Sadly, it's a well-known fact.
And it's unfortunate, because so many people are letting great opportunities slip through their fingers every day.
So, what's the fact?
It's known throughout the internet marketing world that there are tens of thousands of aspiring online entrepreneurs who desire to make their income on the internet. They often buy a lot of "how to make money" type of ebooks, get-rich-quick schemes, turn-key software, etc.
In other words, everyone is looking for a short-cut to online riches and yet over 99% of those people NEVER use the informational products and money-making tools that they've purchased.
In fact, I did a large survey of people who were trying to make money on the internet and discovered that over 80% of them NEVER even launched their first website.
It's just a part of human nature I suppose. We get too busy, or too lazy, or we simply procrastinate so long that we forget what we were intending to do in the first place.
While there are a lot of get-rich scams out there, I can tell you first hand that there are also some valid income-producing strategies out there. I've personally made over $2 Million on the internet, so I know that it can be done.
But even if you have a good business idea: if you never get around to launching a website, your "great idea" will bring no return on investment, and no positive change to your life.
Am I saying this to discourage you?
Absolutely not!
I just don't want you to be one of the people who never takes action. I want you to be one of the internet's greatest success stories.
The internet has allowed me to have a lifestyle that most people could only dream of, so I want to help give EVERYONE the best possible chances of success.
My goal for today is to make sure that YOU get at least one website up and running as soon as possible.
Regardless of what type of business you are starting (or if you already have a business)-- if you do not have a website, you are hurting your business.
A website makes you look like a solid professional. If you wanted to do business with someone, especially if it was business done long distance, you would expect them to have some type of website that gave you information about the type of services they provide. The costs for registering a domain and building and hosting the website are very inexpensive. Without a website, your business looks second rate.
Another reason why you need a website is so people can find you. For example, if someone is sitting at home trying to find a good copywriter, they will more than likely turn on the Internet and perform a search. If you are a copywriter and you don’t have a website, they cannot find you. And if they cannot find you, they cannot hire you.
Even if you decide to build your business locally, you need a website. You can distribute resumes, business cards, and flyers with your phone number, and you may receive some phone calls. However, if you have a website where people can get a glimpse of what you do, you will earn more business. Plus, some people would rather pop onto your website and email you versus picking up a phone and calling you.
Your website will also let people know exactly what type of services you offer and how much you charge. People do not want to wait for that information. They want to know things now. You can also include an online portfolio where prospective clients can view work that you have completed and read past clients’ testimonials. This can help them decide if you are the person who can handle the project they need completed.
Having a website will also allow for automated ordering. If you sell cosmetics and one of your clients is having a bout of insomnia and decides to surf the web at 2:00 in the morning, they can happily shop for your products at home. They do not need to wait until the next day to call an order in to you.
Websites also allow you to do business globally. Instead of focusing on your local area, people from all over the world can view your site and do business with you. This opens up a whole new base of clients and opportunities.
Having a website, even a simple one, will only help your business. Without one, you are going to be losing out on many prospective clients and sales. And when it comes to making money ON THE INTERNET.. having a website is 100% the best way to build your business.
Like I said, most people waste months and years looking for the "perfect formula", and they never get around to actually launching a website. But if they had just focused on setting up a website in the first place, they would have been up and running (and making money) long before they lost their focus and decided to quit trying to make money online.
So... let's do this. Are you with me?
In order to get a website up and running, you need to get two simple things:
1) A domain
2) web hosting
If you've never launched a website before, this can be a confusing task. And if you have launched websites before, you'll know it can still be difficult to find the best web host, and get the best value and features for your site.
This can become even more complicated, as you aim to build and launch multiple websites for your online empire.
Let's Get You Started TODAY.
I've taken a step-by-step approach, and today I'll walk you through the process of getting your own domain and hosting for your site.
Not only that, but I'll show you how to save money and get the absolute best deal on the web while you're doing it.
On the remainder of this page, you'll find step-by-step instructions to show you how to get set up with your own website within the next 20 minutes.
Okay so let's start by registering a domain...
1) Register a domain.
If you've already registered a domain that you intend to use, you can skip this step and go down to #2 below..
What is domain name?
A domain name is basically the web address of a particular website. For example "Google.com" or "HostingSecret.org" is a domain name.
If you want to have a serious online business, you NEED your own domain name.
Why do you need a domain name?
A website is the online equivalent of "real estate". And if that's the case, then a domain name is like the title deed to your website.
There are plenty of free web hosts out there who will let you host your site on their server without owning your domain. Typically they'll put it on a subdomain of their own domain. The problem with that is that you don't own the "title deed" to your own website. In fact, THEY own it.
Suppose the free host suddenly went out of business? Or suppose they decide to stop offering free hosting and they redirect all the traffic to their own site. Ouch.
You need to have your own domain so that you can build EQUITY in your "virtual real estate". If you don't own your domain, it's kind of like renting a home instead of buying it. You'd be building equity in someone else's property for them.
By building equity in your own online property it becomes an asset that you can keep for the long term, or sell to an investor.
Okay, hopefully you understand why it's so important to have your own domain. Now let's talk about what type of domain you should register.
Domain Extensions
First, which domain "extension" should you choose? Of course you're familiar with the ".COM" extension, but when you go to register a domain you'll see several different options. What about those?
It really depends on what you're going to be using the domain for. If it's going to be primary domain for your business, I'd settle for nothing less than a ".COM". For example, yourbusinessname.com.
The reason for this is that .COM's have long been considered the "gold standard" of the domain name industry. It is the most memorable extension for most of the general public, and could be viewed more favorably by potential investors if you should choose to sell your business someday.
However, if the domain is not intended to be the central identifying address for your business, there are some other good options available. The next best domain extensions are generally considered to be .NET, .ORG, and sometimes .INFO and .BIZ.
If your website is going to be an information source designed to help people, the .ORG extension can actually be preferable to the .COM. The reason for this is that the .ORG extension is generally associated with non-profit organizations and other helpful groups. When a web user sees your website listed on a search engine, a .ORG extension might create an element of trust which causes them to be more likely to click onto your site (for example, this site is a .ORG, because I want you to know you can trust me... because I'm a trustworthy person!).
Now that we've talked about extensions, let's look at what your domain name should be...
Choosing a Domain Name
If you're choosing the main domain for your online business, there are several strategic marketing factors that can come into play. Often the best website names are "made up" words (eBay.com, Xanga.com, Flickr.com, etc), while others are more straight forward (facebook.com, digitalpoint.com, etc).
However, when it comes to selecting a domain for a content-based informational site it is generally far-and-away best to choose a name that concisely describes exactly WHAT the site is about.
So if your website is about car wheels, the best domain would probably be CarWheels.com. If that wasn't available, you could look to see if other extensions are available (such as CarWheels.net, CarWheels.org, etc.). If those were not available, look at adding another word to the domain. Most people would start by trying combinations like CarWheelsOnline.com, CarWheelsStore.com, etc. That can be a good strategy, but another way to find unique domains is by adding a personal touch. For example if your name was Bob, you could register BobsCarWheels.com, or if you're marketing locally you could register SpringfieldCarWheels.com.
What about hyphens?
This is a very common question that I am asked. Traditionally, a domain is less valuable when hyphenated. For example, car-wheels.com would be worth less than carwheels.com. That's probably because it's more difficult to remember a domain with a hyphen in it, or to advertise it on the radio, on TV, etc.
However, hyphens may also help with search engine optimization (SEO).
It is hard to draw any concrete conclusions, because there are so many factors involved in SEO, but the success and top ranking of many hyphenated domains would lead me to believe that they may have an advantage.
Some people have also speculated that the search engines could penalize or "sandbox" hyphenated domains due to the proliferation of spam sites using hyphenated domains. I have not seen this to be the case, but it is something to be mindful of.
A good strategy would probably be to build your VRE empire using some hyphenated domains and some non-hyphenated domains.
Domain pitfalls to avoid
DON'T use intentional misspellings (you can use misspelled domains to capture traffic, but you should NOT build a full fledged site on one).
DON'T use abbreviations.
DON'T use numbers (digits), unless you have a really good reason.
DON'T make it too long. Shorter domains are more memorable, and generally more attractive in your advertising and search engine listings. It's okay to include multiple keywords if your site warrants it (low-cost-life-insurance.com), but don't go overboard (buy-your-low-cost-term-life-insurance-here.com) because it will make you look like a spammer.
Okay, so now that you know how to choose a domain, let's look at exactly how to register one...
Registering your domain
There are literally hundreds of places on the internet where you can register a domain. Some are clearly better than others.
If you've already found a good and reliable registrar, feel free to stick with them.
One of the most important features is having a registrar that allows you to QUICKLY and EASILY change your DNS by yourself. You will need to use that feature right away. I also suggest using one that allows you to easily create your own name servers. We won't be using that feature today, but it's a good one to have in case you want to use it in the future.
|
If you need a good registrar, here's the best and cheapest one that I use:
www.lifedomains.net (opens in a new window)
|
After you've registered a domain, continue to the next step...
2) Get Web Hosting.
If you want to have a website, you NEED web hosting. It's simply impossible to have a website without it.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is what makes your website available on the internet.
In a nutshell, a web host puts your website onto a computer (called a web server) which has a dedicated connection to the internet. The web server is designed to "serve" your web pages to visitors when they go to your web address (the domain that you registered in the previous step).
Why is it important to choose a good host?
Here's the thing...
There's good web hosts, and then there's "not-so-good" web hosts. The problem is if you pick a bad host, it can really get your website started on the wrong foot.
I could talk about some of the web hosting "horror stories" that I've heard and personally experienced, but I'll spare you the gruesome details ;-) Let's just say it's no fun to invest your time and money into launching a website, and then experience constant problems because of an inadequate web host.
That's why I want to get you started on the right foot by getting you set up with a reliable web host...
Which web host should you choose?
HostGator is a web host with the qualifications you should look for in a web host...
They have the TOOLS necessary to succeed with your website
They have the SUPPORT available when you need help
They have the RELIABILITY needed to keep your site online and making money
They have the PRICE to make it affordable and keep more money in your pocket
Some of the features that I have found to be extra helpful include...
One-step WordPress installation
One step phpBB installation
So if you've been worried about how you're going to set up a blog or forum, this is the way to go.
They also have very generous resources in terms of storage space and monthly bandwidth usage. Even the smallest plan is more than most people would need for any website.
Which hosting plan should you choose?
As I mentioned, even their smallest plan is plenty big for most sites. However, there are a couple of factors that you may want to take into consideration.
The most important question to ask yourself is how many websites you plan on launching.
If you plan to launch only one site and focus on making it the best it can be, then a small hosting plan is probably adequate. You could go with the "Hatchling" (the smallest plan) or the "Baby", which is probably a little better value because it has more resources.
On the other hand, if you plan on launching multiple sites, your best value is going to be a "Reseller" account. The thing that many people don't understand about reseller accounts, is they think they are designed only for reselling web hosting. However, you do NOT have to sell any hosting. They are perfect for hosting your OWN websites.
Instead of having to buy another hosting account each time you want to launch a new website, you can simply launch as many as you want and never pay any extra. HostGator's reseller accounts allow you to host an unlimited number of domains! Of course you still have to pay to register the domains (just go back and repeat step one above to register more domains), but you don't have to buy more hosting.
It's also great because you have the freedom to launch sites whenever you want. You don't have to wait for the web host to set up a new account every time you want to launch a new site. You simply add the domain to your hosting list, and upload your site!
Their smallest reseller plan (the "Aluminum") is probably enough for most people. If you plan on hosting a lot of big media files (like video and stuff) then you might want to go for one of the bigger reseller plans, like the "Copper". On the other hand, you can upgrade at any time, so if you're unsure, then you might as well start out with the "Aluminum".
In fact, I've got about 40 websites hosted on one of their "Aluminum" reseller plans, and never had any trouble with it.
Get Your Site Online For As Little As 1 Cent!
Since this is the web host that I personally use, I went ahead and arranged a special discount code for you to use.
You will receive a $9.94 discount on your first month, which means you can get started for as little as 1 cent on the "Baby" plan, which is not really much of a "baby" because you get a full 5 GB of disk space!
Remember, HostGator is the most reputable web host in the business, and if you need any help they will be happy to assist you at their helpdesk:
The helpdesk
They also have a wide variety of video tutorials that you can watch. You can view those here: Click here for their video tutorials