Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 05:45:57 +0000
Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Sender: The Internet TourBus - A virtual tour of cyberspace
From: Bob Rankin
Subject: TOURBUS - 27 Mar 01 - Setting Up Shop
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TOURBUS Volume 6, Number 68 -- 27 March 2001
----------------------------------------------------------------------
_________ ____________ ________ __________ _____________ ___ _
/ | / | | / | \
| *FREE* *FREE* INKJET CARTRIDGES / | \
|__________|__________/__________|__________|___________/_____| \
/ |----\
| BUY 1 GET 2 FREE ON ALL EPSON AND MOST CANON. WOULD LOVE |////|
| TO GIVE THEM ALL AWAY BUT THE BOSS WON'T LET ME. SEPARATE |////|
| PRICING FOR HP AND LEXMARK. CALL TOLL FREE 877-906-2884 OR |////|
| CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE LIST OF CARTRIDGES AND INFORMATION. |////|
| |////|
| CLICK! |
\_______________________________________________________________|____|
/ \ / \ / \
\___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/
FIVE YEARS of Searchable Archives at http://www.TOURBUS.com !!
Today's Tourbus will cover the basics of setting up shop on the Web.
You'll learn how to select and register your very own dot.com address
and how to bring customers to your online store without spending big
bucks on advertising.
+-------------------- TRY WEBPOSITION FOR FREE --------------------+
Submitting alone is not enough to bring new traffic to your site.
People must be able to FIND your site in the top 10 to 30 matches.
Check out the award-winning product WebPosition GOLD which
optimizes pages to rank in the top 10, submits, reports your
positions, tracks your traffic, and much more. Don't be fooled by
the bulk submitters claiming to submit to 1000's of sites. Your
position is what really matters. ZD Net 5 Star Rating!
CLICK HERE for FREE WebPosition Download
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+---------- (LONG DISTANCE CALLS For Just 5 CENTS a Minute) --------+
Sign up for IDT Long Distance and get all your long distance
calls anywhere in the continental US for just 5 CENTS A MINUTE.
All day, every day - not just nights and weekends, like other
carriers. No other major carrier has a better flat rate plan.
Not AT&T, not Sprint, not MCI. Sign up now, it only takes two
minutes. And if you are not satisfied you can cancel anytime.
IDT Long Distance - CLICK for Info
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
DOT.COM YOURSELF
----------------
If you run any sort of business, you really should have your own
domain name. People who put business pages on the freebie sites like
Geocities, or those who use personal ISP accounts will suffer from a
lack of credibility. Which address would you pick if you wanted to
shop for shoes on the web?
http://www.YourISP.com/~jsmith/shoes.htm
http://www.geocities.com/FashionAvenue/28045/
http://www.great-shoes.com
Having your own domain puts you on a level playing field with the big
dogs, and makes the statement that you should be taken seriously.
PICKING A DOMAIN NAME
---------------------
The old song says "all of the good ones are taken", but that's not
necessarily true for domain names. True, most common words, acronyms
and surnames have probably been snapped up, but a little creativity
can help you find a good domain name. To do your research, visit
WHOIS - http://www.betterwhois.com
where you can check to see if a domain is in use. For example, I
checked RANKIN.COM and found that I missed the boat - drats! Since
the WHOIS database contains the name, address and phone number of the
domain owner, you can always make an offer to purchase one even if
it's already in use. An established business might be loathe to part
with their domain for less than a king's ransom, but if you visit the
site and find that it's not really being used, the owner might part
with it for a reasonable sum.
REGISTERING A DOMAIN NAME
-------------------------
Registering a new domain is not difficult, and you don't have to
operate your own server. Most domains are in fact "virtual domains",
hosted by a service provider on their equipment. The domain setup
process involves these basic steps:
1) Choose a domain name
2) Find a host for your domain
3) Register the domain name
We've already covered the first step. A domain host gives you a place
to store the files that make up your website, and provides high-speed
access to it. There are MANY companies that offer domain hosting
services. Price, features and quality vary widely but you can expect
a setup charge of $50 - $100 and a monthly fee of $10 - $30, depending
on how much disk space you need.
I use WestHost for TOURBUS.COM and several other domains, and have
been impressed with their excellent service for several years.
WestHost costs only $9/month and includes 25MB of storage, unlimited
email addresses, CGI access, autoresponders, graphical statistics and
shopping cart software. (Finally, I can be bob@tourbus.com!) Westhost
will even register your domain for you, which is convenient.
WestHost - http://www.westhost.com
Ready to register your domain? A few years ago, that meant paying a
visit to Network Solutions. There are now over 70 registrars, and you
can register a domain for under $15, as opposed to the $35 price still
charged by Network Solutions. Here's a list of the accredited
registrars:
http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html
BILLBOARDS IN THE DESERT
------------------------
Once you get your website up and running, how do people find it? That
requires a bit of promotion on your part. Before you spend money on
advertising, it makes sense to register your site with the major
search engines and directories. Many surfers considering an online
purchase will do a search first, so good search engine positioning
gives you the chance to snag potential customers. Visit these sites
and look for the "Submit a page" (or similar) link:
http://www.altavista.com
http://www.excite.com
http://www.hotbot.com
http://www.google.com
http://www.lycos.com
http://www.yahoo.com
http://www.looksmart.com
You can submit your site for free to the search engines, but getting
your site to appear in the first page of search results has become
something of a black art. Meta tags, keyword density, and doorway
pages are some of the buzzwords that experts in search engine
optimization glibly toss about. And doing it wrong can get your site
banned from a search engine.
I use and highly recommend the WebPosition GOLD software. It really
takes the mystery out of optimizing and submitting your site to the
search engines. WP Gold will help you optimize your pages to rank in
the top 10, automatically submits your site to the most important
engines, and can track and report your positions and traffic.
You can download and try WP Gold for free. I have no financial
interest in the company, and I'm not working on commission. I just
happen to love this program, and I don't know of anything that comes
close. See the sponsor link at the beginning of this issue for the
download site.
DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL
---------------------
In my next TOURBUS article, we'll dive deeper into the subject of
Internet marketing. I'll give you my opinion on what works, what to
avoid, and where to go for expert advice. That's all for now, see you
next time! --Bob Rankin
=====================[ Tourbus Rider Information ]===================
The Internet Tourbus - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238
Copyright 1995-2001, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
Help the hungry, poor and sick - for free! http://FreeDonation.com
Subscribe, Signoff, Archives, Free Stuff and More at the
Tourbus Website - http://www.TOURBUS.com
=====================================================================
