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Don't Pass Up The Punch - The Power of Domain Names
By Michelle L. Collie
March 30th 2002
As published in Domain Names Quarterly by Informa Law. Spring 2002

Dave Peterson, a Royal LePage Real Estate Agent in Kelowna, BC Canada, was astonished when he learned that his domain name could actually be used for more than just protection. He and his colleagues had no idea that they could URL forward their domain names to their existing pages within the Royal LePage website and now their clients can see their listings online without having to remember a long and confusing web address. His surprise continued when he learned that he no longer had to use his Internet service provider's (ISP) name in his email address and could actually use his domain name for his email. They were continuously told, "get your domain name, protect your domain name" but they were never told how exactly they could use this newfound marketing tool.

Domain Names as a Tool for Web Addressing

The most basic use of a domain name is to use it as an Internet address. This can be done by entering in Domain Name Server (DNS) information from the company hosting the website into the domain name record. This then connects the domain name to the hosting which connects to the website. This is not a "simple" solution for all domain names, however.

URL Forwarding

For those businesses and individuals that register more than one domain name or already have a website online, there is a tool called URL forwarding (also known as domain forwarding, domain redirection, URL redirection) that is quite beneficial. This domain feature ranges in price from free with registration, to $12/year and up depending on which registration company or hosting company you are getting the service from.

On its most basic level, URL forwarding allows the domain record to be set up in order that the domain name in question will "forward" or redirect to another domain name, website, or page within a website. According to Roy from Expiry Corporation (which includes the service with every domain name registration), "we have clients who register more than one, sometimes as many as 50-100 variations of their business or product name. Instead of having their names sit in limbo, they take advantage of our included service and direct traffic from the additional domain names to their website." On a more complex level, domain users will even direct their domain names to specific pages within a website (for example, expiryhosting.com directs to the hosting section within their website).

Creating 3rd Level Domain Names

On a more complex level, 3rd level domain names can be created within an existing domain name record in order to further redirect web visitors. 3rd level domain names are the equivalent of "www" in the domain name address.

For example, a lawyer may wish to set up his domain name with the following 3rd levels:

http://clients.lawyersdomainname.com - this could be URL forwarding to a page within the lawyer's site listing past and present clients

http://history.lawyersdomainname.com - this could be URL forwarded to a page within the lawyer's site with some basic information about the history of the law firm

http://cases.lawyersdomainname.com - this could be URL forwarded to a page within the lawyer's site that highlighted some of the cases he has worked on

Now, when the lawyer is dealing with a prospective or current client that is looking for more information he can direct them to the appropriate URL (cases.lawyersdomianname.com) instead of sending the client to his homepage, thus forcing the client to wander around the site until s/he find what s/he is looking for.

Creating 3rd levels within a domain name record is an important, but relatively unknown, tool that can help increase exposure, brand recognition, and client retention. Many people become frustrated while visiting websites because they cannot find what they are looking for. How simple would it be to type in http://product.website.com and automatically arrive at your intended destination!? This is the future of domain naming, and with more exposure, more use, and more recognition, it will become a preferred way to "surf" the Internet.

Using a Domain Name for Email

Email Forwarding (Email Aliases)

One of the best ways to brand a business is to get the business name out, front and center. The same is true for domain names. Businesses and individuals are always being urged to "brand" their domain name by putting it everywhere: letterhead, business cards, and their promotional items, with the hopes that their branding efforts will increase their website traffic. The same is true for their Email Address. First, however, domain name owners should replace their old AOL, yahoo, hotmail, msn, etc. email address and begin using their Domain Name (email@domainname.com).

A simple and cost-effective way to accomplish this switch is to set up Email forwarding, or aliases. Email Forwarding can range in price from, included with domain name service or hosting service, to $10/year and upward.

Expiry Corporation offers up to 50 "aliases" per domain name which allows a person to have emails sent to a particular email address (someone@domainname.com) to forward into their existing email account (someone@aol.com). The company can now begin advertising their email address, someone@domainname.com, continue receiving their emails at their existing email account, and advertise their domain name at the same time. Email is a great way for website promotion. If your email currently uses AOL, you are, in effect, advertising for AOL. Why not advertise for yourself?

Email forwarding is also a useful tool to prevent wrong email addresses. If a person's name is Kathy, and tells people her email is Kathy@herbusiness.com, a good percentage of people will try emailing her at Cathy@herbusiness.com. Kathy can eliminate this problem by setting up forwarding aliases so that Cathy@herbusiness.com will forward into her email account.

POP Email Accounts

The one drawback with Email forwarding or aliases is that one can only receive Email using that address. For those looking for a way to receive and send email from one unique address that is branded to their business, the method of doing this is to set up a POP email account using their domain name.

POP Email accounts are hosted on servers, and once set up in an Email program such as Eudora or Outlook or some web-based sites, allow the user to send and receive mail utilizing that specific Email address. POP Email accounts can utilize somebody else's domain name (AOL, msn, home, att, etc.) or your own.

There is power in having a domain name, if for only the fact that the Email address is never going anywhere as long as the domain name is registered. The ability to use and manage a domain name to its greatest capacity increases the power of a business' Internet identity, and branding efforts. Quite simply, a domain name is an Internet address, it is an Email address, and it is a business or person's moniker on the Internet. The real power, however, lies with the knowledge to utilize the domain name to its fullest potential. URL forwarding, Email forwarding, and POP Email accounts are a good start. New technologies are being announced at a rapid pace that will even extend domain name features.
The future of domain names is already prospering with things such as the ability to set up phone number records within a domain name so that people can send text messages to a cell-phone from a page within a website. The real challenge, however, is to educate the Internet population in how to both manage their own domain names, and utilizing domain names to best find what it is they are looking for online.

About The Author: Michelle Collie (Michelle Roy) is a Communications Representative for Expiry Corporation. She writes and/or edits each daily news item and each monthly

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