Okay, now we get to the bit about having a domain name. This is important to some and less so for others. If you plan to buy a domain name you will need to choose one appropriate to your business. But it really depends on what sort of use you need the domain name for. If you plan to attract customers through real world marketing and advertising, then your domain name should be your business name. If, on the other hand, your business is web based and you expect that most of your site visitors will find you by searching for keywords in search engines, then you will need to choose a domain name that reflects what you sell (as well as the business name if you wish to outlay the extra cost)

For example, Electronic Desktop Solutions Pty Ltd owns the domain name desktopsolutions.com.au Unfortunately this domain name isn't the best for being recognised as a world leader in computer and web help or support. Being a .com.au domain tells people around the world that the business is in Australia and instantly disregard it.

Obviously that is a generalisation, but the world view, no matter what domain name sellers say, has always been that the .com domain is the most important domain. If you don't have a .com domain, then you're probably not willing to expand. If you have no plans to expand and are happy with just getting business within Australia then an Australian domain name is appropriate as it means less international visitors wasting time.

Electronic Desktop Solutions Pty Ltd do a lot of work via the internet, so having our website found via search engines is a top priority. So the domain name computerwebhelp.com was also bought to facilitate this.

If you look closely at the domain name, it contains 3 keywords that represent the business - 'Computer', 'web' and 'help'. While these may seem useless on their own, if someone searches for 'help with my computer on the web' the site has a better chance of turning up in the search engines.

So you need to choose a domain name that suits your business. If it is a business name, keep it short and simply so that people not only easily remember it, but easily type it too. For example netscape.com is a great domain name. electronicdesktopsolutions.com isn't.

AdFree Web Hosting, had a special offer awhile back (don't know if they still do, you'll need to visit the website to find out) which included a free domain name with every 1 year hosting purchase. As they're in Australia, and the majority of people reading this newsletter are also in Australia, they're probably the most ideal place to get affordable web hosting. And if they've still got the free 1 year domain name offer, it is a deal that is hard to beat. Click here for more information.

Next issue: Getting your site noticed.

2. Assorted computer shows.

Rather than clutter up your in box with a huge review and pictures of the most recent computer shows - namely CeBIT Australia at Darling Harbour and CEShow at Fox Studios, click here for the main index page of newsletters and articles and you'll find links to these and other articles there. The CeBit review is there already. The CEShow review will be there in early July.

3. Latest product recommendations

Every issue we recommend a product to help you with your internet experience. This issue we're recommending something that is free. If you've ever wanted your website to generate you some income, you've probably been wanting to join up with an affiliate program. You may have heard of Dr Ken Evoys ebook - Make Your Site Sell? Well he now offers this as an affiliate program so that, if you wish to do the hard work and try and sell his products, he'll give a commission. There is more information on his website here.

The free download that I'm recommending though is called The Affiliate Masters Course, and it basically gives you all the tips and tricks on how to be a Master Affiliate. And, to make it easy for you, I've uploaded it onto our site so that you can download it from there quickly and easily. Direct link is here. A download box should appear the moment you click on it. If not try right clicking on it while holding the shift key down.

It is in zip format. Most computers these days are equipped with an unzip program but if yours is not then we recommend Winzip. Click here to download it direct from downloads.com. One you've unzipped it you can read it. Now if you don't have Adobe Acrobat reader you can download that here. (Even if you don't need an affiliate program you really should have both Winzip and the Adobe Acrobat reader on your system. They're industry standards and you can download them free.)

Quick reference: Download the Affiliate Masters Course here.

4. Change your home page

Whenever you open your browser, be it Internet Explorer or Netscape, you'll see your home page. But is it the home page you wish to see? Many of our clients have different needs and there is no way that every companies page is going to be a good home page. I've recently created the links page so that it can double as a useful home page for most of our clients. There are assorted links to useful sites as well as links to the latest computer news if you're interested.

So if you have a boring home page, and it is one that you would like to update, why not change it over to being the EDS home page? If you know how to change it, here is the link:
http://www.computerwebhelp.com/ebay-sitesell-amazon.html

If you don't know how to change it, here is a quick tutorial.
1. Go to the page in your browser.
2. In Netscape, click on edit, then preferences, then in the menu click on Navigator.
3. In Explorer click Tools then Internet Options
4. On the screen will appear an address. Change this to
http://www.computerwebhelp.com/ebay-sitesell-amazon.html
5. Save it and close the menu. Now when you click on home, our page is the one that will appear. You now have a different home page address that will open whenever you open your browser.

And that's it for this issue.

Next issue we'll look at useful tools for your computer.

Best regards

The team at Electronic Desktop Solutions