IIJM.com: Cool Development of an LLLL.com as an Abbreviation

I just happened to come across the site IIJM.com earlier today and thought that it was kind of a cool LLLL.com that was developed as an abbreviation (for “Is It Just Me”). I didn’t join the site but it is kind of a clever idea to let people post/rant by posting a short Twitter style message that begins with, “Is it just me, or do you ________?”

There are plenty of LLLL.com domains that have been developed as 4 letter words or as brandable domains but do you know of any others that have been developed as abbreviations (not including those that that are just abbreviations of a company name)?

Have you developed any LLLL.com/LLL.com’s?

I own JJU.com and have plans to develop it into a Jiu Jitsu website but I just need to devote some time to it instead of some of my other development projects that have been keeping me swamped – what do you think?

Consumer Media Network: Smart Category Killer .org Domain Strategy

While I am not ordinarily a huge fan of .org’s (the only .org that we have is a home loan calculator website) I did recently stumble across what I think is a very smart use of a number of category killer .org domains by the Consumer Media Network.

Ordinarily, .org domains can seem a little off in ordinarily very commercial niches if not done right but one of the reasons that I like Consumer Media Network’s strategy is that it appears like they are:

A) Choosing domains with high search volume in very competitive niches.

B) Positioning the sites from the “consumer” angle and not adding a lot of monetization to the sites so that they can justify the use of the .org from a common sense point of view and more importantly so that they can potentially attract some links that a more commercially oriented site would not be able to get (then they will more than likely monetize the sites up the wazoo if they are able to attract enough links to start ranking high).

C) Offering unique designs and high quality images with surprisingly high quality content as well (from the limited articles that I read).

Here is a listing of some of the websites in their portfolio from their home page:

MotorcycleInsurance.org

TravelInsurance.org

PersonalLoans.org

HomeownersInsurance.org

TermLifeInsurance.org

RentersInsurance.org

PaydayLoans.org

MedicalInsurance.org

HomeLoans.org

BoatInsurance.org

All in all, they seem to have a very good grasp of one strategy that could work well for .org domains. What do YOU think?

How to Create an E-commerce Business Website

The purpose of this post is to walk through the process of how to create an e-commerce business website. The thought of creating your own e-commerce site may seem daunting, but this article will give you a step-by-step guide on getting your store up and running. After you finish reading the article, check out our domain tools to pick out a domain for your e-commerce site!

Step 1: Choose a Domain

One of the most important steps of creating your e-commerce site is choosing a great domain name. Your domain name says a lot about your e-commerce business and is important in attracting customers and building your brand. To find keyword domains for your particular niche, try our type-in-traffic finder or bulk keyword checker tools. If you have some domain ideas and want to see if they’re available, then go over to our instant domain finder and see what domains are available. We offer some great tutorials on choosing domain names as well as finding registars so be sure to check those out.

Step 2: Select Your E-commerce Platform

Fortunately for new entrants into the e-commerce market, there is no shortage of e-commerce platforms available to help you get your site up and running fast. These different platforms fall under several different categories:

1. Completely Hosted E-Commerce Website Platforms
The simplest and quickest way to get an e-commerce website up and running is to use a hosted e-commerce platform. This type of e-commerce website is hosted by a company that provides customer e-commerce software from there servers. All the end-user has to do is sign up, select a pre-made template, and add his or her products (a great example of this type of site is Shopify.com). The trade-off with this type of platform is control and price. E-commerce business websites that run on these platforms can expect a monthly fee and more limited control over what they can do to their site. However, usually a store can be configured with absolutely no HTML or programming knowledge.

2. Semi-hosted E-Commerce Website Platforms
This type of platform is a compromise between completely hosting an e-commerce business website yourself and using a complete e-commerce hosting platform. Generally this type of platform allows the user to put up his own site and content, and then transfer over to a third-part website to actually handle the processing of orders. A couple great examples of this kind of solution are 1ShoppingCart and Google Checkout. This solution gives e-commerce business owners more flexibility in the presentation of their products, without having to worry about handling credit card processing on their own site. Some of these providers are free (but take a percentage of sales), and some have a monthly fee.

3. Standalone E-Commerce Website Software
The most flexible, but also the most complex method of creating an e-commerce business website it to use e-commerce website software and to install it on your web host (check out our article on how to find a good host). With this type of platform, the e-commerce business website owner would download the software and install it on his servers. The software would provide an administrative section for managing products, but it would be up to the site owner to apply his own templates, code or install different plugins, as well as set up payment gateways and merchant accounts for accepting credit cards. A couple of the most popular e-commerce website applications are ZenCart and OSCommerce.

Step 3: Set up Products

No matter which way you go with choosing a e-commerce platform, you will be provided with some kind of administrative interface to manage your inventory. Once you have your site configured, you should add all of your products and assign them categories as you like. Each platform will have its own instructions on how to do this.

Step 4: Make Some Money!

Once your website and store is setup, it’s time to start the real work! Check out our how-to guide for tips on monetizing your domain names and our domain development video tutorial series (available to premium members) for more info on starting your e-commerce empire.

Now that your ready to start your e-commerce business website, sign up for our premium membership trial for only $3 to find the perfect domain name for your online store.

How to install Google Analytics

One of the most important tools in the domainer’s toolbox is web analytic software. This type of software will allow you to track visitors coming to your site, giving you valuable information that can help you tweak content and better monetize your domain. In this tutorial, we will describe how to install Google Analytics, one of the most popular and useful web analytic services. Of course, before you can install Google Analytics, you need to find a great domain to install it on. Check out our tools to find your domain today.

Step 1: Create a Google Analytics account

To use Google Analytics, you need to have a free Google Analytics account. To create one, head over to http://www.google.com/analytics/, and sign up for an account.

Step 2: Add your site to your Google Analytics account

Once you have created your account, you can log into Google Analytics and set-up your site. On your Analytics user page, click on the “Add Website Profile” link and follow the instructions to tell Google about your domain. Google Analytics will give you a script that you can add to the bottom of your site. Once you’ve added your site and installed the script, your data will be tracked!

One important thing to note for this step, is that the script needs to be installed for each page that you wish to track. Using a CMS like Wordpress, makes this much easier because you can just add the script to the footer template file.

Once you’ve done this step, you can track many important metrics, including the following:

• Traffic sources (where your visitors come from).
• Unique visitors per day, week, month, or year.
• Google search terms that people use to come to your site.

This list is just scratching the surface of the metrics that you can track.

Step 3: Set up goals

In addition to basic metrics, you can set up goals to see how often people follow paths to your site and how often you are converting. To configure goals, go to the profile settings page for your domain from the Google Analytics dashboard, then click on the Edit link next to one of the Goals in the goal table. From this page you can specify what pages you want visitors to end up on, and even how you want visitors to get to a particular page. This is very useful if you have a page that users go to after signing up for your site, because you can see how many people are signing up for your service.

This tutorial has covered the basics of installing Google Analytics on your website. All that is left is to start making some money! Sign up for a premium membership and start using some of the best tools available for finding money making domains.

How to use Wordpress as a CMS

Wordpress is often thought of as a blogging platform. While it is indeed great for blogging, it can also be used as a full blown Content Management System. In a previous article we went over how to choose a CMS for your domain. In this article, we will offer a step-by-step guide on using Wordpress as a CMS.

Before you can use Wordpress as a CMS, you need a domain to host it on. Try out our tools to find a monetizable domain then follow the steps below to have a easily configurable Wordpress powered site.

Step 1: Install Wordpress

To use Wordpress as a CMS you obviously have to install it. Wordpress is known for being extremely easy to setup, but in most cases, your host (Wordpress.org, download the latest version, and follow the instructions to install your own copy of Wordpress.

Step 2: Choose a Theme

To use Wordpress as a CMS, you should download a theme for it that doesn’t look like a blog. There are tons of great resources on the web for downloading these “magazine style” themes, but a few of the best can be found at WooThemes or Studio Press. Themes like these are set up to resemble an actual website, as opposed to the default Wordpress blog-styled theme. If desired, you can customize the themes you download or purchase to look exactly as you like. Domain Superstar offers programming and design services if you are looking for something like this.

Step 3: Set up pages

Wordpress allows users to create and edit two different types of content. The first is “posts.” These are typically blog posts that can be commented on and will show up on whatever URL you designate for your blog. The second type of content is called a “page” and is exactly that…a web-page for your site. Pages can be given categories to allow them to show up in the menus that your site provides. Pages are a great way to post content to your site. In fact, this article is a Wordpress page!

Just following these simple steps will get started with your new site using Wordpress as a CMS. If you have questions on how to get a domain or a web-host, check out our articles on those topics (How to register a domain name and How to choose the best hosting plan) Then, sign up for a Domain Superstar trial membership for only $3 and use our premium tools to find the domain that is right for you!

How to Build Websites at Home

Building websites is an exciting, fun, and often profitable activity, but to many people, is also a daunting task. This article will show you how to build websites at home and will show you that doing so is much easier than you imagined! The number one step in building a website is having a domain. Whether your goal is to have a personal site or to make money, try out our tools now to find a great domain.

Once you have a domain, you are ready to start building websites!

Step 1: Find a Hosting Plan

You need to have a web host to build websites. You can find many types of plans – from cheap plans that allow you to run one domain, to dedicated servers that can potentially run hundreds of sites. A couple of good web hosts are HostGator and GoDaddy

Step 2: Configure your Nameservers

Once you’ve your bought your domain and selected a host, you need to configure your nameservers to point to your domain. A nameserver is a server on the internet that maps your domain name to your web host IP address, allowing browsers to get to the right site when they type in your domain. Generally, your domain registrar will have a control panel where you can specify the name server you want to use for your domain. For detailed instructions on setting up your nameserver, check out our how-to guide on configuring your nameservers.

Step 3: Pick a CMS

Once you’ve configured your nameservers, you need to choose a CMS for your domain. A CMS will allow you to easily choose a theme for your site, and to easily add new content. To see a list of criteria when choosing a CMS, check out our article on choosing a CMS for your domain.

Step 4: Add Content

Once your CMS is configured, you need to add relevant content do you domain. Write some articles and author some blog posts to get your site fleshed out. If you want some community with your site, then download some plugins for your CMS to configure it exactly how you want.

There you have it. Building a website isn’t as hard as it sounds. Sign up for our premium membership to find your domain and begin building your website.

How to choose a CMS for a domain

If there is one tool that is essential for the domainer, it is got to be a Content Management System (CMS). A CMS is a framework that allows you to publish pages, articles, and blog posts to a website through a convenient user interface (as opposed to going through html code by hand). The purpose of this article is to help you learn how to choose a CMS for a domain. Before installing a CMS, you need, of course, a good domain to install the CMS on. Check out our tools today to find a great domain for your site.

There are several considerations to take into account when choosing a CMS.

Features

The number one consideration when choosing a CMS is it’s feature set. Does it do what you need it to do? Some users need to have tight access control. Some users need to scale their website to thousands of users. Make a list of the features you need in your CMS and make sure that the system you choose has those features.

Flexibility

Flexibility is another very important consideration when choosing a CMS for your domain. It is very important to be able to tweak a CMS to your liking as you develop your site. A couple of specific things to research are the plugin system for the CMS (can you add user developed plugins to improve the functionality of the CMS?) and whether or not the CMS is open source. If it is open source, then you can obviously change anything you want with the right time and effort.

Support

Many users want to know that if they have problems that they can get help. Check the user communities for the CMS you are looking at. If it is a CMS that is not free, then check to make sure the support is available 24/7 and that you can access it as often as you need to.

Ease of Use

Ease of use is another consideration. If multiple people are going to use the CMS, then you need to be able to easily and intuitively make the necessary changes to the site.

Performance

An often overlooked criteria for choosing a CMS is performance. A CMS adds a lot of extraneous code to a website to make editing it much easier, but this can have a performance cost. Spec out the CMS you are looking at to ensure that it’s performance meets your needs.

Some popular CMS systems

There are literally hundreds or thousands of CMSs on the market today, but here are just a few of the most popular and well known.

• Joomla – Joomla is a well known full-featured CMS that offers extensive community support, plugins, and themes. It has a somewhat steep learning curve, but can cover almost any use imagineable.
• Drupal – Drupal is another well-known open-source CMS that is full-featured and has good community support.
• Wordpress – Wordpress is often thought of as blogging software but can be easily used as a full-blown CMS. Here at domainsuperstar.com we love Wordpress (and used it for our site). Check out our wordpress tutorial video to see how to configure Wordpress and use it as a CMS.

We hope this article has given you some idea of what to look for when choosing a CMS for your domain. Give our premium membership a try to help you find a great domain now!

How to Find Money Making Domain Names

Here are 7 tips for finding money making domain names:

1. Search Auctions – Many people are under the impression that the only way to acquire a domain name is to hand register a domain name that no one else has already registered. While tools like our instant domain name search make it easy to find valuable domain names like this to hand register the fact is that many good domain names can be bought for cheap at a domain name auction. Use our domain auction tools to search and compare key statistics for domain names available for sale at auctions like GoDaddy and SEDO.
2. Set Alerts – Our domain name alerts allow you to set up personalized domain name alerts that will send you an email when domain names meeting criteria that you specify are found with our tools.
3. Search Dropped Domains – Many times the owner of a very good domain name will let the registration lapse or just plain forget to renew the registration and those who are paying attention can snap up a great domain name as soon as it is available to register again. Use our dropped domain name tool, set dropped domain name alerts, and read this guide on how to catch a dropped domain to find some valuable dropped domain names.
4. Search Domain Names About to Drop – Use our domains dropping soon tool and set domains dropping soon alerts to find domain names that are scheduled to become available to register so that you can snap up any potential money makers as soon as the domains become available to register.
5. Look for Domains with Type in Traffic – Type in traffic is when a domain receives traffic from someone navigating directly to the domain name by simply typing the domain name into the URL bar in their browser without necessarily knowing the site they are about to visit. Use our type in traffic finder tool to find domain names that have type in traffic.
6. Look for Keyword Domain Names – Keyword domain names can be extremely valuable for their SEO benefit, potential type in traffic, and perceived authority by users. Search through our database of keyword domain names to find some money making exact match keyword domain names.
7. Look for Dictionary Domain Names – One word domain names that are found in the dictionary can be very valuable especially if they are commercial in nature. Try out our database of dictionary domain names to find some for yourself!

Get started finding some money making domain names – sign up to become a Domain Superstar premium member now!

How to Find Short Domain Names

Do you want to learn how to find short domain names? If so, here is a quick how to guide with some practical tips for finding short domains. Once you have read through this guide then be sure and head on over to our dashboard to find short domain names and all other kinds of valuable domain names!

The Search for Short Domain Names

Why do a short domain name search? Well, the easy answer is that short domain names can be worth quite a bit of money. There are of course many different factors that go into making a domain name valuable (read these 25 rules for learning how to choose a domain name to get an idea of what some of those factors are).

Everything else being equal a short domain name has quite a lot of built in value. All domain names have intrinsic value because every single domain name is unique. Short domain names are desirable because they are generally easy to remember, easy to type in, and if the right domain name is used can just flat out look great!

For example, if you were partner in the law firm Jones, Smith, Rogers, and Williams would you rather have the domain name JonesSmithRogersWilliams.com or JSRW.com? Of course, JSRW.com would be the better choice. Many domain name investors looking to buy and sell domain names for profit capitalize on this inherent value found in short domain names and buy up many different LLL.com’s, LLLL.com’s, and LLLLL.com’s just hoping to be able to see a big payoff some day when a business wanting to use that particular acronym as a domain name comes knocking.

Finding and Using Short Domain Names

Before you start to use a short domain name you have to find a short domain name! Obvious yes but finding short domain names are not always as easy as you may think, especially a short .com domain name.

Use our domain name tools like our domain auction tool, dropped domain tool, domains dropping soon tool, our keyword domain repository, and more to find short domain names because all of those tools have advanced search capability that will let you search and find short domain names quite easily.

In any of those tools simply type in the number of characters that you want to find in a domain and the tool will search laser fast through hundreds of thousands of different potential domain name options. Get started finding some money making domain names – sign up to become a Domain Superstar premium member now!

How to Make Money as a Domain Investor

Do you want to learn how to make money as a domain investor? Read this guide to domain name investing and then get started finding some domain names with long term value by using our domain name tools on our dashboard.

What is a Domain Name Investor?

A domain name investor is much like a real estate investor or an investor in the stock market. Of course, the underlying assets are different but some of the investing principles are very much the same. Just like a real estate investor looks for real estate to either fix up and flip or to buy and hold for cash flow from rental income the same is true of many domain investors. A domain name investor will look for domain names to buy with an end goal typically being to flip the domain name or to monetize the domain name so that it kicks off cash flow in the form of advertising, affiliate sales, ecommerce, etc. The process of investing in domain names is typically called domaining and the domain name investors are referred to as domainers.

Why Invest in Domain Names?

There are many good reasons to invest in domain names. It is important to understand that each and every domain name is unique and therefore has inherent value. There is only one hotels.com. Only one insurance.com. Only one cars.com. And on and on. That is not to say that every domain is valuable because some domains are pretty close to worthless (i.e. efy56u7ett90-i-09-m.info). Read this guide on how to choose a domain name for more details about what makes a good domain name.

Domain Name Investing Strategies

Just like there are many different strategies for investing in stocks (i.e. “buy and hold”, “daytrading”, “dollar cost averaging”, etc.) there are also many different domain name investing strategies. Here is a listing of some of the ways that you can make money as a domain name investor:

1. Buy and Hold – This domain investing strategy is just like its stock market counterpart. Choose domain names that you predict will increase in value and be worth much more than you paid for them years and years from now. This strategy typically works best for generic keyword domains and does not work as well with trend domain names.
2. Quick Flip – The quick flip of a domain name for profit is akin to a real estate flipper buying a house, remodeling it, and then selling it for a quick profit. This strategy works very well if you have some web development skills (or can afford to hire someone that has some web development skills), you know the domain niche market quite well, and it especially works well if you have end user (an end user being almost anyone other than a fellow domain investor) contacts to sell the domain name with website too.
3. Optimal Monetization – The domain name strategy of acquiring a domain name to monetize is done when the purchaser knows that the domain name is worth much more to them then it is in the hands of the current owner. Maybe its a big company with vast resources or even a lone individual with a highly specialized skill set that knows how to monetize domain names of a certain type and get them to making the most money possible. This strategy is best attempted by those who are ultra familiar with the niche that the domain name is in or by someone who just recognizes that even though they may not have super specialized skills that they do have a better understanding of how to monetize the domain name than the current owner.

Powerful Domain Name Investing Tools

Our domain name tools are used by anyone from small business owners that are looking to bring their businesses online to beginners looking to learn how to make money with domain names to highly successful domainers who invest in domain names for a living.

No matter what your background is there is money to be made investing in domain names. Our tools can help you find potentially very lucrative domain names over and over again.

Get started now and sign up to become a Domain Superstar premium member now!

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