The officially informative, sometimes humorous, and decidedly wonderful blog. » Tools http://blog.name.com The Story of How We're Making the Internet Easier. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:26:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Name.com is a domain registrar and web host based in Denver, CO. The Name.com podcast explores subjects from domains, support, and marketing to DNS, SEO, and other very important acronyms. Every week, Community Manager Lesley Yarbrough is joined by a guest to discuss the latest topics from within the company and domain industry. Name.com no Name.com lesley@name.com lesley@name.com (Name.com) Namecast: Domains and Things Name.com, Domains, SEO, Technology, Small Business, Marketing, Hosting, DNS, Social Media The officially informative, sometimes humorous, and decidedly wonderful blog. » Tools http://blog.name.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Podcast_image.jpg http://blog.name.com/category/tools/ Affiliate Getting Started, Series 1: Choosing An Affiliate Network http://blog.name.com/2012/01/affiliate-getting-started-series-series-1-choosing-an-affiliate-network/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=affiliate-getting-started-series-series-1-choosing-an-affiliate-network http://blog.name.com/2012/01/affiliate-getting-started-series-series-1-choosing-an-affiliate-network/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:35:28 +0000 Jared http://blog.name.com/?p=5757 Continue reading →]]> by Caroline, Name.com Domain Concierge

We’re assuming you already know what an Affiliate is and have a desire to start making money by promoting services/products in your niche on your blog. A quick way for locating Advertisers in your niche is through an Affiliate Network. Affiliate Networks act as intermediaries between you the Affiliate and the Advertiser. Affiliate Networks allow you to compare various offers from Advertisers and you can choose which offers to participate in and promote via your blog.

Soo…How the heck do you choose an Affiliate Network?  We thought http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/4388.asp had a few great suggestions for you to consider when selecting a network. We then took those suggestions with a few of our own and applied them to 3 Affiliate Networks who score pretty high on ranking sites.  Check it out…

  • Tracking Methods (can you see real time results, can you customize your data)
  • Payment Methods.  How the network pays commissions.
  • Payment Threshold. you have to earn before you are paid.  If you are just starting a lower threshold –such as $1.00- will mean you receive money faster depending on payment cycles)
  • Ways to earn money (Type of programs they specialize in-Pay Per Lead, Pay Per Sale, Co-Registraion)  If you are new to Affiliate Marketing then a range of ways to earn money gives you a chance to try different methods with your blog readers.  See which method works best for your blog then seek advertisers who pay based on that method.
  • Industry Verticals Specific industries the network focuses on (or has success in). Make sure they support the industry you wish to promote.
  • Support/Training. Support provided to you as an Affiliate.  Look for training opportunities too with an Affiliate Network.  Networks want you to be successful and that starts with your success.  You’ll want to make sure the help desks are easy to navigate and support is timely.
Category

Company

CJ.com

Clickbank.com

LinkShare.com
Tracking  Real time tracking real time tracking, options to customize near real-timer reporting, will work with you on customizing
Payment Methods  Check, Direct Deposit Check Check, Direct Deposit
Payment Threshold  Check $100.00, Direct Deposit $50.00 $100.00 $1.00, however Advertisers can customize the threshold
Ways to Earn Money  Advertiser Choice (Possible options: Perecent of sale, Cost per lead, Cost per Click) Percent of Sale Advertiser Choice (Possible options: Perecent of sale, Cost per lead, Cost per Click)
Industry Verticals  Finance, Travel, Automotive, Consumer Products, Education, Health and Beauty, Retail, Business, Entertainment, Special Interest Arts & Entertainment, Betting Systems, Business / Investing, Computers / Internet, Cooking, Food & Wine, E-business & E-marketing, Education, Employment & Jobs, Fiction, Games, Green Products, Health & Fitness, Home & Garden, Languages, Mobile, Parenting & Families, Politics / Current Events, Reference, Self-Help, Software & Services, Spirituality, New Age & Alternative Beliefs, Sports, Travel Auto, Business & Career, Clothing & Accessories, Computer & Electronics, Department Store, Entertainment, Family, Financial Services, Food & Drink, Games & Toys, Gift & Flowers, Health & Beauty, Hobbies & Collectibles, Home & Living, Internet & Online, Mature/Adult, Miscellaneous, Office, Sports & Fitness, Telecommunications, Travel
Support/Training  Tips and Training articles and webinars, support ticket support from within account Monday-Friday 7am-6pm Mountainn Time. Blog, PodCast, Webinars, all for ongoing education Email, Help Center, LinkShare University, Blog

Of course these are not the only 3 Affiliate Networks.  Try this Google search for researching your own Affiliate Network to join.  Best of luck with your Affiliate business!

]]> http://blog.name.com/2012/01/affiliate-getting-started-series-series-1-choosing-an-affiliate-network/feed/ 0 Pro Tip: How to get rid of that pesky parking page. http://blog.name.com/2012/01/pro-tip-how-to-get-rid-of-that-pesky-parking-page/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pro-tip-how-to-get-rid-of-that-pesky-parking-page http://blog.name.com/2012/01/pro-tip-how-to-get-rid-of-that-pesky-parking-page/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:30:19 +0000 Owen http://blog.name.com/?p=5652 Continue reading →]]> When you register a domain with Name.com it automatically gets pointed to an ad supported parking page. The reason for this is simple: we make more money. In a business with margins as thin as they are in domain registration we look for additional revenue wherever we can find it as long as it makes sense to do so and it does not run afoul of best practices in our industry. Running DNS services for hundreds of thousands of domains is also not a cheap thing to do. The infrastructure costs no small amount of money and neither does the administrators time when dealing with DDOS attacks and general maintenance issues. I promise we are not trying to be shady, we have been running ad-supported parking pages forever. It is standard practice in the registrar world, and it is spelled out in our TOS. Now that we got the business reasons for this practice out of the way let me explain to you how one can go about removing this “feature”.

This all happens because of wildcard DNS records on our name servers that we have set up for the various TLDs we support. If a domain is using our name servers and a given host does not have a record setup for it, it will resolve to our parking page. There are several ways to get rid of this behavior:

  1. Remove the name.com name servers from your domain if the TLD allows zero name servers, which most do. This will effectively remove the domain from the root DNS zone and the domain will no longer resolve at all. This will also disable all services on the domain such as email, URL forwarding, etc so this may not be an option for you.
  2. Use someone else’s name servers. You are not required to use name.com name servers. There are many third party DNS providers on the Internet and you can also run and operate your own name servers as well. This requires a bit of know how but if you have it this is an option for you. Going this route may also not allow you to use all DNS related name.com services such as URL forwarding, etc.
  3. Setup a wildcard record for your domain. This method is probably the one that will work best for most of you. In the DNS management section for your domain, simply setup an A record for *.YOURDOMAIN.TLD and point it to one of your IP addresses. This is good practice anyhow since it will direct traffic to your website when someone mistypes “www” or some other subdomain that you operate. I’m assuming that you already have YOURDOMAIN.TLD pointed as well. If not, create an A record for only YOURDOMAIN.TLD as well so that when someone goes to just your domain they get to your website.Here is a screenshot of a domain properly setup that will no longer resolve to our parking page (click on it to make it bigger):

    If you are wanting subdomains to not resolve at all and would like an NXDOMAIN response from DNS, you will need to use one of the first two methods for getting rid of the parking page.

    There is also more information regarding this available on our support FAQ.

]]> http://blog.name.com/2012/01/pro-tip-how-to-get-rid-of-that-pesky-parking-page/feed/ 0 Name.com Daily Tut: Forwarding your Domain to Sell Your Home http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-forwarding-your-domain-to-sell-your-home/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=name-com-daily-tut-forwarding-your-domain-to-sell-your-home http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-forwarding-your-domain-to-sell-your-home/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:35:19 +0000 Jared http://blog.name.com/?p=5417 Continue reading →]]> Domain (aka URL or web address) forwarding has got to be the easiest and least expensive way (it comes free with your domain) to market your home. Yesterday we forwarded a domain to someone’s LinkedIn profile to help them get a job. Today we’ll assist home sellers and real estate agents with the same idea. With Name.com, once you buy a domain, one of the many tools available to you is being able to forward it to the website of your choosing.

Remember, if you don’t find the .COM you want, see if you can get the .INFO, .NET, .CO or even .BIZ.

]]> http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-forwarding-your-domain-to-sell-your-home/feed/ 0 Name.com Daily Tut: How to use URL Forwarding to land a gig http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-how-to-use-url-forwarding-to-land-a-gig/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=name-com-daily-tut-how-to-use-url-forwarding-to-land-a-gig http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-how-to-use-url-forwarding-to-land-a-gig/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:03:44 +0000 Jared http://blog.name.com/?p=5393 Continue reading →]]> Now this is pretty basic stuff, especially to you Domainers who have more web addresses than socks, but it’s an important reason why everyone should have at least one domain: using it to forward to your online resume. Instead of “Please, please go to Linkedin.com/mynameandsomerandomcharacters and consider me for the postion,” you can say, “I’m glad you hired me after seeing mysimpledomain.com.”

And thanks Chris for letting us use you and your info!

]]> http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-how-to-use-url-forwarding-to-land-a-gig/feed/ 0 How to Transfer your Domains from GoDaddy to Name.com http://blog.name.com/2011/11/how-to-transfer-your-domains-from-godaddy-to-name-com/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-transfer-your-domains-from-godaddy-to-name-com http://blog.name.com/2011/11/how-to-transfer-your-domains-from-godaddy-to-name-com/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:18:18 +0000 Jared http://blog.name.com/?p=5378 Continue reading →]]> Only if it’s something you want to do. No pressure. All this great customer service and online security and sweet, friendly momentum awaits you at Name.com. And you get a free one-pager website, email and social URL forwarding and well, again, we’re here if you want to come over. This video just so happens to be how to do it.

Oh, and it’s only $7.39 to transfer your COM/NET AND it extends your registration for a year.

]]> http://blog.name.com/2011/11/how-to-transfer-your-domains-from-godaddy-to-name-com/feed/ 1 Name.com Daily Tut: Get your free blog or website in about two minutes http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-get-your-free-blog-or-website-in-about-two-minutes/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=name-com-daily-tut-get-your-free-blog-or-website-in-about-two-minutes http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-get-your-free-blog-or-website-in-about-two-minutes/#comments Sat, 19 Nov 2011 07:02:35 +0000 Jared http://blog.name.com/?p=5356 Continue reading →]]> Go.

It really is that easy, and the one-page PageZen is free. FREE. Get online presence for your ideas, your business and your brand, and getting there is easy. EASY.

I’d like to have one more thing to put into all caps but I think that’s good.

GOOD!

]]> http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-get-your-free-blog-or-website-in-about-two-minutes/feed/ 0 Name.com Daily Tut: What is WhoIs http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-what-is-whois/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=name-com-daily-tut-what-is-whois http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-what-is-whois/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:26:58 +0000 Jared http://blog.name.com/?p=5348 Continue reading →]]> We continue our daily quest to make learning fun and/or interesting. Today, our Domain Concierge Caroline shows us how to protect our privacy with the simple addition of Who.Is.

Who.Is will protect your PII (Personally Identifiable Information) and it gives you insight into the domains you want.

]]> http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-what-is-whois/feed/ 7 Name.com Daily Tut: Installing and Using Apple iTunes Match http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-installing-and-using-apple-itunes-match/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=name-com-daily-tut-installing-and-using-apple-itunes-match http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-installing-and-using-apple-itunes-match/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:52:22 +0000 Jared http://blog.name.com/?p=5323 Continue reading →]]> It used to be difficult to pick which person at Name.com was the biggest Apple Fanboy/girl. Then along came Michael and, it’s clear, none of us can compete. He has every gadget and he knows everything about every gadget. That’s a big step, going from wannabe Fanboy/girl to the real deal Fanboy/girl, as many people use only about five percent of their Apple product’s potential. Michael uses it until he’s in sync, as if he embodies its technology. It’s weird, especially when he needs something and uses your face as a touchscreen. But we get many uses from Michael (I’ve heard his computer say his name like that car in Knight Rider) including incredible web design and these useful Apple tutorials.

As you can see it works!

]]> http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-installing-and-using-apple-itunes-match/feed/ 0 Name.com Daily Tut: Using the Lost Password Tool http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-using-the-lost-password-tool/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=name-com-daily-tut-using-the-lost-password-tool http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-using-the-lost-password-tool/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:55:55 +0000 Jared http://blog.name.com/?p=5300 Continue reading →]]> Ryan of Name.com Customer Support rarely leaves his desk. So for him to come by and share his Name kNowledge is a quite a treat. I might be overstating that, but if you lose your password and need assistance at 2am on a Sunday, then you cannot overstate enough his help in this video tutorial.

Thanks Ryan. Because of you and the properties of Karma, one day the Buffalo Bills WILL win a Superbowl.

]]> http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-daily-tut-using-the-lost-password-tool/feed/ 0 Name.com Tutorial: How to Change your Name Name Servers http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-tutorial-how-to-change-your-name-name-servers/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=name-com-tutorial-how-to-change-your-name-name-servers http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-tutorial-how-to-change-your-name-name-servers/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:52:42 +0000 Jared http://blog.name.com/?p=5237 Continue reading →]]> We’re doing a tutorial a day. Rough title: Daily Tuts. We asked customer support, “What do people most want to know?” Changing name servers was at the top of the list and became the inaugural Daily Tut. Katie in Customer Support offers her assistance.

So that’s it. Although still not sure if Nameserver is one word or two.

]]> http://blog.name.com/2011/11/name-com-tutorial-how-to-change-your-name-name-servers/feed/ 0