I realize that this post would be best provided to one of my political or social issue websites, but I believe that it may also offer a great bit of insight into why the United States is where it is today. With it being such an important election year, I also believe that there may be a window of opportunity before us to bring real change to the political system in the United States – a real POSITIVE change that every American could get behind (except maybe those in Washington who are career politicians.

I recently received an email from an acquaintance that caught my attention and I wanted to share some of that content with you here. Please feel free to share this article with those in your network if you feel that there is any merit in it worth passing on.

Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling that I have heard, and I wanted to stand up and applaud him for it (even though I was sitting at my computer reading it. This is what he said.

“I could end the deficit in 5 minutes,” he told CNBC. “You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971 – before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land – all because of public pressure.”

Here is the Congressional Reform Act of 2012 that Warren Buffet would like to see enacted. From the email I received, from what I gathered, he believed that if people would get the word out about his proposed congressional reform bill, that the we could all see real change in our countries future in a positive way. It sounds like a great idea to me. Tell me what you think? And, if you think it something worth sharing, do remember to click your favorite social media icon above and share it with your network. Maybe… JUST MAYBE, we could get this to go viral and start a real grass roots movement to see something done in Washington that would bring the kind of change we have all wanted to see.

Congressional Reform Act of 2012 (paraphrased)

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 12/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.

Editorial: Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators. Let it be that our legislators their term(s), then go home and back to work like everyone else must do.

Being involved in the network marketing industry as I have been, I would think that if each individual who read this would share it with their personal circle of influence, asking them to do the same if they believe that it is time for something like this sort of legislation to be enacted, and they in turn do the same, etc., that we could reach the majority of the population of the United States in just a matter of a week or so. Imagine what could happen if enough people spoke out. What do you think? Sound feasible? Let’s give it a try. Share this with your network today.

There are four fundamental must haves for business success if you want to be assured of your long-term success. They must be present in the life of your business. There is no way around not having them IF your company is to survive in the long-term, and to grow proportionately to the time your company has been in business. While there may be a few exceptions (none that I can think of right now), it is highly unlikely that those companies without these four fundamental necessities will ever grow to a place of national, let alone global recognition.

The four fundamental must haves for business success are a part of every successful business that I have seen or worked with in my career as a business consultant and coach.  And with the business environment of our global economy as it is today, these four fundamental must haves for business success are especially important in the 21st century.  See how your business backbone measures up to this litmus test of success essentials for a thriving business:

1)  You must have a business plan

A business plan is a must have road map for where you are going or hope to go.  It is the navigational charts of your company’s long-term success. Business plans are not hard to develop; however there is seldom a business that succeeds in the long-term without one. If you are not certain how to go about developing one – even if your business is already in operation – it will be worth every dollar you spend to develop one.

2)  You must have a marketing plan

A marketing plan is a strategic directive for your business that produces the marketing muscle necessary to compete in the marketplace.  In the 21st century, marketing plans must include flexibility that includes the ability to change with new paradigms in technology and consumer buying trends. A marketing plan give you the competitive edge over your competition, allowing you to sieze opportunity before it even presents itself, because it is anticipated, and thus able to be capitalized on much more quickly. This is the same for every industry, from restaurants to construction to technology.

3)  You must have a public relations strategy

Notwithstanding the essential nature of overcoming ‘bad publicity’ you or your company receives as a result of impropriety or the misdeeds of those associated with your company through a public relations initiative, having a public relations strategy reaches far beyond just damage control. Today, consumers (your potential customers as well as your existing customers) are more conscious than ever about how a company conducts itself in the affairs of the world.

A public relations strategy frames corporate responsibility around highly visible social issues and causes that the masses identify with and see as important in their lives and to their families.  The company that takes the incentive to get involved in these things stands to benefit in both the short-term and long-term as their reputation for ‘caring’ becomes well-known by the general public.

Another imperative within a public relations strategy, is an initiative to build the “KNOW, LIKE, TRUST Factor” between the buying public and your company is an essential. The more people get to KNOW you, the better the potential there is for them to LIKE you. The more they LIKE you, the more potential you have for them to TRUST you. The more they TRUST you, the greater the likelihood there will be for them to be willing to buy from you when the time comes to purchase what your company offers. Both of these imperatives are essential in a public relations strategy.

4)  You must have good advisers

The cost is almost inconsequential to the essential nature of being well advised in those things in and around you or your business – whether seen or unseen – that can have an adverse affect on your business. No matter what the cost, having skilled, wise, and dependable advisers are an absolute must. While in some circumstances specialized counsel and adviser may be required, the foundational advisers are obvious, and most every business owner already had the innate sense of their importance to the success of their company.

Accounting Expertise

Accounting expertise provides the must have skills for tax and regulatory compliance; analysis, planning, budgeting, and auditing.

Legal Expertise

Legal expertise is without a doubt a must have when it comes to limiting your legal exposure in the course of business operations. It is seldom that a business success story is every absent of sound legal expertise. Legal counsel provides ongoing oversight for a wide range of personal and business needs – regulatory compliance, general business activities, contracts and agreements governing relationships with vendors and customers, the ability to limit potential claims or litigation that come as a result of missteps or oversight. All of these legal needs are inevitably a part of a business, whether it is thriving or not, and having timely legal advice is an essential need PRIOR TO an action or activity that opens you or your company up to liability. Without any doubt, the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is far better than a pound of cure,” is best illustrated in the legal needs of your business.

Business Advisers

Competition in the business world has never been more fierce. Having the right advice at the right time is an absolute essential in today’s volatile and highly competitive expanding marketplace. Business advisers are those who offer specialized advice in business where you lack the expertise or business acumen to know what is the better direction to go with your business activities or in the management of your staff and its resources.

Business advisers, i.e. business consultants or business coaches provide important insight, OBJECTIVE input, and guidance based upon sound business, marketing, human relations, and public relations principles.  Business advisers can be retained on an as need basis or placed on retainer so that you can have ongoing feedback in order to help you make better, wiser, and more informed decisions to help insure your business success.

This is one of the most cost effective and most valuable means by which to avoid most of those setbacks that ultimately cripple the success of you or your business.  It is time to at least get a business coach if you find that you continually procrastinate in the execution of your personal or business goals, or drag your feet on making important decisions that can ultimately leave you and your business in jeopardy of being shipwrecked either by changing paradigms, technology, or economic changes (just to mention few).

The reason that so few small businesses last more than five years is that they lack these fundamental necessities in their arsenal of business tools. Do you have the fundamentals covered that you need to be successful?

One would not think of there being poverty in America, but I believe as I always have, that poverty in America is all about perspective and what the American dream is really all about.  There has been a story that has been circulating for some years now in and around Christian ministry, especially by the mouths of missionaries in third world countries.

Recently it resurfaced by way of an acquaintance and peer in the network marketing industry. It has always been a story that has allowed me to re-adjust my thinking of what reality really is, and this time was no different. The story goes like this:

One day , the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to another country with the express purpose of showing him how the poor people of the world live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered by American standards to be a very poor family living in the country. Upon their return from their trip the father asked his son, “How was the trip for you son?”

The little boy answered, “It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yes. I really did!” said the son.

The father then asked his son, “So, tell me, what did you learn from our trip?”

The son answered. “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our back yard and they have a beautiful stream of cool water that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have a whole sky of stars at night that I have never seen before.”

The father listened wide eyed as his son continued, “Our patio lets us see our front yard, but they are able to look for miles to the horizon and see forests and mountains. We only have a small piece of land to live on, but they have rolling fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others without even a thought. We have to go out and find and buy our food, but they are able to grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, but they have many friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

After a few moments, the son whispered, “Thanks dad for showing me how rich we could be, and how poor we really are.”

Perspective is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? Why does it so often take the perspective of a child to show us what is really important in life?

May this story help you refocus on what is most important in your life, and help you to have the courage to embrace what is truly the richness of life.

If you are at all like me, it makes you wonder what would happen if we all would continually give thanks in everything we have, whether it fits the world’s idea of prosperity or not. Wouldn’t it be a great world to live in if everyone, including ourselves, would stop worrying or complaining about what they don’t have, and learn to be thankful for what they do have?

Editor’s Note: It should go without saying that there are legitimate needs of individuals who are struggling due to no fault of their own. And likewise, in some countries, there are pressing needs to show Christian charity towards those who are struggling just to stay alive. Hunger is a problem that each one of us should be personally proactive in working to bring an end to. Yet, within our present culture there is a growing mindset (especially in the United States) that says, I deserve more and I want it now, but I don’t want to have to work for it. We are becoming a society of consumers that are expectant of getting things cheap and quick, if not for free.

Adding to this growing cancerous deficiency of our collective character is our present direction as a nation that is reinforcing the mindset that we are ‘entitled’ to our fair share of what everyone else has or is getting. Regardless of your political views, the truth is that ‘entitlements’ – that of receiving money and services through the redistribution of wealth from the ‘haves’ to the ‘have nots’ (a Marxist view) – is bankrupting America. And, when America is bankrupt, it will affect the entire world and its stability.

But then again, I do imagine that it’s all in one’s perspective, isn’t it?  How poor are we becoming?

Narcissistic Personality Disorder – a Danger to Relationships

Very few people have ever heard of it, but Narcissistic Personality Disorder is an almost commonplace occurrance in both personal circles of influence and in business relationships. It’s not getting any better either.  Narcissistic Personality Disorder has found its way into even school aged children whose parents have been so ill-prepared in raising emotionally (and spiritually) balanced children, that their children grow up thinking and acting out narcissistic behavior. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) can wreak havoc on relationships if you do not get it under control too.

It is something that is continually addressed in our personal development coaching and success coaching practice – and many times we discover that it is the result of some of the main stream ‘motivational’ and ‘personal success’ coaches that have brought it out in people through ‘self-help’ products that are eagerly bought up by people who want to ‘take control’ of their lives.

Hey, I am all for someone getting a handle on their lives. Don’t get me wrong here. What I AM opposed to is the result of such teachings and motivational lectures that ultimately bring with it a mentality of superiority and self-exaltation to a place where it does more harm than good. I have seen NPD destroy marriages, bankrupt businesses, and adversely affect the lives of children who are exposed to adults (mainly parents) who suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

See if you can recognize any of the following symptom in those in and around your life, or in young adults that you might know. And, as in everything that we learn concerning personal develipment, take a little time and do a serious self-examination of your own life and see if any of these symptoms are present in your own life.

What is Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by dramatic, emotional behavior, in the same category as antisocial and borderline personality disorders.

Narcissistic personality disorder symptoms may include:

-  Believing that you’re better than others
-  Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
-  Exaggerating your achievements or talents
-  Expecting constant praise and admiration
- Believing that you’re special and acting accordingly
- Failing to recognize other people’s emotions and feelings
- Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
- Taking advantage of others and then justifying your actions
- Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
- Being jealous of others or always being suspicious of others motives
- Believing that others are jealous of you and suspicous of your motives
- Trouble keeping healthy relationships, especially with the opposite sex
- Setting unrealistic goals for yourself or for others
- Being easily hurt and rejected – living from one pitty party to another
- Having a fragile self-esteem and feeling that you don’t measure up
- Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional

Although some features of narcissistic personality disorder may seem like having confidence or strong self-esteem, it’s not the same. Narcissistic personality disorder crosses the border of healthy confidence and self-esteem into thinking so highly of yourself that you put yourself on a pedestal. In contrast, people who have healthy confidence and self-esteem don’t value themselves more than they value others.

When you have narcissistic personality disorder, you may come across as conceited, boastful or pretentious. You often monopolize conversations or speak over others when they attempt to interject or contribute. You may belittle or look down on people you perceive as inferior. You may have a sense of entitlement (an “I deserve this” mentality). And when you don’t receive the special treatment to which you feel entitled, you may become very impatient or angry. You may insist on having “the best” of everything — the best car, athletic club, medical care or social circles, for instance, even if it is at the expense of others happiness or well-being (the cause of many a bankrupt marriages and cause for divorce when the one suffering does not get their needs met in these material ways).

Most often, underneath all this behavior there lies a fragile self-esteem. If you are one that suffers from this, you have trouble handling anything that may be perceived as criticism. You may have a sense of secret shame and humiliation. The result can often be that you yourself feel better by reacting with rage or contempt, and efforts to belittle the other person to make yourself appear better.  This is especially common in marital relationships, and the recipient of such abuse can suffer for years afterwards in recovering from this sort of abuse.

If you Suspect that you or someone you know is suffering from this, the best thing you can do for the health of all involved is to seek out intervention and counseling.

When to See a Doctor

When you have narcissistic personality disorder, you may not want to think that anything could be wrong — doing so wouldn’t fit with your self-image of power and perfection. But by definition, narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of your life, such as relationships, work, school or your financial affairs. You may be generally unhappy and confused by a mix of seemingly contradictory emotions. Others may not enjoy being around you, and you may find your relationships unfulfilling.

If you notice any of these problems in your life, consider reaching out to a pastor, Christian counselor, rabbi, trusted health care provider or mental health provider. Getting the right help and/or intervention treatment can radically change your life for the good, and dramatically help make your life (and relationships in and outside of your family) more rewarding and enjoyable.

Acknowledgements: Our thanks to the medical staff at Mayo Clinic for their research and medical intervention assistance in helping those who suffer with this diabilitating disorder. Please visit the following link to learn more and to see how you or someone you know can get help:  MAYO CLINIC

]]> http://sdward.com/narcissistic-personality-disorder-a-danger-to-relationships/feed/ 2 http://sdward.com/beware-of-the-social-media-wormhole/ http://sdward.com/beware-of-the-social-media-wormhole/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:08:33 +0000 David Ward http://sdward.com/?p=2469

Social media is one of the best prospecting tools you can utilize in your online marketing strategy. It has the potential to rank right up in the top lead generation strategies as organic lead generation search engine optimization (SEO).  When it comes to warm contact marketing, i.e. personal relationship lead generation, social media is a powerful way to build relationships that build the Know, Like, and Trust factor that is important in customer acquisition and retention.… Learn more here...

We have probably all heard the old adage, that ‘a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.’ The very same can be said about computers and websites. You can have 99% of your computer and your website secured, but it’s going to be that 1% that ultimately brings ruin to your overall security strategy.

In my first installment on computer and website security, i.e. Securing Your Computer and Website (Pt 1) I shared about the importance of anti-virus software, FTP passwords, operating system security patches, and software security patches. In this installment, Securing Your Computer and Website (Part 2), I want to discuss some additional housekeeping issues that should be done regularly, if not daily.

The following are precautions that you can take if you want to be proactive in protecting your Website from the possibility of security breaches:

1)  Continually update your Website software to be sure you have the latest security patches.  Most Websites are not custom built, but rather templates and fairly basic platforms that most Internet users, if they want tot take the time to learn, can personally set up their own Website. Some Websites are more complex and much more customized, and are way beyond the average Internet user’s capability to build or maintain. In both instances, there is a continual need to be sure that your Website is secure and that the platform or Website development tools you are using to build and maintain your Website are continually upgraded with security patches.

Blogs are becoming a huge part of the Internet Website business and the WordPress blogging platform is by far one of the fastest growing platforms in popularity. It is the blogging platform we recommend to all of our clients. This blog is built on the WordPress blogging platform. Whatever you decide to use for your Website’s platform to build your Website, be sure that you are always running the latest version of the main software that powers your Website, and if they provide plug-ins like that of WordPress, be sure to upgrade your plug-ins whenever you are told to do so. The cool thing about WordPress is that it updates itself whenever there is a new patch or security or stability issue that needs to be addressed.

Unfortunately, because of the WordPress popularity, many of the latest hackers are targeting WordPress. Whatever you are using in the way of a Website platform, you can help to avoid security issues by always seeing that you are running the latest version and that if you use plug-ins for that platform, that you keep them up to date.

2)  Get help from Google Webmaster to monitor your Website. Google has some pretty cool tools to help people use the Internet more effectively and securely. One of those tools is a Google Webmaster account, and it is FREE (I love that word… FREE). If you get your Google Webmaster account linked to your Website, should you be hacked by some cyber-dog, Google will send you an email to tell, and even what pages have been hit by the hacker. And, while your Google Webmaster account is not a prevention tool, it is a valuable free tool that is the cure to helping you solve your security problems. Google updates the pages they monitor every hour of every day, so for most Website owners who have and use the Google Webmaster account, Google is most often the first to notice your site has a problem, and lets you know.

3)  Confirm with your Web hosting provider that they keep their server patches updated. Most of us use third party web hosting (meaning you don’t have your Website hosted on your own computer). As a general rule, most people assume that their Web hosting company is proactive with their hosting servers. Unfortunately, they are not. But you can still make sure that your host is doing everything they can by asking. Send an email to their support department and ask them directly how often they implement server updates and security patches, and what their security methods are. When they respond, print out and keep a copy of the response in your Personal Identity Security folder for future reference (you attorneys know what I am talking about). It is sometimes worth paying a bit more to make sure your host is doing as much as you are to protect your site, your business, and you.

4) Check your server file permissions and see that they are secure.  Imagine having a really nice garden that you have spent months cultivating and it is just beautiful and something you are really proud of, and to get into the garden, there are 4 different gates that allow access to it. Three of those gates are securely locked, but you have not taken the time to lock the fourth. If a gate is left open, as gardening goes, something or someone come through it and there is no telling the damage that will be done to your garden (thinking of a particular neighborhood dog right now that really likes to dig under tomato plants). Server file permissions are sort of little like these gates to your garden. If you leave access to your server files (files that make your Website work and collect information from visitors or users) unlocked, the dog(s) will get in via these unsecured permissions that have been set incorrectly. Although they can be quite hard to understand, if you speak with your hosting company, they can make sure that your permissions are correct and secure.

I said earlier that no computer or Website is 100% secure or safe from hacker or virus attack. Truth be told, if someone really wants to get to you, they will. It’s just a matter of time. However, for most of the vast majority of computer users and Internet users, Website owners or Web hosting companies, the majority of computer and website attacks by viruses and hackers are not personally motivated at a particular user or company, and are not overly sophisticated. These are the attacks that you can be proactive in preventing if you are willing to take the steps I have outlined here in this two part blog post on securing your computer and Website.

My advice: “Update always and often, and for the love of God, stay away from porn, hate, violence, and rogue gaming sites.” Please feel at liberty to pass this information along to your connections on your favorite social media network by clicking on the share button below or tweet it to your friends and followers. It might save their computers or Website’s life one day, and maybe even more, like for instance your reputation and financial well-being.

If you want to make money online more quickly, choose your domain name wisely.  Domain names that help you make money can be hard to come by just on the name alone. A few of the obvious domain names that make money are insurance.com, realestate.com, and bible.com. Yet, domain names that make money can be a lot easier to find, and a whole lot cheaper than names like these.  You might come up with a ‘catchy’ name like SmartRags.com for a cool clothing website.  It’s not necessarily a common name, but catchy enough that it can be remembered, and it’s easy to spell – two words – smart and rags.

Choosing the right domain name can make all of the difference in the world for your business brand.

Domain names that make money are most often the ones that  are easiest to remember, like SmartRags.com for instance, but if someone were to spell the name SmartRagz.com with a “Z” at the end, it would not be so successful since it is not a normal spelling of the word ‘rags’.  Here is another example but where the domain names are much longer, yet still memorable.  The truth is, a good domain name might very well be a longer domain than even a few short words.  It could quite possibly be a descriptive phrase that someone might type in a search engine to find something.  Examples of these might be like “chiropractors in Charleston” (chiropractorsincharleston.com), “auto repair shop in Atlanta” (autorepairshopinatlanta.com), or “women’s legal services” (womenslegalservices.com).

You might be surprised to learn that having a name like insurance.com or realestate.com, as short and as sweet as they are, are not the only kinds of domain names that get a lot of attention.  If you want domain names that make money, you will need to spend a little more time in finding them.  I own over 100 domains – not that I will ever use them, but I just liked the names and thought they were catchy.  Yet, you can make money in unsuspecting ways with domains that don’t even relate to what you are selling, IF they can get ranked well.  After all, top page rankings are what you want, right?

Of course, it should go without saying that your choice for a domain name should be both descriptive and memorable.  It is an absolute must unless you are planning to have an aggressive online marketing strategy to promote it.  Take our domain name for instance - SDWard.com.  It is the short version of my original name, SDWardCompany.com. I mean, by shortening it, people would not have to type out the whole domain name with ‘company’ attached to it – S.D. Ward versus S. D. Ward Company.  Makes sense, right?  Sadly for me, neither of these names have really anything that sticks out other than my name in them.  And, I mean, how many S. D. Ward’s could there be in the world?

Would you believe over 25,000,000 or so references to my name – yes, over 25 MILLION from a Google search. I tried S. D. Ward, SD Ward, and S D Ward … it didn’t matter.  Even if someone typed in my name, there is really no great hope someone actually finding my Website out of the millions of other references to my name.  I remember when we first changed our name over to S. D. Ward & Associates and dropped the ‘company’ off of our domain name, our Website was buried on something like page 11,500 and something on Google.  Not exactly top page rankings, huh?  It could have been worse though.  I used to own DavidWard.com, but let it lapse years ago (by accident).  Bad mistake, but as for number of instances online, SD Ward paled in comparison to the number of references to David Ward which had over 40 million references.

If you are one of those who don’t fully understand the hopelessness of a domain being buried 1500 pages away from the first page of google search results for S. D. Ward, it simply meant that unless someone typed in my actual domain name “www.sdward.com,” I would never be found by anyone who was looking for me.  I was completely off the map for getting found when I first launched sdward.com as a teaching and coaching Website.  I would have had better success in getting traffic to my website by sticking flyers on windshields than to have someone find my website using Google.

Anyway, I felt that I was destined to be beat out in page rankings by someone else named S. D. Ward that was no doubt one of my distant Ward relatives that have populated the earth like rabbits.  In my defense, the truth be told, most company names are just not real powerful in getting organically ranked with search engines based just on their domain name alone, so the average business owner must work to build page rankings through content and related strategies such as proper indexing, linking and SEO, as well as through that of having a personal or business branding strategy that will drive traffic to their site beyond that of just search engine traffic.  There are other smarter ways to generate traffic to a Website than using a generic company name as a domain name. Our rankings for S. D. Ward have improved significantly, but then I digress here.

If you are open to considering a slightly different and somewhat unorthodox approach to gaining exposure on the Internet without having to pay big bucks to do it, consider the following tips and ideas the next time you are thinking about buying some domain names:

1) Word of Caution as my number one step!  Be careful where you search for your domains when doing research, especially if you do not plan to buy right away.  There are some domain registrars (will not mention names here) who skim search queries from their domain search pages and if the domain someone is checking on has potential, they will purchase it through a dummy company or third party who works for the registrar, and then turn around and put it up for sale to the highest bidder it there is an interest in the domain by more than one party.  This trend is growing as domains become more and more scarse.

2)  Write out a list of short questions that start with ‘how to’ and ’where to’  that relate to your business.  If you are in the pet industry, you might have a question like, ”how to research pedegrees’ or ’where to find non toxic pet shampoos’ or ‘how to trim a cats claws’ or ‘where to find a cat casserole recipe’ (juuust kidding).  These questions that you have come up with may very well be the very questions that an average Internet user might type into a search engine who has the need of finding this information, i.e. www.howtoresearchpedegrees.com or www.wheretofindnontoxicpetshampoos.com.

4)  If you like the numbers you see in page references as well as average monthly searches for the phrases you have chosen, take the time to do a domain search for those phrases.  Here is why.  One of the very first rules in the Google ranking process is the relevance of a domain name to the actual search inquiry done by someone searching for that phrase, i.e. ‘where to find a cat casserole recipe’ (no, not really… please don’t be searching for this).  If that key phrase is available, you are on to something that could bring several thousand people to your website if you apply even a few of the other general rules that Google (and other search engines use to rank pages).  I personally recommend smartycatdomains.com because of their commitment to give 50% of their profits to causes that help, encourage and empower single moms (one of the highest densities of those living at or below the poverty-level).

5)  Once you have purchased the domain, the rest is pretty straight forward. You want to host it with a company you feel offers the best product to promote your Website for the money.  One big precaution is to watch out for those cheap ”UNlimited” sorts of accounts until you have read the fine print.  They are NOT unlimited, and you could very easily have your site either suspended for too much use or have your credit card charged a penalty for abusive use of the system.  Hint:  Unlimited bandwidth does not mean unlimited data transfer (what happens when people visit your Website and your Website downloads to their computer).  Bandwidth is how many people can visit your Website at one time without crashing your site or slowing it down considerably. Big difference!

In closing, most of us have heard the old adage, “It’s all in the name.”   When it comes to choosing the right descriptive domain name that will give you faster and better page rankings, this descriptive domain name, fast traffic building strategy, may be just what you need to get paying customers to your Website.  Just make sure you have something to offer or sell them when they show up!

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