Is Your Domain Name In Trouble?!

by Alyice Edrich

How long ago was it that you purchased your Domain
Name? Is it time to re-register? Check your
expiration date today! If you have six months or less
on your contract, re-register today, before something
happens and it's too late.

Don't think it can happen to you? It has already
happened to many small and large businesses. They
waited until the last minute, business got so busy
that they forgot altogether, or an error occurred with
the registrar company and before these businesses knew
it, someone had come along and snatched up their
domain name, right out from under them.

One business man had close to two weeks to re-register
his domain name, so he went online to make a payment
and renew the domain for a few more years. However,
something happened with his domain host that prevented
him from making a payment online, so he called the
company and asked them to take care of it. He gave
them all the necessary information and paid with his
credit card, by phone. Thinking the problem was
solved, he went about his daily business.

A week later, his domain name "officially" expired and
someone purchased it right out from under him! All
that work, gone!

A work-at-home mom had a fairly successful online
business, but for whatever reason, didn't get her
domain registered before the deadline. Know what
happened to her site? A porn site snatched it up.

Others have lost their domain names due to harvesting
software programs that now let others know the second
your domain name is vulnerable.

Talk about a WAKE UP CALL! If you have a domain name,
register it at least a few months in advance of it's
expiration date. That way, if anything does go hay
wire, you have time to fix it before you lose your
domain name.

You put a lot of hard work and hours into your
website. You put in a lot of money for advertising,
so that people know where to find you. You have
gained the respect and admiration of many people and
businesses. Don't throw caution out the door thinking
this cannot happen to you.

Jeanne of Devine-Designs has experienced her fair
share of what I like to call scrupulous behavior.
When she started Expat-Moms, she began it on a free
web host server (like geocities, tripod, and the
like). Her reasoning was simple... test the waters
and see how successful the business was before going
all out, financially.

Once her cold feet turned warm, she went to purchase
the domain name http://expatmoms.com, but to her
surprise, someone had bought it out from under her!
Now, the site sits unused, while her new domain with
the hyphen is doing extremely well.

Jeanne isn't the only one this has happened to.
" Harvesters" often snatch up domain names in hopes of
re-selling them at a higher, if not outrageous price!

How do they know which domain names are going to be
viable? Simple. They go to free web host servers,
find the business name chosen, then purchase the
domain name in hopes that the owner will one day get
so big that he or she goes looking for that domain
name. Others simply go to a keyword program, like
Overture and purchase domain names using the top
keywords.

I recently read about a woman who befriended a man,
shared her hopes and dreams, including the name she
had chosen for her "new" company. After a few more
months of deliberation, she went to purchase her
domain name, only to find her so-called friend was not
a friend at all. He had gone out and purchased the
name she had chosen for her company... right out from
under her!

If you are serious about an online business? Don't
wait until it is too late. With domain names as low
as $12.95 per year, there is truly no excuse NOT to
invest in a web address. And don't forget, it's a tax
write-off.

TIPS:

Pick your company wisely. Try to find a company that
sends out reminder notices. If the company you use
doesn't and you are happy with where you are at,
please mark your calendars every year! I have a
monthly bills-to-be-paid sheet, and I list my domain
names, web host, and other business related expenses
as a monthly expense. That way, I know every month
what is due out the door, when.

If you must insist on using a free web host server,
take the precaution of ordering your domain name and
have it redirected to your free web host server, for
under $30 per year!

Be safe, and check the expiration date of your domain
name today. If it is up in six months time or less,
order an extension or renewal of that domain name
today... and try to order at least two years or more.

While it used to be advantageous to purchase a domain
name that had expired to keep the high rankings,
Google as changed its algorithm policy to weed out
sites that purchased domain names for this sole
purpose. (Keep in mind that taking over someone else's
completed site does not fall under this category.)

Bio:
Alyice Edrich is the author of several work-from-home
e-books and the editor of The Dabbling Mum.com—a
national publication for BUSY parents. She is also a
telecommunications rep and sales discount domain names
at http://edrichcommunications.com