Module Two: Publish Your Micro-Niche Website
Lesson 1: Get a Domain, Hosting, and A Free Trial WPD Account
Presenters: Kenny Goodman – Domain Face &
Marty Rozmanith – WordPress Direct
Video Length: 34:14 mins total

1. Domain Importance – 5:31mins
2. Acquiring A Domain – 10:54mins
3. WPD Introduction – 11:17mins
4. WPD Signup – 4:35mins

 Domain Importance

The domain name and the ‘domain’   you choose for your website is the foundation on which you build your online presence.  It is your piece of internet real estate where you set up your online business so it is important to think carefully what domain and domain name you are going to register.

Domains are identified by the extension that is used – eg. ‘.com’, ‘.org’, ‘.net’ etc. Domain are likened to ‘neighbourhoods’ on the internet and some are better trusted than others.

‘.com’ is considered the best and should be the one we target first with ‘.net’ and ‘.org’ considered as top level domains as well.

‘.govt’ and ‘.edu’ are considered as authoriative domains because of their association with world government and educational institutions.

There are also country specific Domains as well eg. ‘.com.au’, ‘.co.uk’, ‘.net.nz’ etc.

The Domain Name Trap

A big mistake people make when choosing a domain name is deciding to go for a “cute” domain name without considering their target keywords. A key Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) factor  is having a keyword density rich domain name.

We need to get a SEO friendly domain name that contains the main keyword phrase that decribes the theme of our site in order to rank well in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Hopefully we have been able to identify a ‘theme’ keyword during the research phase (Module One).

There are 3 types of keyword domain names:

1. [exact match] = 100% KW density and ideal
   eg. keywordphrase.domain
2. “phrase match” = < 100%  KW density and next best
   eg.
   www.xxxkeywordphrase.domain (prefix word + KW in order)
   www.keywordphrasexxx.domain (KW in order + suffix word)
   www.xxkeywordphrasexxx.domain (prefix + KW in order + suffix word)
3. broad match = < 100%  KW density and next best eg.
   www.xxkeywordxxxkeyword.domain (words out of order + extra words)

NB. The more extra letters (words) you add to your keyword phrase, the lower the keyword density. If you can’t get an exact match domain name go for a phrase match with the least extra letters.

Acquiring A Domain Using Market Samurai

Finding a suitable domain name is quick and easy and can be done from within Market Samurai (MS). You will need a Domain Face account to use the Domains Module in MS but there is a signup link within MS to do this before you start.

1. Open your Market Samurai Project
2. Within the KW Research Module select the KW Tab that is your main theme keyword phrase
3. Select your them KW phrase by putting a check in the box beside it then
   a. use the “Actions on selected…” dropbox & select “Find Domains” or
   b. click on “Find Domains” button
4. In the Domains Module you can select
   “Domain Variations” – Blog site, Shop Site, Review Site, Social Site
   “Domain TLDs” – com only, com net org, or custom build your own
5. Click on “Find Domains” button
6. Select the best ones (highest KW Density) from the results list and click buy link

If you don’t have hosting already it is suggested you take the Hostgator Domain name + Hosting Package to simplify the setup process.

Acquiring A Domain Using Other Domain Registrars

If you already have a preferred web-host and domain name registrar you can purchase your domain using these. Just log into the domain registrar, use their search tool and purchase the domain.  You will need to input the name servers of your host & wait for up to 48 hours for the DNS (Domain Name Servers) to update.  The domain name registrar I prefer is namecheap.com

What is WordPress Direct?

WordPress Direct (WPD) is a site management service built on the WordPress GNU blog management software. WordPress  is free to install and use on your site and is one of the most popular site managers being used on the web today.

One advantage of WPD is it allows you to create, manage and maintain multiple wordpress sites from the one central control panel hosted by WPD. Challengers are encouraged to use WPD because it is easier, simplier and faster for newbies to set up their first site.

Typically I don’t use WPD for my niche sites but I do use it for free during the Challenge.

WPD Signup

WPD is a paid service, with a very limited free membership. Subscription fees depend on how many sites you want to setup so can be scaled to suit the growth of your niche sites business.

For the Challenge there is a 40 day Bronze Membership Trial that gives you access to the Bronze level of services & tools but will revert to the free version if you don’t upgrade at the end of the trial. To get this speial offer you need to sign up for an account using the link on the Challenge Training page.

Related Resources:

WordPress Direct to get your free WordPress Direct account.

WordPress Direct Support to get support for WordPress Direct.

HostGator to acquire your domain and hosting with HostGator.

HostGator Support to get support for HostGator.

To Do:

1. Research for a keyword optimized domain using Market Samurai’s Domain Module – CHECK
2. Acquire the keyword optimized domain name and hosting for the domain – CHECK
3. Create your free trial account with WordPress Direct – CHECK

Related posts:

1. #tch Module 2 – Day 1: Domains, Hosting & WordPress Direct