What is the difference between a .com, .net and .org in a domain name?

Practically speaking, there is really no difference these days. Search engines don’t discriminate between a .COM address and a .NET address. The only thing you might consider is that people tend to type in .COM automatically since it was the first publicly known domain extension. So when registering a domain name, I would go for the .COM first and if it was taken, I would then try for any of the others. (.net, .org, .tv, etc. …)
You probably guessed; a .COM address is not the same domain name of the same name with a different extension. So for example:
www.killersites.com is not the same place as www.killersites.net
As such, each of the addresses can be registered separately.
- See more at: http://www.how-to-build-websites.com/basic-concepts/part2.php#sthash.WRwxyx9l.dpuf

 Practically speaking, there is really no difference these days. Search engines don’t discriminate between a .COM address and a .NET address. The only thing you might consider is that people tend to type in .COM automatically since it was the first publicly known domain extension. So when registering a domain name, I would go for the .COM first and if it was taken, I would then try for any of the others. (.net, .org, .tv, etc. …)

You probably guessed; a .COM address is not the same domain name of the same name with a different extension. So for example:

www.stardesign.com is not the same place as www.stardesign.net

As such, each of the addresses can be registered separately.

.com is what most people choose because it is the standard for business

Most non profits use .org

.net is derived from network and originally applied to organizations involved with networking technology

If I buy a website name, I buy the .org, .net, and sometimes .biz and direct them all to the .com

As to website addresses being taken, try to be creative. Think of names that utilize the benefits of your product or service. Try not to misspell anything though...people will have an awful time finding you.

One other thing: spam filters. If you go with .net or .biz, you will sometimes be blocked when sending email and when posting your web address in an email...something to consider.

Website Domain & Hosting Basics

An introduction to domain names, web servers, and website hosting

I assume that you know nothing about the inner workings of the Internet; maybe you’re not even sure how people actually get to web sites, where the web sites are actually sitting, what the web is in the first place….

In this article I am going to give you the minimum you need to get your ‘feet wet’ so that we can quickly get into building web sites. I won’t go into painful micro-details that would put all but true nerds to sleep, again there is just enough so that you have a basic understanding of what’s going on.

What is the web?

In a nutshell, the web is a whole bunch of interconnected computers talking to one another. The computers (on the web) are typically connected by phone lines, digital satellite signals, cables, and other types of data-transfer mechanisms. A ‘data-transfer mechanism’ is a nerd’s way of saying: a way to move information from point A to point B to point C and so on.

The computers that make up the web can be connected all the time (24/7), or they can be connected only periodically. The computers that are connected all the time are typically called a ‘server’. Servers are computers just like the one you’re using now to read this article, with one major difference, they have a special software installed called ‘server’ software.

What is the function of server software / programs?

Server software is created to ‘serve’ web pages and web sites. Basically, the server computer has a bunch of web sites loaded on it and it just waits for people (via web browsers) to request or ask for a particular page. When the browser requests a page the server sends it out.

How does the web surfer find a web site?

The short answer is: by typing in the URL, or in other words, the web site address. So for example, if you wanted to find the web site www.killersites.com, you would type in the address into your web browser’s address bar or maybe use your ‘favorites’ or ‘bookmarks’ link to Killersites.

There are other ways to find web sites (like search engines,) but behind the scenes web sites are all being found by going to the web site’s official address. That brings us our last nerd detail: how does a website get an official address so that the rest of the web can find it?

Registering your domain name

If you ever wondered what the heck registering a domain was all about … you probably figured it out by now! But just in case – registering a domain name gets you an official address for your web site on the World Wide Web. With this ‘official’ address, the rest of the web can find you.

Like your home address is unique in the real world, there also can’t be any duplicate addresses on the Internet, otherwise no one would know where to go! In other words, domain names are unique addresses on the web.

Why does registering a domain name cost money?

If you want to have your own unique address on the web, your own domain name, it will cost a few bucks for each year you want to ‘own’ the name. The cost of registering a domain name ranges from less than $10 USD to about $30 USD per year. You can register a domain from 1 to 10 years.

The reason for the cost is that the central ‘address book’ of all the world’s domain names needs to be updated – somebody’s got to pay for that! You may have noticed that I just snuck in a little extra piece of information: the giant ‘web address book’ of domains.

That leads us to our last bit of nerd information: when you type in a website’s domain name or click on a link that takes you to that domain name, your browser starts asking servers where that particular domain name is sitting (on the web) and the servers are then able to tell the browser where to go by referring to the giant address book I mentioned above.

An introduction to domain names, web servers, and website hosting

I assume that you know nothing about the inner workings of the Internet; maybe you’re not even sure how people actually get to web sites, where the web sites are actually sitting, what the web is in the first place….
In this article I am going to give you the minimum you need to get your ‘feet wet’ so that we can quickly get into building web sites. I won’t go into painful micro-details that would put all but true nerds to sleep, again there is just enough so that you have a basic understanding of what’s going on.
- See more at: http://www.how-to-build-websites.com/basic-concepts/part1.php#sthash.zUvrEi5m.dpuf

Improve your SEO ranking

It takes more than that to start ranking on Google. Luckily, there ARE things you can do to improve your spot. Here is the simplest strategy that you can do to get your website to rank high on the Google search rankings:

Understand Google’s best-kept secret.

Are you ready for it? Content Quality Score. If you have an MSP website that gets the same blog content as everyone else, your content score is probably pretty low. Google actually pays attention to the kind of content that’s on your site, not just the SEO keywords.

How is content scored?

Know one really knows the secret (except of course for the people with a need to know at Google). I’ll touch on some of our techniques for producing quality content in other article, but for now, let’s focus on one of the most important factors: regular updates. 

Websites that are updated regularly and have compelling content ALWAYS score higher. We see it immediately on how fast Google spiders hit the website after new content is published. Some of Ulistic’s best performing MSP websites have Google visiting almost instantly after the publish button is pushed. So regularly producing new content (and it needs to be new, not just a rehash of something you’ve touched on before) is key. But make sure that new content has a purpose.

The best MSP websites always focus on their purpose. Google has provided a detailed list on possible purposes for a website. Some include:

• Sharing information about a topic
• Sharing personal or social information
• Sharing pictures, videos and other forms of media
• Expressing an opinion or view
• Entertainment
• Selling of products or services
• Interaction with website visitors (forums)
• Sharing of files and downloading of software

Most MSP websites will focus on the first and the sixth bullets, but you’ve got to actually do a good job with the first to truly show the quality of your content. Make your information valuable to the reader and easily shared.

Provide quality primary AND supplementary content

What does that mean? Primary content on a page is the main body text and images – the focal point of each individual page on a site. This is where the meat should be, and where you need to hammer home the purpose of the content. If you’re talking about, say, a vertical you provide services for, make sure you’re actually providing useful information about the services that the industry will appreciate.

Supplemental content includes navigation (header or footer), social media buttons, other related articles, comment sections, ratings, calculators, product ads, and much more. Basically, anything that surrounds the main content of a page is considered supplemental, and you need to keep this content in mind too when you’re shooting for quality. Do you engage your website visitors with supplemental content?

Again, I’ll touch on what can make or break the quality of your content in another article, but just remember: it’s not a static process. You can’t just fling a website up onto the web and think you’re done. Stay engaged with your audience, keep your site updated, and focus on your purpose. The rest will follow.

5 Tools to Help You With Content Ideas

Creating a content strategy and sticking to it can be a challenge for any business owner or marketer. You're inevitably going to run into a case of writer's block, get bored with your writing, or simply fall into a rut.
The key is being willing to experiment with how you find inspiration, craft content, and explore different workflows and optimization strategies. If you're feeling stuck and creating content has become a chore, try some of these suggestions. These 5 tools take some of the pain out of the process.

 1. Google Keyword Planner

Google's Keyword Planner is a highly effective tool for writers struggling with content development. If you've already got a topic in mind, you can use the Keyword Planner to research keywords and concepts related to your core idea.

For example, if you know you want to write a blog post on mobile marketing, you can do a quick search using the Keyword Planner. Google will generate a list several pages long of keyword ideas such as mobile apps, text marketing, mobile ads, etc., and provide you with additional data, such as how many people are searching for that term on a monthly basis, and the level of competition for each keyword.

You can use the data you uncover from Google Keyword Planner to help brainstorm titles for upcoming pieces and optimize your content for search. Good old-fashioned keyword research provides you with a seed list of terms.

Pay special attention to long-tail keyword terms (for example, instead of "semantic indexing" you might look for "what is semantic indexing" or "how to apply semantic indexing to my blog") to give you more fully fleshed ideas that reveal searcher intent. If you can link your content to your reader's intent, it's likely to make a stronger connection.

2. Google Trends

Are you writing content that isn't resonating with your audience because it's not topical enough? Finding a news hook for your pieces could be the solution. If you want to grab your audience's attention and get them talking, take a look at trending topics online to see what people are talking about right now.

Google Trends is a helpful tool that lets you see what current events, celebrity names, and cultural memes have captured the world's attention. You can search for a particular keyword or term, or simply select a category that's interesting to you. Users can also track what's trending in a particular region or what was hot during a specific time period.

For instance, maybe you'd like to know which topics were trending in business and industry over the past seven days. To do this, you'd select region, time frame, and category from the drop down lists provided. Google Trends then comes up with a graph illustrating search interest over time, as well as a list of topics that are popular search terms.

If you're interested shaking things up a little to get out of your writing rut, looking at what's trending could help you find a timely angle to position your posts.

3. Google Webmaster Tools

One of the easiest ways to map out a plan for your writing is to check out which keywords are driving the most traffic to your website and use that data to develop your content strategy.

You can also use Google Webmaster Tools to find out what content is resonating the most with your audience, and help you create more of the same.

4. Quora

Question and answer sites like Quora can give you immediate insight into your audience's most pressing problems. This tool lets you review popular questions related to topics you're interested in.

To get started, simply create an account, select categories of interest, and choose subtopics under your preferred categories.

Q&A sites are great because they connect you to intent: users cared enough about solving this problem or finding this data to go and seek expert help. If there's a reasonable volume of questions and answers, you might have a hot niche on your hands.

If you've never used Quora, let's assume that you're an entrepreneur who's interested in SEO. You start by choosing "marketing" as a main category of interest, and then Quora will give you the option to choose from a range of subtopics such as search engine optimization and web marketing.

Once you've selected your categories and subcategories, you will then be directed to a page where you can review thousands of questions and answers about topics of interest, as well as recent blog posts from other Quora users.

Q&A sites give you a good sense of what people are interested in reading and learning about that's related to your field. It gives you an inside look at the way that they describe their problems, how these issues impact their lives, and the overall emotions behind the desire to solve the issue. All these factors will help you develop long lists of content ideas, and infuse what you write with insight and ideas that connect with readers.

5. InboundWriter

If your primary goal is more traffic to your site, InboundWriter is a tool worth considering. This tool is valuable for a few reasons:

•  It helps you create SEO-friendly content. As you're developing a piece in InboundWriter, the tool actually provides keyword suggestions and rates how well your writing is optimized for search.
•  The platform keeps all your content organized in one place.
•  It lets you analyze how your content performed with your readers.