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Webmaster Tips Weekly * ISSN: 1526-2235
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•••• Wednesday, March 1, 2000 •••• ||_ _|

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. "Taming Domain Naming" - Internet Marketing Chronicles
2. Webmaster Tips Weekly Award - New Graphic is ready
3. March Special(s) - Free Web Hosting Options
4. Tip - "Making Money With Your Freebie Site" Web Tip
5. Webmaster Selections - More Great Scripts
6. Featured Ezines - you'll have to see these
7. Subscriber Link - itarget.com
8. Discreet Classifieds
9. Who We Are - Contact Information


==========================================================
>From the Editor...
==========================================================

Hello Subscribers and welcome to another issue of
Webmaster Tips Weekly!

Busy, Busy week here - Trying to put the last minute
touches on 2 web sites that we started this week.
It's given me some food-for-thought for this ezine...
but you'll have to stay tuned for that :)

Out of these endeavors, we found the exceptional
article below and the scripts in the Webmaster
Selections column.

We're preparing some issues focusing on Search
Engine Optimization and another issue focusing
on Press Releases.

So, til then - y'all take care now

Deborah mailto:webmaster@...


==========================================================
1. "Taming Domain Naming"
from Internet Marketing Chronicles
==========================================================

In today's world, we are constantly inundated with
marketing messages. In his new book "The New
Positioning," Jack Trout states that the average
person will have seen over 140,000 TV commercials
by the time he or she reaches 18 years of age. The
Internet is surely no different. It's literally
filled with web sites that range from sheer adver-
tisements to others that are sponsored by them.
Everywhere we turn, it seems, we are faced with
some form of online promotional propaganda.

Our job as consumers has therefore become so
immensely challenging that choosing a business
from which to buy has become a dizzying process.
For an online business to survive and thrive in
today's hypercompetitive marketplace, it takes
more than mere advertising to make a web site
successful (the kind of advertising that says "I'm
open for business"). As marketing guru Dan Kennedy
once said, "Institutional marketing is high-risk
marketing," for the message needs to be repeatedly
advertised in order to work -- if it ever does.


Become A Traffic Magnet
------------------------

Although advertising is the lifeblood of any business,
today's marketing message must therefore stand out
among the commercial quagmire. And it must also do so
in such a way that it creates not only traffic but
also a need for its products or services. In other
words, a company's advertising message must go from
being "in" business to being "the" business of choice.
Where people used to ask "Why should I buy this product
or service?" today, that question has changed to "Why
should I buy this product or service FROM YOUR SITE?"

Simply put, today's consumer will choose one company
over another because the perceived value in their
choice is greater. However, people are given an
increasing multitude of choices on the Internet.
Moreover, they no longer have the time to sift through
all the information that is thrown at them (let alone
the time to shop around for the best product from the
best company at the best price). So, how can a company
communicate that its web site is "the" site of choice?
How can it heighten the perceived value and stand
above the competition?

Ellis Verdi, once president of the National Retail
Advertisers Council, coined the term "top-of-mind
awareness" as the most effectively provocative form
of marketing now available. The idea is to create,
within the subconscious minds of prospects, a psycho-
logical "anchor" that causes people to choose, when
a need presents itself, a company over another
instantaneously. The goal, therefore, is to market
one's site in specific ways so that it stays at the
top of their minds at all times.

In other words, since people no longer have the time
to shop around, when they do have a certain need they
will go to (or search for) the site that happens to be
at the top of their minds at that very moment; the one
that sticks out the most, especially from all the
marketing messages that are so desperately fighting
for their attention. Consequently, top-of-mind aware-
ness on the Internet begins with the most important
element of web site marketing, which is the domain
name itself.


Elements Of A Good Domain Name
-------------------------------

First, realize that a "good" domain name that sticks
in the mind requires more than simply using a
fictitious vanity name. However, it is imperative to
note at this point that registered names have the
ability to stick in the mind more effectively. Jack
Trout once wrote that "The mind hates confusion,
complexity, and change." Therefore, simplicity is
of colossal importance since long or obscure URLs can
be easily forgotten.

For example, rather than having a name with too many
words, such as
http://www.domain.com/subdomain/yourname/~subfolder
or http://names-with-too-many-hyphens.com,
you should get a very simple
http://www.yourname.com. In fact, more and more
companies and commercials are dropping the "www" from
their URLs. Most Internet addresses can simply use
"yourname.com," which is an even better alternative.
In essence, the simpler it is, the better.

The importance of having your own domain name goes
without explanation. It is the same as branding your
business or product. But there are 3 reasons why you
need a good, simple, and memorable domain name. First,
there is the mnemonic factor. Instead of going through
the inconvenience of numerous search engine results to
get exactly what they want, most people will attempt
to go to your site directly by guessing your domain
name and trying a plausible URL.

Mnemonics are words (or a combination of words) that
are easy to remember. A repeatedly visited web site
is one whose URL, for example, includes the use of
mnemonics. If it sticks in the mind, even if the URL
is bookmarked, the site can be easily retrieved and
will be visited often. "Yahoo!" http://www.yahoo.com,
"HotBot" http://www.hotbot.com, and Time Magazine's
"Time" http://www.time.com are perfect examples.

The second element is the credibility factor. People
often associate long URLs with free web sites or sites
of lesser quality. People have a natural tendency to
make what I call UPAs (or unconscious paralleled
assumptions). In other words, if people notice that
your site is hosted by a free or cheap provider, they
will unconsciously assume that a parallel exists (i.e.
that your product or service is just as cheap). Your
domain name is like the headline of an article, and
people will likely judge and visit your site according
to its domain name.

Always remember that perceived truth is more powerful
than truth itself. And a vanity domain name tends to
heighten the perception of the web site's value. As
such, the UPA visitors will make with a domain name
will often be one in which they conclude that the
quality of the web site will be as good as the name
implies.

Finally, the third reason is the actual positioning
process. If your domain name reflects your site's core
benefit and instantly communicates how different you
are from others, your URL will be positioned above the
competition in the minds of your market. Since this
element is the most important, let's deal with it a
little further.


Benefit-Based Domain Names
---------------------------

People usually make a buying decision based on the
kind of information that instantly communicates a
specific benefit; one in which there is an implicit
added value in making the purchase. Therefore, does
your domain name intrinsically reflect the result or
benefit of that which you provide and does so in an
instant? It should. I am astounded to see many
domain names that are still called by ordinary or
blatantly unappealing names, such as with
hard-to-spell words, numbers, abbreviations, or
acronyms like "www.mgf.com."

Let's take the example of two different web sites
that promote similar products: Investments. One's
address is "wealthwise.com" while the other
"mgf-investments.com." Now, with all things being
equal and when placed side-by-side, which site will
be the one more likely to be chosen first? In essence,
your domain name must be able to attract traffic on
its very own. It must also communicate how different
and unique you are when compared to competitor sites,
even before your site is ever visited.

As mentioned earlier, people would much rather skip
the inconvenience of going through numerous search
engine results. But if people do have to resort to an
engine, their search will be greatly simplified and
vastly more efficient if your domain name intrinsically
reflects the core benefit if not the nature of your web
site. Remember that most searches are conducted by
major topics or themes and not by names. Therefore, if
your site's most popular keyword or benefit is within
the domain name itself, that URL has a greater chance
of being listed near the top.

Therefore, play a word association game with your web
site. Look for the word or words that would instantly
pop up in the minds of people when a need presents
itself, a need your site likely fills. For example,
http://free-stuff.com, http://www.allergyrelief.com,
http://www.morebusiness.com, & http://www.fastcar.com
are great benefit-based domain names that effectively
create more top-of-mind awareness (and thus more
traffic).


Domain Names That Drive Traffic
--------------------------------

If the name you want is taken, you can use your
company or product's tagline (or part of it) as a
domain name. A tagline is that small sentence that
follows your business name, such as "You deserve a
break today," "Roaches check in but they don't check
out," and "It takes a licking but keeps on ticking."
Great examples are http://www.alwayscocacola.com
(a loyal Coca-Cola fan site), http://www.cavities.com
(Crest toothpaste), and, of course,
http://www.start.com from Microsoft.

You can also use the site's main theme, feature, or
product, even the site's nature or main business
activity (i.e., what it does). Ultimately, choose a
name that people can remember quickly and effectively
so that, when you advertise among a thousand of your
competitors, your URL stands out and sticks in the
minds of the marketplace.

It is also a good practice to register variations of
your name, including different spellings, product
names, taglines, and associated words. One of the
reasons for this is to ensure that these unused
domain names don't end up falling into the hands of
competitors. But more important, when people attempt
to search for your site and enter a variation of your
domain name they will still end up with your site as
a result.

It all boils down to the fact that your domain name
is a fundamental marketing system in itself. Use it
wisely and you'll see more traffic.


--------------------------------------------------------
Originally published in IMC's Internet Marketing
Chronicles. Subscribe for FREE and we'll send
you Internet marketing tips, tricks, and strategies
every Wednesday. Just send a blank email to
mailto:subscribe@... or visit
http://www.marketingchallenge.com/ezine.shtml
Over 100,000 opt-in subscribers and counting!
--------------------------------------------------------


==========================================================
2. Featured Webmaster Tips Weekly Award
==========================================================

We finally completed the Webmaster Tips Weekly award
graphic. You can view it at....
http:www.webmaster-tip-weekly.com/awards

Thank you to Swannie Roux, who gave us this feedback
that helped us out in the creation process.
Thank you, Swannie!

==> I would suggest that the graphic is not bigger
==> than 80 x 80 , the reason being that I would
==> like to display it on my home page. Bigger sizes
==> will definitely be a downer for loading time.

==> Regards,

==> Swannie Roux.
==> http://www.opptunlimited.com
==> FREE submissions to 50,000+ sites
==> http://www.opptunlimited.com/advertise
==> $25 1st level! $10 2nd level! 55% residuals
==> http://www.ezze.net/vip/25300


§§*** §§*** Keep those submissions coming... §§*** §§***
http://Webmaster-Tips-Weekly.com/awards


==========================================================
3. Subscriber Special - Prices dropped for Subscribers!
==========================================================

=====> Free Hosting Options <=====
Hosting Information at
http://AndersonCreations.com/hosting

Register your new domain name at
http://AndersonCreations.com
then, email us and we will give you
1 month Free Hosting.

Sign up for hosting with Anderson
Creations and after three months
the next 2 MONTHS are Free!

If you are interested in either one
of these Free Hosting Options, email
me at mailto:webmaster@...

Note: These specials do NOT apply to the
Deluxe Package.


==========================================================
4. Tip - Making Money With Your "Freebie" Site
==========================================================

This Web Tip is based on my answer to the following
question that I was asked....
How can I make money through my website
since I give out freebies to my visitors?

Well, first off, in my opinion, there are basically
two types of money-generating web sites:
1. Product or Service based
2. Advertising based

While it is advantageous for both types of sites
to offer "freebies" and free information, etc.,
to help entice traffic, it is imperative for the
second type of web site.

To answer your question - focus on the freebies
and making those freebies available to the internet
public. Focus on traffic to your web site. Keep
it useful, resourceful, helpful, and fun. Once
your traffic is there, you may start to solicit
advertisers for your web site, thereby creating
an income-generating site.

Feel free to reprint this Web Tip with
the following resource box:
=============================================
Deborah Anderson, of AndersonCreations.com,
teaches web design and internet marketing in
addition to publishing Webmaster Tips Weekly.
Subscribe free by sending a blank email to
mailto:subscribe@...
http://webmaster-tips-weekly.com/webtips
=============================================
Copyright 2000 by Anderson Creations.
All Rights Reserved


==========================================================
5. Webmaster Selections - More Great Scripts
==========================================================

This past week, during preparation of one of my client's
web sites, I cam across some more great scripts...

UltraBoard 2000
http://www.ultraboard.org/
Terrific, customizeable Bulletin Board Script. Easy
automated installation too.

Matt Kruse's Calendar Script
http://www.mattkruse.com/scripts/
Useful online calendar script. I "tweaked" it so that
it can be viewed by others, but not edited.
Don't miss Matt's other scripts while you are at it :)


==========================================================
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===========================================================
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===========================================================

itarget.com
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According to itarget.com, "We are not a destination
site. We are a permission based direct marketing
Internet company."


===========================================================
8. Discreet Classifieds
===========================================================
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===========================================================
9. Who We Are
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ISSN: 1526-2235 - Library Of Congress, Washington D.C., USA
© Copyright 1999 by Anderson Creations * All Rights Reserved
http://www.andersoncreations.com