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Reverse Domain Name Hijacking on the Rise

Reverse domain name hijacking has proven to be one of the biggest problems in the domain name industry today.  Most importantly, it is an issue that can have a direct impact on your internet identity and web presence.

What is Reverse Domain Hijacking?

Typically associated with cyber squatting, reverse domain hijacking describes a practice where a company that owns a trademark exercises its trademark rights in attempts to secure a domain name from the legitimate holder.  This is something that has become all too common these days.  More and more, we are seeing small companies and entrepreneurs registering domain names that are also targeted by bigger companies.  In hopes of intimating the little guy, these big spenders have been known to cry the UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy) and engage in legal battles many smaller companies simply can’t afford.

While domain disputes often boil down to a lot of specifics, it is a known fact that several larger companies rely on their financial resources to wrestles names from the grips of legitimate owners.  Why has this practice become so widespread?  This is because the UDRP does not contain any meaningful literature stating that overzealous and determined trademark owners cannot file complaints.  And despite the monstrous label of reverse domain name hijackers, nothing to this point has been enough to deter the efforts of corporate giants.  As long as these companies continue to enjoy publicized measures of success, such claims could be filed for some time to come.

Fighting Back Against the Bullies

So, what do you do when the big bad corporate bullies come knocking and threatening to seize your domain?  Well, if they have the resources along with the trademark, the company can file an action in court and make the claim that the registration or utilization of the domain is not considered unlawful on their part in accordance to the ACPA (Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act).  This legislation was put in place to balance the rights of domain name holders and trademark owners respectively.  Most importantly, it was enacted to address the growing problem of reverse domain name hijacking.  However, there is only so much the ACPA can do for you.  For instance, you can only win back your domain name as the legislation does not cover any financial damages against the trademark owner.  Equipped with ample resources, this is one of the main reasons trademark owners will continue their abusive practices and keep the pressure on smaller companies.  Unfortunately, even though you can leverage the ACPA to take action in court, very few domain owners have a wallet sizable enough to challenge a bigger company for the domain name they have legitimate rights to.

Change is Needed

There has been much debate on whether the ACPA should be amended to create a greater balance between the rights of domain name and trademark owners.  However, implementing such a change would require the full cooperation of many parties including the domain and trademark holders who already are not seeing eye to eye, and quite possibly a few government bodies as well.  Unfortunately, until the playing field is leveled, trademark owners will continue to pull out their big wallets and strip domain names away from less fortunate, but legitimate registrants.

How to Invest in a Domain Name

Have you been thinking of investing in a domain name lately?  If so, rest assured that you are in the large majority.  Today’s internet has become incredibly powerful as more people come to grasp the benefits.  These days, almost everyone has easy access to the internet and can connect with millions of people around the world.  When thinking of the endless potential, investing in a domain name only makes sense for those who want to leverage the power of the net and the reach of the World Wide Web.

In the internet world, a domain is equivalent to an address of a store.  If want to visit a website, then you need to type in an address to access it.  The shorter and catchier this address, the more valuable it becomes as it will be easier for people to remember.  Whether you have plans of starting an informative website or an online business, these tips will help you get the most out of your domain name investment.

Think Ahead

Some domain names are more popular than others because of the current trends today.  For this reason, you should think ahead and consider the future trends.  Can you predict what will be en vogue in the next few years?  If you plan on selling your domain name for profit, you may want to secure one that coincides with an emerging trend to encourage top dollar offers.  If you plan to build your presence off the name, choose something that has longevity and will stay relevant regardless of what’s hot.

Determine a Viable TLD

Even people who have never been on a website associate “.com” with the internet.  It is the most popular TLD (top level domain) so securing this extension should be your first move.  Because it is so highly sought after, there is a chance that your first choice for .com may not be available.  Somebody could have beat you to the punch.  While you could go with alternatives such as .org, .net or .info, you should keep in mind that the selling price for these extensions will most likely be incomparable to .com.  However, if you plan to establish your presence with a website, these alternatives could work just fine depending on your promotional efforts.

Carefully Consider the Name

Last but not least, you need to put an emphasis on the actual domain name itself.  Short and sweet usually works best as it generally results in a simple and effective choice.  You may have something unique in mind, but if it is too long or complex, you run the risk of deciding on a name that no one will remember.  Take it from the masters of the web: Google, Yahoo and Flickr have all branded themselves with domain names that are simple, easy to remember and powerful.

Investing in a good domain doesn’t have to be a complicated process.  You just need to be aware of what goes on in the internet world.  After coming up with the right selection, this could turn out to be one of the best investments you ever made.

What Do You Get with a Cheap Domain Name?

A domain name is very critical to your online identity.  Though extremely valuable, registering one is actually quite affordable these days.  Be that as it may, one must remain aware of all the tricks of the trade in order to ensure a quality purchase.  There are many registrars on the market that are in the business of selling cheap domain names.  In fact, if you search long enough, you can easily find offerings for as low as $1.99 or $2.99.  Prices like these are hard to pass up, but there has to be a catch, right?  You got it.  It is important for you to realize that while they serve the same general purpose, not all domain registrations are created equal.  What we mean by this is that different registrars will include or omit different services with your registration.

Standard Features

A quality domain name with a .com extension will cost your around $10 a year.  At the very least, this service should include the following features:

- Free domain forwarding

- Free personalized email address and alias forwarding

- Free domain parking

- Free domain registration privacy

- Full DNS Access

When you purchase a cheap domain name, more than likely, you will be missing out on many of the above features.  This might not be a tremendous deal depending on your specific needs, but if you really want to make the most out of your domain name and web presence, it is definitely better to have them.

Common Tricks

To help ensure that you get the best deal possible, we have listed some of the most common tricks registrars employ when offering cheap domain names.  You may be surprised at how many of the big name companies are involved in the trickery.

Bait and Switch – GoDaddy is well known for its $2.99 special on domain names.  However, most of the time, this deal only applies to .info TLDs, which could be a rather undesirable extension for someone trying to do business online.  Chances are, you are after a .com domain which will cost you about $9.99 per year.

Limited Time Discount - Yahoo is another well known registrar with tricks up its sleeves.  The company recently had a sale for .com domain names at the amazingly low price of $1.99.  The major catch is that the price was only good for the first year and only available to new customers.  Once that year exceeds, the cost goes back up to the regular price of $9.95 per year.

Must-buy Add-ons - When purchasing service from some registrars, that price of $1.99 is only good if you also purchase additional products the company offers.  In most cases, this is a web hosting package.  If you truly need a web hosting service, then look for a provider that will sell you a good plan and provide the domain name absolutely free.

Although the tricks mentioned in this article aren’t necessarily scams, they are very confusing and could spell trouble for the newcomer.  Therefore, you want to conduct solid research because unlike most things you buy, there is no refund on a domain name registration.

Park Your Domain or Build a Site – That is the Question

There are numerous ways to make money with a domain name.  Two of the most common methods involve developing a website for business purposes, or parking it for profit.  Which method should you choose?  This article will help you decide.

The Allure Behind Domain Parking

Many ambitious registrants elect to monetize their domain names by parking them on popular sites like GoDaddy and Sedo.  Others build websites that are strictly designed to generate revenue from programs such as Google AdSense.  These type of sites hold little value other than trying to get visitors to click on the AdSense ads.  Why do this instead of developing a real website or blog to go with the domain?  Even though these individuals have all the intentions of turning around and selling the names, most realize that this process usually takes a considerable amount of time.  In fact, it could actually take years for you to sell a single domain.  By parking them, owners can quickly recover their registration costs and also get a shot at steady revenues until that dream sale comes along.

When it Backfires

There is definitely potential in domain name parking, but there also many drawbacks to this method.  Instead of waiting for a big sale that may or may not come, they could be investing their time and effort into developing and marketing that domain through a website.  Of course this takes hard work but as they say, hard work pays off.

More often than not, domain name parkers end up waiting longer they would like, just hoping they miraculously fall into a thousand dollar sale with very little effort.  The ones who thought they were clever by registering multiple domain names with the hopes of parking for profit are usually the most disappointed when things don’t go as planned.

What most domain parkers don’t realize is that a domain’s true value lies in the popularity it builds and the traffic it generates.  The hard truth is that a domain typically does not increase any more in value than when you registered it, regardless of your status within a particular market.  A popular website doesn’t necessarily translate into a million dollar domain name.  This is especially the case when the name is simply sitting there boasting Google ads. Thus, if you are just parking it to get a few clicks for some measly ads, then your domain is only worth a couple of pennies over the price of registration.  This is something you need to take into consideration before you buy into all the prosperous stories about domain name parking.

Your Best Bet

If you can come up with a business plan that includes your domain name, you will have a much better chance of adding to its value.  This means you are generating traffic and bringing in visitors who actually subscribe for a newsletter, join your membership site or buy products or services.  If you really want to sell your domain name for big money, this is the best way to show that it has real business potential.  Even if you have no plans of selling the name at all, you are more likely to profit by putting it to use than letting it sit collecting dust in an overcrowded corner of the net.

Choosing a Keyword-rich Domain for Your PPC Campaign

A domain name can provide a plethora of benefits.  First, it gives your potential audience a glimpse of what your site is about and in theory, makes it easier for them to find you online.  It can really be advantageous from an SEO aspect for someone who is trying to leverage traffic from the search engines.  When it comes to a Pay Per Click marketing campaign, the importance of a keyword-rich domain becomes clearer with each day.

Why is it so Important?

Marketing products and services through Pay Per Click campaigns has proven to be effective but these days, almost everyone is doing it.  Because of this, it is important to implement any method you can to lower your cost per click.  One if the best ways to lower your cost per click and increase your click through rate is to enhance your visibility on elite search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN.  All throughout the web, successful PPC advocates are raving about the importance of registering a keyword-rich domain name to improve marketing efforts.

A keyword-rich domain name can be a very effective weapon in your SEO arsenal when it focuses on the three critical areas of a PPC campaign: the headline, the ad text and the clickable URL.  Keeping this in mind, here are some factors to consider when choosing a domain name to aid in your Pay Per Click marketing scheme:

.com TLDs are the Best

Whether it is for a PPC campaign or other endeavors, you want to register your domain with a .com extension if at all possible.  It just tends to resonate better with internet users and also makes you look a bit more established.  On the other hand, extensions such as .net and .biz have been doing well as of late with PPC campaigns so these would definitely be your best alternatives.  In the end, choosing a good domain name with relevant keywords is more important than the extension you decide on.

Get Innovative With Your Name

With keyword-rich domains becoming more scarce, you might need to get a little more creative when registering a name.  Something as simple as adding a hyphen in between your keywords could get you that much closer to your ideal domain name.  Although some don’t recommend it, this proves to have little to no negative impact on a PPC campaign.

Capitalize Your PPC Keywords

After settling on a good domain name, you need to optimize your ads in a manner that makes them more attractive in the eyes of the search engines.  When it comes to PPC campaigns, MyProduct.com can be far more effective than myproduct.com.  Check the statistics and you will likely see that you get more clicks by doing this.  Though it seems quite simple, the difference can end up being more than a 300% difference in your click throughs.  In the end, it can raise your PPC quality score and lower your cost per click as well.

Registering a keyword-rich domain is only practical for a Pay Per Click campaign.  When coupling the tricks in this article with a few others, you should notice results in a very short time.  In the highly competitive world of online marketing, one must take advantage of all they possible can.