Selling a .co.uk Domain Name via Sedo

This is a recent example of our experience selling a .co.uk domain name via Sedo. If you are new to domains or Sedo this will give you a guide on the process and the time scales involved.

Negotiations

This is the hardest part of selling a domain – how much to ask? Ask too much and the buyer may lose interest. Ask too little and you may not get the best price possible for your domain.

You can use www.domainprices.co.uk to get an idea of recent .co.uk domain sales prices or ask to an appraisal on the www.acorndomains.co.uk appraisal forum.

Come up with a price that allows you some room to haggle but don’t get so greedy you scare off the bidder. This can be an anxious time, waiting for the domain prospect to come back with an offer.

Transaction Fees

Do not forget to allow for Sedo transaction fees and Nominet transfer fees during the negotiation stage.

We asked for the buyer to pay Sedo’s fees (10% of sale price) and the Nominet fees on top of the sale price, which they agreed to.

Agreement Reached

We started negotiations on our domain on the 21st June and reached agreement on the sale price and fees on the 1st July.

Sedo Transfer Process

Having agreed the sale price, Sedo sent the buyer an Invoice on the 1st July.

The invoice is in your name and is placed in the buyer’s user account.

Once the buyer has made payment (into Sedo’s Escrow account), Sedo ask the buyer to make a transfer request at thier registrar or if the buyer has an account at the domain’s current registrar, they ask you to move it to his account.

NB: Make sure the administrative email address for your domain is active and that you can receive emails from it or you will have trouble with the transfer process.

Once the transfer has been completed and the WHOIS information shows the buyer’s name, Sedo send you the money.

Tip: Add your bank details to your Sedo account if you want to avoid Paypal fees for receiving the money.

Nominet Transfer Forms

Sedo didn’t ask us apply to Nominet for the domain transfer forms. Their emails are worded towards .COM domain name transfers.

We knew we would need these so as soon as we agreed a price we emailed Nominet to request them and they arrived 2 days later.

This will save you time.

Sedo receive Payment

We chase Sedo on the 5th July as we had heard nothing. This prompted them to chase the buyer for payment. Sedo advised that the buyer said they were making a bank transfer of the funds that day.

We chased again on the 7th July with a response from Sedo that it would take a few more days. So much for electronic funds transfers!

Sedo confirmed receipt of the money on the 11th July

Finalising the Transfer

Sedo sent us the Buyer’s details for us contact them about sending the Nominet forms.

We already had the forms in hand so signed and sent them on the 12th July.

On the 18th July we chased Sedo for any news, they contacted the buyer to see if they had received the forms.

22nd July we noticed the Nominet WHOIS showing the buyers details.

(This is a little unsettling, your domain has been transferred but you have no funds).

Money Money Money

26th July we received an email from Sedo saying they had sent the money to our account. They also stated this can take up to 7 business days.

We received the money on the 29th July.

Start to finish, 38 days.

Helen Sherritt is owner and administrator of http://www.acorndomains.co.uk, the UK’s leading domain name forum and resource centre.

http://www.DomainPrices.co.uk shows recent .co.uk domain name sales prices.

When it comes to choosing your domain name, do not allow yourself to get stressed out or worry over choosing the perfect domain name that will make your website a success. When it comes down to it, there are several things you can do to ensure you choose the best type of domain for your business, and after that any number of domain names will work effectively for you. However, you need to read the following suggestions and follow them in order to avoid any costly mistakes to your traffic and business due to a bad domain name.

Tip #1 Short and Sweet

You will want a domain name that is short and sweet. There are many reasons for this, however if you have a short domain name it will be easier for people to remember and revisit not to mention tell others about. Also, if your domain name is short, other websites linking to your site will not have to worry about broken URLs and invalid web pages.

Tip #2 Make a List

You should definitely make a list of the domain names you like the most, but it is best if you make a list of themes rather than exact domain names. The reason for this is there are so many domain names on the Internet that finding an easy one is not so easy. So, come up with themes you are interested in and then start searching from there.

Tip #3 Be Open

Do not set your heart on one particular domain name, especially if it is a generic one because odds are it is taken. You will only be disappointed and unhappy with any other domain name. Do not set yourself up like this and realize ahead of time that you will need to be really creative with your domain name and open to new ideas and options.

Tip #4 Search for Options

Once you have your list of themes and ideas you want for a domain name you can start searching online. There are plenty of websites that will allow you to search and register different domain names. Most likely, several that you search for will be taken and the program might suggest you take that domain name with a really large number on the end or other variations that are available. In general, you do not want to do this because it is more difficult to remember your URL and you will get a lot of your traffic misdirected.

Tip #5 Dot Com

There are many kinds of extensions or suffixes available for URLs from com to .net and .biz to .info. While all of these are options and your particular desired domain might be taken under .com and available under tv you should consider long and hard before doing this. The reason for this is everyone knows about .com and if they are thinking of your website they will probably search for it as .com first. So, having a .com will keep people from getting confused. Also, if your keyword URL exists as a .com and you choose .net, you will probably lose customers and traffic to the other site because people know to go to .com.

Michael Turner reveals step-by-step how you can increase search engine traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

Creating a website is not just about designing your pages and including all the important information, it is also about creating a domain name that relates to your products and services and that is also easy to remember and spell for your customers. A domain name that is easy to remember will have more return customers and more word of mouth advertising than domain names which are hard to spell, remember, or both.

When it comes to searching for a domain name, all you have to do is go online and search for ones that you are interested in to see if they have been taken or not. There are hundreds of sites that will let you search domain names in hopes to sell you the domain name and then get you to buy their web hosting services as well. To start your domain name search, however, you should follow a couple of basic steps.

* Come up with a variety of domain names you are interested in. When you have a variety of unique domain names, you can start searching to see which of them are available.

* Don’t set your mind on one particular domain name. The reason for this is most common domain names are taken, so you will need to be creative.

* Make a list of general types of domain names you are interested in and start searching.

* Stick with a .com, don’t opt for .tv, .biz, or any other suffix if at all possible especially if that exact domain name is taken as a com. You will end up losing business to that site.

Now that you know some basic steps to follow for searching your domain name and choosing one, you need to understand how important it is to choose a good domain name rather one that has some other meaning that customers will not understand. For example, you might want to make a domain name up of all of your children’s names, while this is very sweet it has nothing to do with your services and will be hard to remember. Instead, choose something that has something to do with your business and services that is short, sweet, and easy to remember. By doing this people will be able to remember your web address and visit it often. If you do not follow these suggestions, obtaining brand recognition will be difficult if not impossible. People will not remember how to get back to your website because your address was either too obscure, too difficult to remember, or just too long.

If you follow these suggestions you will end up with a URL that will lead to long term branding for your website and products and since this is your business, this should be what you are after. Keep this in mind when you are tempted to name your website after your childhood nickname or long lost pet!

Michael Turner reveals step-by-step how you can increase search engine traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

You own a single site, but several domains - perhaps you wanted to make sure that even if your customers misspelled your domain name they’d get to your site, or perhaps you’d like to have a specific domain name direct to a page deep within your site - whatever the case, there are some important considerations surrounding multiple domain names routing to a single site and search engine submission.

Search engines like Google and Yahoo won’t always wait around for you to submit a site - Googlebot and Yahoo Slurp (which you may recognize from your server logs if your site has been up for a few weeks) are constantly running across new domain names to index. It’s a good thing - unless your domain names are being forwarded incorrectly.

What constitutes and incorrect forward?

Many major domain name registrars offer a "Domain Name Forwarding" feature which, while it may be the easiest way to forward your domain, can cause some real problems when search engine spiders like Googlebot or Yahoo Slurp visit your site.

Here’s what happens:

1. The search engine spider pulls your domain name (usually from http://www.whois.sc/ )
2. The spider visits your website, using the domain name forwarded through your domain registrar
3. Your domain registrar is using a Temporary Redirect (most likely because it’s assumed that you’ll point the domain name to a new hosting account sooner or later), frames, or other incorrect forwarding method
4. The spider indexes your site

But what went wrong? Your domain name registrar did its job, and sent the spider to your actual site when it visited the domain name you registered. The spider did its job and read the content of the page or pages it found, and then incorporated them into the search engine index. Everything’s copacetic, right?

When the search engine spider read the page, it associated it with your alternate domain name, the one that was supposed to be forwarding to your primary domain name. This means that the search engine has effectively tracked down what it will quickly identify as duplicate content - and, after years of dealing with sites trying to sell Viagra on the sly by duplicating their content across hundreds of pages, today’s search engines will respond to duplicate content with a drop in your ranking.

Given enough time, you may find your site has been banned from the search engine index.

What’s the solution?

Your domain names need to be routed from the domain name registrar to a hosting account - from the hosting account (and this varies - consult your technical support provider for the account) you’ll need to set a Permanent Redirect to your main site.

A Permanent Redirect is logged as a code ‘301′ (thence, it is often referred to as a ‘301 Permanent Redirect’) - if you have multiple domain names which you wish to direct to a single site, it may be especially useful for you to consider a website hosting account which offers multiple add-on domains and subdomains to accommodate all the domain names you’ll need to forward.

Dan LeFree is a Web Design and Development Consultant specializing in database applications for e-Commerce storefronts, custom realtor websites, and other small business tools.

When it comes to registering your domain name you want to pick a domain name registrar that will work with you, help you choose the best domain name, not overcharge you, and provide you with all of the information you need to make the best possible decisions regarding your registrar account. There are thousands of domain name registrars on the net and most of them offer the service legitimately and at an affordable price. However, there are certain sites you will want to look out for and the following suggestions will give you some information on questions you should ask and answers you should have in writing before doing business with a registrar.

* Make Sure You Own It

First of all, when you register and buy your domain name you want to make sure you are buying it and that it is yours. You don’t want to simply register a domain name under someone else’s control. This looks unprofessional and does not give you the presence on the web you are looking for. Instead, ask the registrar if you are buying the URL and if you will own it, the answer might surprise you.

* ICANN Accreditation

No matter what domain name registrar you choose make sure they are accredited by ICANN, which stands for the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers. If they are accredited, then they are more than likely a legitimate registrar with which to do business.

* Expiration Date

You also need to ask how long you are buying the URL for and what the expiration date is. There is nothing worse than not knowing how long your registration is good for and then all of a sudden having you URL expire. Don’t let this happen to you! Instead, register your domain name for as many years in advance as possible and if the address is about to expire let your registrar know you expect to receive notification.

* Contact Information

Contact information for your domain name registrar should be readily available and they should be available at all times that they say they are. You might want to test this to make sure they are available before you buy from them. There is no particular registrar you must buy from, so if you are uncomfortable with one simply move on to another.

* Hosting

Another important question to ask your domain name registrar is if they offer hosting services as well. Many of them do and frequently a two in one package is an easy and effective way to go. However, make sure you have all the information and answers you need before buying a domain name or signing up for hosting.

Michael Turner reveals step-by-step how you can increase search engine traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

Understanding the process and options involved with registering an expiring domain can be a confusing task. How, Where, When?

This article will explain the basic steps to researching an expiring domain name, and the many different options (or should I say necessary steps to insure success).

The normal domain expiration process for .com .net

(domain deletion cycle):

Phase 1. Active Domain

A domain is registered for a time period of 1-10 years. During this time the domain owner has unrestricted use of the domain.

Phase 2. On-Hold

At the end of this time period, the registrant is required to pay a renewal fee to the registrar to continue to use the domain. If the domain is renewed go back to phase 1, if not the domain is placed in an onhold (on-hold) status for 1-45 days (each registrar has determines how long this period lasts). During this time, the registrant (owner of the domain) can still pay the renewal fee and continue to use his/her domain name. During this onhold period the domain resolves to the registrars website or does not resolve at all.

Phase 3. Redemption

After the 1-45 day onhold period, the domain then enters redemption status (RGP - Redemption grace period), which lasts for 30 days. During this time the registrant of the domain name has the option to pay a redemption penalty fee (redemption fees generally cost between $100-200 depending on the registrar) and renew the domain. If the domain owner renews the domain go back to phase 1. During this redemption period the domain resolves to the registrars website or does not resolve at all.

Phase 4. Pending Delete

After the domain completes the 30 day redemption period without being renewed, it then enters a 5 day pending delete period. During this the time the registrant no longer has the ability to renew the domain name. The domain will be released to the general public and be available for registration on the sixth day at 2pm eastern.

(This drop process does not hold true for exclusive backorders)

Domains are an ever changing industry. Over the last 2 years, many things have changed including many variations of the domain deletion process. The above mentioned process is the norm, but every day more and more registrars are starting to have exclusive drops.

An example of an exclusive drop: A domain is registered with Network Solutions. The registrant fails to renew the domain within 60 days of the expiration date. The domain is then auctioned off at snapnames.com (a domain auction site).

Each registrar has their own time frame for exclusive drops. Current registrars that are participating in exclusive drops are: network solutions, godaddy, wild west domains, blue razor, bulk register, dotster, and enom. Domains registered at network solutions or bulk register must be backordered at snapnames. Domains registered at godaddy, wild west domains, or blue razor must be backordered at godaddy or a wild west reseller such as domainut.com. Domains registered at dotster must be backordered at namewinner Domains registered at enom must be backordered at club drop (if at least on backorder is placed at the above services the domain will stay with the original registrar, if no backorder is placed, the domain will follow the normal drop process) A backorder is the process of signing up at a drop catching service and making a request to be the next owner of a domain. The prices at each drop catch service vary. Pool.com - Backorders start at $60. Pool uses a pay for performance business model. If pool does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain and pool catches it, you are awarded the domain for $60. If the expired domain was backordered by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. People that backordered the domain prior to Pool catching it are only allowed to bid in the auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. SnapNames.com - Backorders start at $60. Snapnames uses a pay for performance business model. If Snapnames does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain and snapnames catches it, you are awarded the domain for $60. If the expired domain was backordered by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. People that backordered the domain prior to snapnames catching it are only allowed to bid in the auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. Enom Club Drop - Backorder start price is optional$10 or $30. Enom uses a pay for performance business model. If enom does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain for $10 the domain then goes to public auction, but if you backordered it for $30 or more and enom catches it, you are awarded the domain. If the expired domain was backordered for $30 or more by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. Namewinner.com - Backorders start at $30. Namewinner uses a pay for performance business model. If namewinner does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain and namewinner catches it, you are awarded the domain for $30. If the expired domain was backordered by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. People that backordered the domain prior to namewinner catching it are only allowed to bid in the auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. Godaddy.com or any Wild West Domains Reseller - $18.95 first come first served (only one person can place a backorder on any one expiring domain, if or when the domain expires and godaddy catches it, the backorder holder is awarded the domain.) It is always best to fully research an expiring domain name. There is no sure fire way of knowing if a domain will receive traffic, or how much a domain is worth. But by checking to see how many sites link to a domain (linkpop), how many people searched for the domain in the previous month (overture with extension), how many people searched for the terms that make up the domain in the previous month (overture without the extension), what the google pr is (google page rank), and what the domain was use for in the past (wayback archive), you can get a rough idea of how much traffic you should expect.

Once you have completely researched a domain, you should then decide if the domain is worth backordering at pool or snapname for $60, at enom or namewinner for $30, at godaddy or a wild west reseller for $18.95, or enom for $10. Remember to cover all your bases if an expiring domain is worth at least $60 to you, then backorder at all of the above services. If it is only worth $30, then backorder at any service that is $30 or cheaper (but remember someone else may backorder it at the $60 service, and then you have no chance at getting the expired domain, if you don’t have a backorder placed at that service.)

For more tutorials and information by Sidney Parfait, owner of the best domain resources on the web (StartName.com ParkingIncome.com and DropWatch.com)

Your domain name is an important part of your brand and identity. Losing it could be disastrous! Yet, month over month we see people lose their domain name, either because they ignore or forget to renew them, or do not keep their contact information - especially their email address - current and up to date.

A whole new industry has been created out of lost and neglected domain names. It is now common place for an expired domain name to be snagged the moment it is released back to the ‘available’ pool. These poachers will grab any domain name that has a decent search engine ranking and forward it to anything from a competitors web site, to a pay per click advertising site. They are hoping to have you pay a big ransom to get your domain name back or to capitalize on the residual traffic left over by your domain name’s high search engine ranking.

There are steps you can take to protect yourself from these tactics:

• Activate the ‘Domain Lock’ feature with your registrar. This prevents changes in contact info, DNS servers and most importantly, blocks transfer away requests that could be sent by a poacher trying to steal your domain name
• Keep your contact information, especially your email address current and up to date. Be sure to white list the domain name of your registrar so renewal and other important email notices don’t get caught in your Spam filters. If you are worried about listing your email address in the public Whois database, ask your Registration provider about Whois Privacy Service
• Most registrars send out occasional Whois Confirmation emails to domain owners, giving them the opportunity to double check and correct any invalid or outdated information. Do Not ignore these emails, double check the information and correct any errors
• Be on the lookout for fraudulent renewal notices that arrive both in email and especially by regular paper mail. There are a few companies sending very officially looking paper mail renewal notices that look very much like invoices. They are not! They are carefully crafted marketing documents designed to fool an accounts payable clerk into thinking its a bill that has to be paid!

Your domain name registration provider should be more than a domain name clearing house. They should help you manage your domain name with locking and privacy solutions and most of all, help you protect your name and brand, the one you worked so hard to create. Talk to your domain name registration provider to be sure you have done everything you can to protect yourself today!

About the Author: Robert Schwartz has helped thousands secure and manage their Internet identity and is President of LaneChange.net a Total Domain Management solutions provider. Find out more at http://www.LaneChange.net

I would like to explain a few things related to expired domains in a definition format, which should make it easy to understand.

What are expired domains?
Expired domains are domain names that have been registered and the owner has failed to pay to keep the domain. (Many people think that they purchase a domain, but it is more like an exclusive lease. As long as you continue to pay renewal fees, you are the only person that can use this domain.)

What is a typein domain name?
A typein domain is a domain that people often would type into their internet browser. There are two types of typein domains. The first is generic domains, which are generally, generic common words or phrases, people, places, or names (first or last). The second type of typein domain are typo domains. Typo domains are domains that were accidentally typed (mispelled) into the web browser, when a surfer is looking for a website.

What is the wayback archive?
Use the Wayback archive to see how a domain looked in the past, weather it was a developed website, what it was used for, what products were sold there, or what information was provided.

What is linkpop?
Linkpop is the total sum of links on other active websites that are pointing to any web page or domain.

What is overture with the extension?
The overture keyword selector tool shows how many times anyone made a search in one of a few major search engines for the specific domain during the previous month.

What is overture without the extension?
The overture keyword selector tool shows how many times anyone made a search in one of a few major search engines for the specific terms that make up the domain during the previous month.

What is google pr or google pagerank?
Google PageRank performs an objective measurement of the importance of web pages by solving an equation of more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Instead of counting direct links, PageRank interprets a link from Page A to Page B as a vote for Page B by Page A. PageRank then assesses a page’s importance by the number of votes it receives. PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value. Important pages receive a higher PageRank and appear at the top of the search results. Google’s technology uses the collective intelligence of the web to determine a page’s importance. There is no human involvement or manipulation of results, which is why users have come to trust Google as a source of objective information untainted by paid placement.

What are alexa ratings?
Alexa.com ranks websites by the amount of visitors (using the alexa toolbar) to a website. The websites are ranked from 1 to about 6 million. Why are expired domains valuable?

There are thousands of domains expiring each and every day. Many of these domains were purchased which the plan for future development, but were never developed. Even if a domain was never developed, it could still hold some value, based on weather it recieves typein traffic. Some domains were developed, but never became popular, and yet a small percent of expiring domains, were once developed websites recieving hundreds or even thousands of daily visitors. These domains could be expiring due to many different reasons. Some may not be renewed intentionally because the previous owner did not comprehend the value of the traffic, some may have been owned by an incarcerated or deceased individual, some may have been owned by a defunct company, some may have had invalid or outdated contact information. But just because a domain is expiring does not mean that it is worthless. You should fully research these domains either manually by checking the wayback archive to see what the domain was previously used for. Resources that can be beneficial when researching domains are alexa which cannot be relied on by itself, but chances are good that if a domain has overture with the extension, a little linkpop, and an alexa ranking under 500,000, that it should have decent traffic (but we must also remember that not all web surfers have the alexa toolbar installed). Judging the value of expired domains that you plan on registering or bidding for at domain auctions, can be a guessing game. But if you understand the basics of how to the internet works, how sites pass on traffic, and which tools can be used to estimate traffic, and how much advertisers are willing to pay for related targetted traffic, then you can get a pretty good idea of what kind of value to put on a domain prior to owning it.

These tools can all be used to improve your estimate of expected traffic. After using all of the above to research the domain, you should check the accuracy of the linkpop, and also check the estimated traffic of websites that are linking to the expired domain. Once you have made your guess at estimated number of visitors per day the domain should recieve, and figured out what products the visitors are targetted towards, you should then use the Overture Bid Tool to see what advertisers are paying for targetted traffic. Although some traffic converts a lot better than others, until you own the domain, you will never know for sure how many visitors will actually convert to clicks. I normally lowball my estimated click through percentage to 5%.

Example: domain1.com

So let’s say you figure domain1.com recieves 100 unique visitors per day, using an estimated 5% clickthrough rate, gives you 5 clicks per day. The top 3 paying advertisers are paying overture an average of $1.00 per click Most PPC’s recieve 50% of the advertising bid, and split 50% of that with you. Paying you $0.25 per click for this keyword. Here is the most important part of judging the value of a domain. Is the expired domain recieving traffic from mostly incoming links from other websites or mostly from people typing the domain into their browser in search of products. If the domain in question is recieving traffic from mostly links, search engines, and bookmarks, then the traffic could conceivably dry up in a shorter period of time than typein domains. Linkpop domains (previously developed sites) are generally valued at between 18-24 months revenue, and typein domains are generally values at between 36-60 months revenue. The example domain(domain1.com) would then have the following estimated value according to my formula. If it is a linkpop domain: $135-180 If it is a typein domain: $270-450

The above example is based on using a major ppc provider such as domain sponsor or fabulous, but if you have a direct pertnership with google or overture, the domain could yeild a better return and be worth more to you.

All of the above referenced tools and resources are fully explained and discussed

at my Deleted Domains Blog

Buying domain names is a very common activity on the internet and a necessity for establishing an identity on the web. However, many people still don’t understand what a domain is, how it is used and how to properly maintain it. This article is dedicated to answering common questions about domain names and providing you with important information that you need to know to make sure your domain remains a useful asset.

So what is a domain name anyway?

A domain name is a unique name used to identify an internet site. Each domain has two or more parts separated by dots. The part at the end is the most general and is used to identify the type or origin of the site. This is called the top level domain (TLD) or domain extension, and it includes the familiar designations .com, .net, and .org, organizational designations like .gov, .mil, and .edu, and country codes like .us, .uk, and .de. In front of the TLD is the second level domain, which is the unique identifier of the internet site. Chilipepperweb, google and yahoo are all examples of second level domains. A third level, usually known as a subdomain, can also be added. This part goes before the second level domain, as in domains.chilipepperweb.net. It is worth noting that you are not required to register subdomains; they are considered part of the primary domain name.

How does a domain name work?

A domain name is not the same thing as an internet site. By registering a domain name, you are reserving the right to use that name to identify an internet site for the period of time that it remains registered to you. An active domain points to a location (IP address) on a host computer connected to the internet that contains the files for the internet site. Each domain name is assigned at least two Domain Name Servers (DNS). When someone types the domain name into their web browser, the DNS assigned to that particular domain receives the query and sends a request to the host computer to retrieve the files for viewing and interaction. Each domain name can only point to one location on one computer at a time, although one computer may host many domain names. A domain name can be pointed to a new host by changing the DNS records or assigning new DNS to the domain. Learn more about DNS

How do I pick a good domain name?

A good domain name is generally short (1 to 3 words), easy to remember and to spell, and representative of your business. The following is a great article if you need help choosing a domain name:
The Essential Guide to Selecting a Domain Name

How do I register a domain name?

So you’ve got a great idea for a domain name and you’ve found a site that sells domains for a good price. You’re all ready to whip out your credit card and reserve it right now. Here is a basic description of the process you or your representative (website designer, hosting company, etc.) will go through on most registrars to do this:

1. Type in the domain name you want to buy. The registrar will cross-reference your choice with a worldwide database (Whois) of domain names to verify that nobody else currently owns it. If someone owns it already, you will be asked to try another name or be given a computer-generated list of similar alternatives to the name you wanted. This goes on until you have found an available name.
2. Next you will be prompted to create a new account with a username and password. Some registrars will automatically create an account name and password for you and email it to you when your registration is complete, while others allow you to create your own username and password.
3. After you create an account, you have to fill in all of the required contact information for the domain. The four contacts, which will be explained in more detail below, are the Registrant, Administrative Contact, Billing Contact, and Technical Contact.
4. Now it’s time to pay for the domain. You select the number of years you want to register the domain for, which ranges from 1-10 years, enter your payment information and submit it, and you are done. At this point you are now the proud owner of a new domain name.

IMPORTANT TIP: The most important thing you can do when purchasing a domain name is to keep good records of your purchase. Write down your username and password for your domain account, print out the contact information that you entered, and print out any receipts and emails you receive from the registrar upon completion of your purchase. Keep all of this information in a file where you can find it later if you need it. You should also keep the name and contact information of the registrar you purchased the domain from just in case you ever need it. If you are an employee purchasing a domain for your employer, you should do this to make life easier for the employer if you should ever be unavailable when the information is needed.

If someone else is purchasing a domain name on your behalf, such as your website designer or web host, you should make sure that they are keeping track of this same information and are willing to provide you with copies of it upon request. This gives you an extra measure of safety in the event that a dispute arises over control of your domain name. Most of the time this occurs when an owner decides to change designers or hosting companies because of dissatisfaction or increasing requirements.

TERMINOLOGY

This section explains the major features of a domain name account and the things you need to be aware of with regard to their function and use. It is not necessary for you to understand in great technical detail everything there is to know about domain names, but the features described below are the ones you will encounter during the registration process, and the ones most likely to cause you trouble if they are not handled appropriately.

A complete glossary of domain registration terminology can be found on ICANN’s website.

Registrar - This is the company that the domain was purchased from. Top level registrars include Network Solutions, Register.com, OpenSRS (a division of Tucows), and GoDaddy among others. Many smaller companies also function as registrars by reselling domains from the top level domain providers. The registrar is also the company you pay to renew your domain name when the registration period is up. Domain names can be transferred from one registrar to another following specific rules (this article is primarily meant to make that process easy in case you ever need it). There are a number of domain registration scams out there which appear to be renewal notices when in fact they are registrar transfer forms. The easiest way to recognize them is to know who your registrar is and only accept renewal notices from the company you bought your domain from. Learn more about Domain Fraud

Domain Account Manager - As mentioned above, whenever you buy a domain you are creating an account with your registrar. This account allows you to manage all of your domain contact information and the DNS servers for your domain. Whenever you go to the website for your registrar, you should see a link that says something along the lines of "My Account", "Account Manager", "Manage Domain", or something else similar. When you click on that link, it should take you to a login screen where you enter the username and password you created (or received) when you bought your domain. Once you have successfully logged in, you will be able to change all of the information about your domain name, renew it, and possibly use other services the registrar may decide to add to the interface for the user’s convenience.

Whois Information - This is the basic information returned by a Whois query on a domain name. It contains the ownership and contact information, the registration and expiration dates, and the DNS servers for the domain. This is the information you are creating when you register your domain. You can find a Whois query form on most domain registrar sites, and there are also many independent Whois servers where you can check domain information.

Registrant or Owner Contact - This is the first contact you have to fill out, and arguably the most important, at least from a legal standpoint. The person or organization listed in this contact is considered to be the legal owner of the domain name. This can be a serious problem if a client asks their designer to purchase a domain on their behalf and the designer registers the domain with himself as the owner. It does happen, unfortunately far too often, and if a legal dispute arises over the ownership of the domain this can be very problematic. You should always make sure whenever someone else buys a domain for you that you are listed as the owner.

Administrative Contact - For operational purposes, this is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DOMAIN. Almost all of a registrar’s business is done with the Administrative Contact. As you might guess, this is the person or company that has administrative rights to act on behalf of the Registrant and make changes to all aspects of the domain name, including all contacts, name servers, and subdomains. If you lose your domain manager password, this is the person that the registrar will ask to deal with in order for you to get it back or change it. The contact information for the administrator should be kept as accurate as possible at all times, particularly the email address. The administrator’s email receives all renewal notices, password reminders, and other business email from the registrar. The number one mistake people make when registering a domain name is not keeping the administrative email address current. Many people change their email address before the registration period is up and drop the one they were using when the bought the domain. This results in failure to receive renewal notices and the inability to receive password reminders from the registrar if your password becomes lost. When that is the case, you usually have to go through a painful process involving a fax request form with a copy of a photo ID and several days of waiting to get the registrar to update your information for you. This is not fun, and if you are not patient it is not something you want to have to do. Keeping the Administrative Contact up to date is the best way to guarantee that your domain name will be quick and easy to manage whenever changes are needed.

You should always register a domain with an email address you plan to keep for a long time if at all possible. One mistake that companies often make is when an employee purchases the domain and uses his own contact information, then that employee later leaves the company, has his email address deleted, etc., and generally makes life difficult for everybody who has to manage the domain after he is gone. If you are using a company email address, it is best to use a general company address such as info@mycompany.com, or if that is unavailable, the address of a senior employee or manager who isn’t planning on changing jobs anytime soon.

Billing Contact - Fortunately this one is nice and obvious. This is the person to be contacted by the registrar regarding any billing matters for your domain name, including registrations and renewals. If the billing contact is different from the registrant or the administrator, those two contacts may also receive billing notices from the registrar if the billing contact can no longer be reached.

Technical or Zone Contact - This contact is usually the person or organization responsible for maintaining the DNS servers that resolve the domain to a website, as well as handling other technical problems related to the domain. In most cases this will be your web host, ISP, or the registrar you bought the domain from. You always have the option to change this contact to yourself or someone else of your choice, such as the website designer.

DNS or Name Servers - DNS stands for Domain Name Server (also referred to as Domain Name Service or Domain Name System). A DNS translates domain names into IP addresses. If someone wants to access ChiliPepperWeb’s web site (www.chilipepperweb.net), the DNS translates the domain name into its corresponding IP address 65.59.245.101, allowing the computer to locate ChiliPepperWeb’s web server. The DNS for your domain will normally be provided by the company hosting your website, and you have to make sure that you have the correct DNS settings specified in your domain account in order for it to display your website properly. When you change hosts, you usually also change DNS servers, which is why you need to keep your domain manager login. If you can’t change your domain’s DNS settings, then you can’t change hosts unless you know how to rewrite DNS records. The domain registrar can still change this information for you if you have no way to do it yourself, but as with changing contact information it involves a tedious fax verification process that you don’t want to go through if it can be avoided.

OK, now I’ve bought my domain name. What else can I do with it?

Parking - Each domain name you buy is a unique identifier, but that doesn’t mean that it has to point to a unique website. You can point several domain names at the same internet site. This is known as "parking" one domain on another one. One domain will always be set up as the primary domain on the host computer, and the other domains can be pointed to its location by using the same DNS entries.
Note: This is not the same as a "parking page," which is a simple temporary page set up on a host computer to indicate that a domain is registered to any viewer who might stumble across it until the owner has prepared an internet site to point the domain to.

E-Mail Hosting - It is also possible for a domain name to exist but not be connected to an actual IP address. This is often done so that a group or business can have an internet e-mail address without having to establish a real internet site. In these cases, some real host computer must handle the mail on behalf of the listed domain name.

Sell It - Who says you have to keep a domain name and use it yourself? Once you have registered a domain name, it is considered your property for the duration of the registration period, and you have the right to sell it to someone else as you do with any other property. Many people make money by purchasing domain names and reselling them to those who can put them to good use for higher prices. A well-known example is business.com, which was sold for 7 million dollars! Once you sell a domain name, you can use the Domain Manager to change the Registrant and contact information to the new owner.

Can I change my registration provider?

Yes. You do not have to keep your domain registered with the same provider you bought it from originally if you are dissatisfied with their service or prices. Each registrar is required by ICANN to have procedures available to transfer registration to another provider. Although implementation may vary with each registrar, generally the process involves a transfer request and confirmation e-mails from one or both registrars involved to the Administrative Contact of the domain to verify that the transfer request is legitimate. Transfer requests time out if not completed within seven days, and domains may be locked to prevent any transfers.

What if someone else registers a domain with my company’s name?

Domain registration for .com, .net, and .org domains is done on a first-come, first-serve basis, but there are certain limitations based on trademark law. Common words and phrases, such as tools.com or burgerandfries.com, cannot be trademarked. A business or person with the same name as yours, such as bobsautorepair.com, in a different location, state or country may register the name first in good faith and not be subject to any legal action. In this case you may make an offer to purchase the domain name from its owner if they are willing to sell it. If, however, you have a unique and/or well-known trademark and you believe the domain name matching that trademark has been registered in bad faith for malicious or unlawful purposes, then you may have legal recourse to take action against the domain owner. Follow the links below for more information about cybersquatting and domain name trademark law.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/domain/
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/property/domain/main.html
http://www.bitlaw.com/internet/domain.html
http://www.chillingeffects.org/domain/faq.cgi

© Copyright 2005 by Stacy Clifford
Stacy Clifford is the founder of ChiliPepperWeb.net and has spent four years assisting customers in understanding how their web services work.

Your domain registration is critically important. It’s easy to get lazy about this stuff. Often your ISP or whoever set up your web site said they’d "take care of it" and that was it. It’s been working fine for years, and you don’t have to worry about it.

But you do need to worry about it. In fact, you need to take control of it, and review that control regularly to make sure you still have it. If you lose control, it can be time consuming and difficult to get it back - in fact, you could even lose your domain name, though that’s not the subject discussed here.

Let’s review DNS for a moment. This is external DNS, not the DNS you may be using inside your own network to identify machines. This DNS is the one that lets you get mail if you have a mail server and lets people get to your website. It is extremely important. Yes, it’s geek talk, you don’t want to hear it, you want someone else to take care of this, but it’s too important for that. You need to understand this or everything can come to a grinding halt.

Your web site is registered with one of the official registrars. From your point of view, you may have paid money to someone else for the domain registration, but it’s one of these places that really did the work, and there is one critical piece of information they control about your domain. That piece of data is the address of the name servers responsible for resolving addresses in your domain. So, if you are xyz.com, somewhere there is a name server that knows where www.xyz.com is, where mail.xyz.com is and so on. The registrar doesn’t necessarily know or care where www.xyz.com is, but they do have to know who does know that.

Life used to be more simple. There was one, and exactly one registrar: Network Solutions. You did the domain registration with them, and that was it. Actually, there was a time when it was even more simple, but from your point of view, somewhere there is a database that keeps track of you and me and everyone else. It isn’t your registrar who actually keeps that database, but they are allowed to access it to update information. So that’s the flow: your registrar knows where your DNS servers are, and they tell the central servers. The overall control of all this is now in the hands of ICANN.

Do we have the picture now? Your ISP may actually provide DNS information, but it’s the registrar who tells the central DNS to go ask your ISP for IP addresses and reverse lookups. If the registrar told the central servers that a different outfit was responsible for your domain, that’s where the ip address for www.xyz.com would come from.

This is important, so I’m going to be pedantic here just in case you aren’t getting this yet. Let’s say that the DNS server at worldnic.com says that your www address is 64.226.42.29 and the DNS server at your ISP says it’s 82.165.235.25. Which address will you get if you "ping www.xyz.com"?

The answer depends on who your registrar says is your DNS server. If they say worldnic is responsible, then your ping will go to 64.226.42.29, but if they say your ISP’s servers are the authority for your domain, then it goes to 82.165.235.25. Two different addresses, and possibly different web sites.

It’s possible for things to be more confusing. If you use your web hosting company’s name servers for DNS, but the registrar has a different name server recorded for your domain, you could get a different answer than anyone not using that ISP. I have seen this happen more than once.

You can use "dig" on a Unix or Linux box to query specific nameservers: dig @somedns xyz.com. That bypasses your normal DNS and directly asks the server you specify

So now for the really important question. Who controls the registrar?

If the answer isn’t "I do", then you have a problem. Is it the guy who designed your web site? Who was that guy, anyway? Or maybe it’s the ISP who unfortunately just went out of business and isn’t answering the phone any more. You "own" your domain, and want to move it to a new ISP, but how’s that going to happen if you don’t control the registrar?

Well, it can be difficult. You are going to have to prove that you really do own xyz.com, that the guy who designed the site or the defunct ISP was just acting on your behalf, and then you can tell the registrar where to point your DNS (or can control it yourself right at the registrar; for example Network Solutions allows you to maintain your own DNS).

You may actually already have an account with the registrar. That may have been setup for you when you first created your domain. When you set up an account, they usually want an email address for you. That address is important, because usually that’s all they need to prove your identity later: they just send a query to the address they have for you, and if you can respond to it, well, that’s you then. But what if the email address you used was an old aol account that you let lapse? They can’t send mail to it, so you can’t prove you own the domain that way.

There are, of course procedures for this kind of situation. You may be able to fax a simple form that sets the domain registration information straight. It obviously shouldn’t be too easy: you wouldn’t want someone to be able to steal your domain or divert it elsewhere simply by saying "that’s mine".

There have been cases of hijacking, including the famous "sex.com" dispute. If you have the wrong people listed in the "whois" for your domain, it can be dangerously easy.

By the way, you also need to watch out for these fly by night and fake domain renewals. Know who you are supposed to renew your domain with so you don’t get caught by one of these folks. I have had more than one client think that they renewed but actually they just paid money for some valueless "listing service" masquerading as domain renewal.

The time to get it all sorted out is before you need to. You don’t want to find out you have a problem with your registrar on the day your ISP goes belly up or when someone tries to hijack your domain name. So.. take a moment now to dig into this. If you don’t know who has control of your registrar, find out. If it is you, make sure you have account names and passwords and that any information they have about you (email, postal address, phone) is current and accurate.

Controlling your domain registration and DNS with your registrar is important; Look into it today.

Anthony Lawrence is a self employed consultsnt and web master for http://foo-web.com and other web sites.