By Michael Dorausch, D.C.
If you run a website or blog, chances are you own a domain name or two. There’s also a good possibility that your receiving offers regarding domain name expirations, and website listing services. Questionable offers appear in e-mails, from telemarketers, and show up via fax. Although I address this about a week ago, steer clear of offers coming in the mail.
(photo: $65 to submit one’s website to search engines)
Back on May 19 I posted information regarding domain name expiration notices, and in that post I highlighted three tips for consumers to affordably renew domain names. The same day that post went live, I received another offer by mail, for chiropractic domain I own. The offer was to submit my website to 20 different search engines for a fee of only $65 per year. To the unsuspecting, $65 may not seem like a lot, but as far as I know, people no longer submit sites to search engines. Instead, search engines crawl sites, and list information as they see fit (that’s my short description in a nutshell).
The marketing material I received look very much like an invoice even though there was bold writing on it that read: This is not a bill. The approach used was similar to the solicitation received for renewing a domain name, and I’m fairly certain the same type of domain owner is targeted. I suspect these letters go out to millions of domain owners, and it probably doesn’t take too many sending checks for $65, to make the process profitable.
I get these letters frequently. They typically get tossed in the trash but every once in a while I’m reminded that there may be someone who’s recently purchased their first domain, and may not be aware solicitations like these are sent out. What seems like a long time ago now, back in January of 2002, I did a post on Chiropractic Domain Names which covered some of the very basics related to owning domains, specifically in the area of chiropractic. While it’s an old post, it’s still worth it to check it out if you’re new to information about domains.
Also in January of 2002 we had a post on extensions and TLD’s (top level domains). Much of the information related to top level domains has changed in the seven years since that post was written (there were no .me domain’s and many others) but it’s still worth checking out. However, that post is definitely due for an update.
In January 2009, I got into some detail on 301 redirects and chiropractic domain practices. It is a bit more advanced and is intended for those that own more than one domain (I’m finding it’s more common that chiropractors own two or three different websites). Check that post out for more information on 301 redirects and domain ownership.
Still, probably the most important, is the recent post on domain name expiration notices, read up on that one if you haven’t already done so. Read all solicitations carefully before sending payment, and most importantly, if your staff is writing checks for the office, make sure they are aware of this information as well. You could be paying for services and not even know about it.
planetc1.com-news @ 1:21 pm | Article ID: 1243369312
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