domain names management

I keep having domain names issues to sort out on behalf of our clients every now and again - and it is always the same issue: they have asked a third part to register the domain name on their behalf, and cannot get it back.

So, what's the difference between web design companies, web hosting companies and registrars?

- A domain name Registrar is a company accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to sell Internet domain names. Registrars compete with each other to provide the best support and services at the lowest price.(definition taken from wikipedia)

- A hosting company is a company providing web space and bandwidth.

- A web design company will manage your site for you, and probably manage the relationship with your hosting company & registrar company as well.

My piece of advice is to ALWAYS register your domain names first, with a proper registrar (123-reg.co.uk is the one we use for instance) and then go shopping for some web space/bandwidth, or ask a third part to do this for you. It is really important to keep 100% control of your domain names - if anything happens with the hosting company, or the web design company, you then don't depend on them to be able to redirect the domain name to an other server.

Shopping & Wiki = shopwiki

Two guys from DoubleClick have just launched http://www.shopwiki.com. Excellent concept.

The big challenge for shopping aggregators is content - excellent for search engines, it is also a good way to keep the visitor happy, and find all the information he needs from one place.

Shopping.com bought epinion.com for this reason (providing reviews content). But the biggest success story in terms of content management is wikipedia. So it makes sense to use wikis to manage the content of shopping aggregators as well. Provide the technology, and let your visitors create the content for you!!

revealing spelling mistakes - froogal

Came across this article today:

Really wondering if the guy used "froogal" on purpose, to bring traffic to the site (people typing "froogal" in search engines instead of "froogle"). The article just doesn't look right, and www.shoplocal.com have are probably sponsoring the article.

If I am in the tube, and get bored with myself, I will probably pick up the newspaper available on a seat next to me, and start reading through it - just to escape boredom - whatever the content is, regadless the quality of the article, I'll just keep reading until I reach my destination.

but on the internet, things are different - everything is available in a few clicks - and when I come across an article like this, I just loose interest (and trust) in the site, and will probably not visit it again.

Recruiting the enemy

Guess what - MSN (amongst others...Yahoo, Ebay, etc.. are doing the same) recruits SEO! Here is the job description:

Role Purpose
This role plays an important part in driving up external traffic into our new channels and Homepage. This will include achieving high page ranks of key MSN content areas (homepage, channels) on major search engines (Google, MSN, Yahoo, Ask). To devise and implement a refined SEO strategy and tactics to achieve higher rankings. To embed SEO working practices within the editorial team and monitor progress on an on-going basis. To make recommendations and influence architectural changes on our Bedrock platform to enable better search rankings. With marketing, to review paid for keywords and ensure optimum performance.

Team/Department Mission
Inspire our current and future customers to realise their full potential by connecting them to
the people and information that matters most to them through market leading and increasingly
profitable services and content

Key Accountabilities
· Volume of MSN pages cached/displayed within major search engines
· High ranking of major MSN hub pages within search engines
· Management of keywords within MSN’s Editorial Featured Search product
· With marketing, performance optimization of paid for marketing search keywords
· Education of MSN Portal team of latest SEO techniques
· Continual monitoring, reporting and optimization of page rank performance
· Evaluation of external SEO agencies with a view to buying in additional consultancy and expertise if required
· Identification/analysis of high performing keywords relevant to major MSN content areas
· Become MSN UK expert on SEO and content publishing.
· Provide SEO expertise and support to other parts of the MSN/Microsoft business

Key Success Criteria
Precise metrics will be determined with the successful applicant but will include:
· Achieve x% of traffic from Search engines within our top channels and homepage
· Achieve x% of pages cached/listed within Google and Yahoo
· Achieve first page ranking in Google/Yahoo for major channel entry points and other important MSN content areas
· Beat Yahoo! on listing results in Google on major events
· Demonstrate clear traffic improvement as a result of implementation of SEO techniques
· Ensure all new pages are SEO compliant


Knowledge, Skills and Experience


1) Essential Experience
4+ years in working in an on-line content environment, on-line agency OR specialized SEO company, or a mixture of all three. We will be looking for evidence or measurable success and results in optimizing pages for Search engines

2) Technical / Functional Skills
The successful applicant must have specific experience relating to SEO techniques and good, technical knowledge of html, CSS, internet explorer and other major browsers, meta tags and related page elements, and depth knowledge of Search engine algorithms and optimization techniques

3) Personal Attributes / Interpersonal Skills
Great interpersonal skills - ability to get on with a wide variety of people, from developers to editors
Drive for results - we are looking for accountable success and results
Communication skills - and specifically the ability to simplify complexity


4) Qualifications
Degree level preferred, some marketing or technical qualifications desirable but not essential