Welcome to the ViperGate.com Domain Name Assistance website, your 11 easy steps to selecting and purchasing a domain name. ViperGate.com has built this domain name help website to assist in the selection of domain names for new or existing businesses and individuals. ViperGate.com has formulated a set of domain name guidelines and approaches to help you select the best domain name(s) for your personal or commerce needs. This informative tool will greatly help increase your Internet presence when applied as outlined here. We have accumulated the knowledge below over the years while buying domain names for clients and ourselves, and Vipergate.com is qualified to help you through this key process. Most of what Domain Name Assistance has learned and is furnishing to you comes from our team and their countless hours of research, including a lot of trial and error. Before you select a Domain Name Decide first who your target audience will be and next please select which one of two common approaches below you will apply to direct visitors to your website. The first approach to purchasing a domain name: If you are mainly going to mail to, or verbally communicate to potential customers that you have a detailed website, then this first approach is for you. In this first case, your domain name selection should just be easy, catchy, and quick to understand when it is read by or spoken to your clients otherwise they will easily forget your domain name and not visit your website. Your domain name will additionally be very important for printed materials that you will furnish to a potential client. Presumably this is all you require to be involved with and at this point, you can check for and buy domain names now at ViperGate.com. Remember that a domain name can be up to 63 characters in length including the ending however your goal here should be to apply the shortest use of characters possible while still accomplishing your goal to have a catchy and easy to remember domain name.   The second approach to purchasing a domain name: With this second approach, you intend to submit your website to the top search engines, using a search engine optimization and marketing company such as ViperGate.com who is extremely trained and knowledgeable in providing this type of service. In this case, the domain name(s) you select for your website should include the words (keywords) pertaining to your business's key offerings or products in order to achieve the best search engine results. Example Scenario: You are a chocolate candy company called Carla's Chocolate Candy Company and your candies are made custom ordered with the customers logo applied to the candies surface or the box the candies come in. In this case, we advise that your domain name selection be as specific as possible to bring you the best search engine results from a potential client doing a search in one of the top search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc..) for the type of product or service you are offering. We would propose these domain names as examples for this business: ChocolateCandyLogos.com ChocolateLogoCandies.com ChocolateCustomCandies.com What you should almost always avoid This section provides our best advice that we have to offer. We search well over 20,000 expired domain names daily and we have developed a list of domain name drop-offs that do not seem to work in search engines. You should not buy more then 2 domain names for use on a single websites main page as search engines discredit this practice and may even get your website de-listed. Try not to use of a hyphen (-) as hyphens do not appear to be effective with search engines. Example: Chocolate-Logo-Candies.com   You should avoid using a personal name. Example: With CarlasChocolateLogoCandies.com, the name Carla's in this example may hide the domain name from the search engines ability to find relevant information during a potential clients search request.   Try not to use a word that is not easy to spell. These difficult words may not work well. People may not freely type these words into a search engine or online directory. Example: Aphrodisiacs These guidelines and methods can make the investment of a domain name seem difficult but, we feel very strongly about not applying some types of words or wording in order to obtain the best search engine results. When you select a domain name, it is an investment and part of your company or organizations overall branding. We want you to understand how a potential client finds your online presence via the Internet and this is done through a search engine or online directory. We have over the course of over 10+ years, analyzed what potential clients type to determine what they are looking for. You should in most all domain name selections (unless it is a part of your product or service, or in your company name) keep from buying domain names that use some of the words below within your domain name selection. Example: BestChocolateWithLogoCandies.com or ChocolateAndLogoCandies.com. You should really purchase ChocolateLogoCandies.com to be most effective in the search engine results. A partial list of words that we have detected have no effect on search engines: The, My, Best, Secret, Big, Biggest, Custom, Special, Elite, A, You, Your, Our, Its, For, From, Smart, Great, About, Any, Better, Beyond, Fare, Every, Everything, Fast, Fastest, Absolute, Fine, Finest, First, Free, Cheap, Cheapest, Get, Got, Global, High Highest, Large, Largest, Little, Littlest, Live, Local, Location, Long Longest, Mini, More, Less, Least, New, Absolute, Quick, Quickest, Sell, Sale, Save, Savings, Size, Sizes, Small, Smallest, Rich, Richer, Richest, Super, Top, Total, trust, Trusted, Up, Down, Low, Lowest, Virtual, Will, With, Rather, WWW, Simple, Simplest, All, Always, Just, Real, Gone, stuff, things, Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. Here are some other words we would steer clear of in most cases, again unless it is a part of your name. Web They are already on the Internet Website They are already on the Internet Service(s) Everyone is a service Online You are already online Product(s) What you are offering is a product Internet You are already in it Biz Rarely typed by a customer Business You are in it Buy You are selling, the customer is buying already Ecommerce Assumed you sell online Store A website is one Professional Everyone believes they are Assured We are all assured Global The Internet is already World The Internet is already Virtual The Internet is already Guaranteed Everyone is guarantying everything Quality Everyone should prove it World We are all in it already Showroom Your website is one Source Everything on the Internet is a source for something Unique Everything is Success Everyone believes they are one Wholesale Even if they are not, sellers think they are Priority Everything is Affordable Everything is to someone Bargain Everything is Shop This and information are the Internet's prime functions E or I Before a noun, like estore or Istore Preferred Everything is Private Everything is Example: CarlasChocolateCandyCompany.com should just be CarlasChocolateCandy.com. Company, Corporation, Inc, Business, Foundation, HQ, Headquarters, LLC, Association, Group, International, USA, Enterprises and National should further be avoided. Almost never use numbers (unless it is part of your company name) because customers will not know if you are using the actual number or spelling it out. Example: (4 or four) or (Boots4Walking.com or 4DayBoots.com or FourDayBoots.com) We do not recommend the purchase an intentionally misspelled word or name for your company. Example: BiperMate.com as apposed to the correctly spelled ViperGate.com name. This tactic will yield you a few accidental or misspelled potential customers but other then that, it is a real waste of time. Legally you should avoid including a trademarked name of a branded company into your domain name (unless you have written permission) selection for the obvious reasons that you might be asking for legal problems. Example: ChocolateHersheysCandies.com, Hershey's is a registered and brand awareness product of the Hershey Corporation in Hershey, Pennsylvania. What is a Domain Name Ending? The ending on a domain name would be the .com, .net, .org for the USA, and any of the 100's that are available for each country today around the globe which you may also choose from in most cases. Selecting a Domain Name Ending: We suggest for the ending and as a note for all the names we purchase at ViperNames.com, end with the most common and the most popular ending .com. Even if you are a non-profit organization and want to purchase the .org ending which also stands for organization, you might also purchase the commonly typed .com end when at all possible. See all domain name endings globally by clicking top-level domain What is a domain name ending defined: The final section of the name '.com', '.biz', '.info', '.uk', '.de' is called the top-level domain (TLD). These exhibit no affiliation with a particular country (like .com) and are called Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD). These are operated by registrars appointed by ICANN. However in addition, every country in the world has a two letter code (a country code TLD or ccTLD). These ccTLDs are operated by a range of organizations: some are not-for-profit commercial organizations, others are government departments. Some have signed a contract with ICANN while some have not. Selecting the best words In using Carla's Chocolate Candy Company as an example, we would prefer a name that is focused on what Carla's company does. Carla makes chocolate logo candies placed in logo printed boxes. Due to most one and two word domain names having already been registered, we would not likely be able to purchase ChocolateCandy.com, but we might get ChocolateLogoCandy.com or ChocolateCandyLogos.com. What we have selected is Carla's key words and the first word is chocolate (a noun) followed by the next important word candy (a noun) and logo (a Noun). This domain name keyword selection allows Carla's placement in search engines to provide the best search results for bringing potential customers to Carla's website. In our example, the search engine category would be "chocolate" and "candies" (which is a very popular category). It is important to have a domain name that is focused on what your company mainly provides. Carla's are focused on logo designed chocolate candies. It is very important not be to be vague in your domain name description like "candy" or "chocolate" because you may not come up well or high up in search engine page results under a title like candy or chocolate. But if you are searched by a potential client under "chocolate logo candies", your chances of being placed much higher in the search engine results are greatly enhanced. Vipergate.com can offer their expertise in selecting your domain name appling these techniques. (See Buyers Help) Selecting your Domain Name First purchase the domain name of your company or organization as it is spelled out at ViperGate.com. However sometimes after trying this process, the domain name may not be available because the name has previously been purchased by another party. When this unfortunate dilemma occurs, you can try one of the following: Try to purchase the domain name from its current owner, if not currently being utilized. There is a good chance that you can purchase this name for a reasonable price. (See Buyers Help)   Second you can abbreviate the name partially or entirely. (For use in verbal and printed materials only)   Third you may even select a domain name that is altogether different then the actual name of your company or organization. Here are a couple of abbreviation examples: for BabyToysAccessoriesDirect.com, you can try BabyTAD.com or BabyToysAD.com Note: This abbreviating should only be for a close match to your actual company name and be used for your printed materials and for use in a conversation with potential clients. This should not be applied to your search engine friendly product or services description as search engines will not understand abbreviations. If your product or service can be applied in singular and plural form, then purchase both names. By doing so, clients and search engines will locate you easier. Domain name examples: ChocolateLogoCandy.com ChocolateLogoCandies.com The two most significant items to share with you are: Always purchase a domain name consisting of a noun.   Always put your most important descriptive noun if possible in the start of your domain name.   Try to limit your domain name to two or three words which are ideally all nouns. Unless of course your company name is like ours, ViperLogic.com which has one noun and an adjective in its domain name. Understand what search engines look at For this stage, the Internet Search Engines support the best results when the name of your business or organizations wording are relevant to what you are offering as showing above in our chocolate candy logo company example. Notice that we used a domain name specific to what the candy company offers and not necessarily the name of the actual candy company. You may decide to purcahse both, the actual company name as it is spelled out and the search engine friendly domain name. Example: You would purchase CarlasChocolateCandy.com and apply this name for all verbal communication and printed materials. For the second domain name, you would purchase ChocolateLogoCandies.com to use as your search engine friendly domain name. This approach is one technique to obtain a higher search engine page ranking. To prevent confusion in the branding of your company, you should resist the use of the search engine friendly domain name in your communications and printed materials. Two domain names can be utilized to a single website and this should still not affect your search engine submission and ranking results. Any additional domain names that you decide to utilize can be directed to other pages within the website when you offer multiple products and/or services. (The requirements for more then 2 domain names are rare, but it can be required in some larger website applications. Who controls the domain names? ICANN (pronounced "I can") is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. They are located in Marina Del Rey California, USA. Domainers Bill of Rights Domain Owners' Bill of Rights Having paid the full cost of registration, Domain Owners will not have their rights or interests trampled upon by others who covet their assets. The wishes and intentions of Domain Owners must be considered in decisions affecting the property or contract rights or taxation of their domains. Domain Owners, acting in good faith, shall have the right to have Domain Ownership claims heard by a an efficient, industry-aware, objective, and equitable body of competent jurisdiction. Domain Ownership conveys no right to abrogate law, ethics, and time honored industry practices. Domain Owners have the right to be protected and catered to in the transfer and ownership of Domains, in Domain Disputes, and against Domain Hi-Jacking. Domain owners shall have the full cooperation of Domain Registrars and Registries when they request transfer of their Domains between Owners or Registrars. Domain Owners shall have the full cooperation of Domain Registrars and Registries in promptly returning stolen Domains to the rightful Owner. Domain Owners are entitled to protection against reverse hi-jacking attempts. Owners forced to defend against such actions shall be entitled to recover their expenses when arbitration panels, courts, or legal bodies of agreed upon jurisdiction rule that an attempted reverse-hijacking has occurred. The domain owner should also be awarded punitive damages from the party initiating a reverse hijacking attempt. Domain Owners shall not be deprived of their property & contract rights without full due process of law, and shall be entitled to full and just compensation in those rare instances when deprivation occurs. ICANN's powers shall be confined solely to the limited and distinct mission set out in its ByLaws of technical coordination of the domain name system and policy development as it is reasonably and appropriately related to that narrow technical function. All other aspects of legal use and enjoyment of domain names should be reserved and protected by traditional law and regulation for those who have paid for the registration rights - Domain Owners. The Domainer's Bill of Rights was developed by the Internet Commerce Association (ICA). How and Where to Buy a Domain Name Let's start with buying domain names, as you can see at ViperGate.com they offer a domain name to you for $9.95 USD for 1 year. You can register domain names for a minimum of 1 year and up to a maximum of 10 years. Buyers Help We offer three services to assist you in your domain name selection. Service 1 - Search for and buy domain name at ViperGate.com for $9.95 USD Service 2 - Email Domain Name Assistance your business model and we will select several domain names for you utilizing our knowledge base including names that may not be available to the public $300.00 USD ea. and a $25.00 USD setup/handling fee (includes 1 year registration at ViperGate.com) Service 3 - Have us represent you as your agent to acquire a domain name already in use. Vipergate.com will discretely and confidentially contact and negotiate on a pre established price you are willing to pay for a domain name you want, but is not available. 20% fee for the first $2000.00 USD of the negotiated price purchase price. 10% fee for $2001.00 USD and above $100.00 USD escrow fee $85.00 USD setup/handling fee (includes 1 year registration at ViperGate.com) You do not have to pay anything if ViperGate does not acquire the domain name for you. Disclaimer Domain name help will educate you in what you should look for when selecting a domain name. The knowledge within this site is intended to act as a guideline and does in any way guarantee or constitutes success or failure in the financial outcome for the domain name you ultimately select and choose to apply through Domain Name Assistance.