "must-have" on the road to success...
"How to succeed? Try hard enough."
-- Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990)
Pick up the action at DAY 6 of the Action Guide. Put on your hard hat; it's building time! Two e-mails are on their way, full of "what's next" information. There's nothing else to say here, except...
Go get 'em!