Choose the Right Domain Name!

To buy a domain name, you can do so directly from your web hosting provider, or through a separate domain name service (a recommended option for those who are using their own servers). If you're using a separate domain name service for your server, make sure you choose one such as no-IP.com, which assigns you a static IP address, the numerical address that identifies your computer. If this address is ever-changing (as it is with some internet service providers), you won't be able to successfully assign a domain name to your server. I personally use register.com and godaddy.com. I like the independence that register.com or similar services provide. Another good strategy is to choose and register your domain in advance of building your site. You then have the comfort of knowing that the name belongs to you. When you register a domain without having a site, typing the name into the browser will bring up a page indicating that it's parked. This means the name is owned by someone but a website has not yet been launched.

The process for signing up for a domain name works the same way whether it's through a hosting provider or through a separate domain name service. You'll be asked to enter into a text box the domain name you want to register. The service shows you the extensions you can choose. Generally, you always want to go with .com, since this is the most popular domain name extension. In terms of what domain name to use, this is where keyword optimization comes into play. That's right--even your domain name should be keyword optimized. Don't fall into the temptation that many webmasters do and use something catchy and creative for your website. It might be more memorable to potential visitors, especially if you use a lot of offline marketing, but it won't get your site ranked high in search engines. Ultimately, you will want to use keywords to create a domain name that is both memorable and likely to be ranked in the first 10 listings of search engine results.

However, keywords in the domain are useful for reasons outside of just ranking by its words. How people link to you and what the description reads in the incoming "backlink," or anchor text, plays a key role. So if you have realestate-mortgage-loans.com it's better than simply remloans.com. The latter is shorter, but the former yields a better link popularity strategy.

If your desired domain name is taken, the domain name service recommends other selections you could use. This can be helpful, since sometimes they can come up with suggestions that might rank better than your original choice. Or, they could be terrible, especially in terms of their length. Generally, the best domain names are short, contain no hyphens, and offer an excellent one-, two-, or three-word summary of what the site is about. An example of an excellent domain name could be cheapknives.com. It's short, contains no hyphens, and, if it's pointing to a website selling affordable knives, perfectly summarizes the main point of the site.

Another alternative when it comes to domain names is buying one that's already established or expiring. This is a popular tactic used by internet marketers to generate traffic for their websites. You can find these types of domain names anywhere, from eBay to specialized services selling them (they can be found through a general Google search). You could use snapnames.com to bid on a name that's already taken. On this site you enter your contact and billing information, the domain name of interest, and your bid price. When the name becomes available, snapnames.com will purchase it for you. This eliminates watching and waiting for the name. This is also helpful after you launch your business if you want to snap up similar domain names.

There are auctions specifically for expired domain names. To find the best deals on expired domain names, don't be afraid to use a shopping comparison site, such as froogle.com. I've purchased domains both on eBay and the SitePoint Marketplace. If you get an admin e-mail account and read on the membership site SitePoint--you can transfer a domain over without losing page rank and traffic.

Most folks who sell a website/domain will show you traffic charts and money charts (example: AdSense). Make sure that it's not inflated, and that you can look at it over time. One month is simply not good enough. Make sure you also ask about how traffic has been coming to the site, and ask to see server logs.

Need To Upgrade Your Computer Network But Are Dreading The Costs? Then You Need To Know About “Cloud Computing”

There is a new trend developing in technology called “cloud computing” that truly IS the way all businesses will run their networks in the near future. Instead of hosting the hardware and software onsite, cloud computing allows businesses to host all their applications, data and hardware in a highly secure, highly reliable co-location (shared facility) and access it from any laptop connected to the Internet.

While this “virtualization” model has been around for a while, many businesses are moving towards it with their regular office applications for a number of reasons:

You’ll save a surprising amount of money on IT support, software and hardware without sacrificing speed or performance. An average 10-user client of ours can expect to save $6,141 to as much as $36,846 over a 1 year and 3 year period.

It instantly enables you and your employees to work from home or on the road just as if you were sitting at your desk in the office.

You’ll gain INSTANT disaster recovery protection to guarantee  your business could be back up and running FAST after a hurricane, fire, flood – or even a building or city evacuation.

You’ll save thousands of dollars in taxes thanks to the way Microsoft Office licenses, upgrades and support are billed – and it’s perfectly legal and ethical.

It’s green! Cloud computing lets you use computational power and storage space from a third-party service provider, thus lowering demand for addition of more servers in your data center.

Want to know if your business should transition to the cloud? Then call us for a free consultation to help you determine if cloud computing is right for you. Give as a call at 866-524-7762 for a FREE evaluation.

The UPS Your Business Can’t Be Without (And No, We’re Not Talking About The Post Office!)

A UPS, or uninterruptible power supply, is a battery backup power source for computers, servers and network equipment. When the power goes out, a UPS will keep your equipment going long enough to save any documents and shut down the machine properly. Why should you care?

Because, if you are actively working on a document when the power goes out, 1 of 3 things could happen.

1. Your document could be gone forever. The auto-save feature in Windows often stops working when the computer is unexpectedly shut off. Unless you manually saved the document multiple times while working on it, it’s not likely to be there after a power outage.
2. The file is there, but it’s useless. A power outage can corrupt any open files, even if you’ve saved them. The document opens back up on start-up, but its garbled characters make it look like a really long ransom note. To get it back, you have to re-create it all over again.
3. You get really, really, lucky. The average business will experience 15 power outages a year. If you are fortunate enough to recover your document after a power outage, count your lucky stars; you probably won’t be so lucky next time.

While many home PCs or non-critical workstations can live without a UPS, a server cannot. Servers run 24-7 providing files and services to a number of other machines. A sudden shutdown can corrupt files on the server causing more widespread damage.

We recommend all our clients get a UPS device for the servers in their office at a minimum and, for additional protection, for all the workstations

Give as a call at 866-524-7762 for a FREE evaluation.

4 Do’s and Don’ts Every Business Owner Should Know About Windows 7

Windows 7, Microsoft’s new operating system, just released last year, and with all the advertising buzz that Microsoft has created, many business owners are looking to know more about it. Here’s a list of Do’s and Don’ts for helping to determine whether or not a Windows 7 upgrade makes sense for you.

DO – Find out if all your software programs will be compatible.
Anytime Microsoft creates a new operating system, software companies often scramble to make their package work properly with it so there are no errors, glitches, or data corruption (a.k.a “your information deleted”). Some software companies are faster and better at this than others, so be sure to check with your software manufacturer to make sure you won’t end up with more problems than when you started.

DON’T – Hold back from getting the new computers you need.
Maybe you want to wait until Windows 7 gets the bugs out. Or, maybe it’s because you’re worried about buying a computer now that will be considered “old” when Windows 7 is officially released. The good news is you don’t have to wait. For a limited time when you buy from Microsoft-approved vendors, your new computer purchase will come with the ability to upgrade to Windows 7 for free, giving you the flexibility to have the upgrade option now and install it when you choose. Also, if you participate in Microsoft’s “Software
Assurance” program for your operating system, you’ll be entitled to the new version for free as well.

DO – Know how to “shake” it.
Have you ever had a bunch of windows open on your computer and felt like it was out of control and you couldn’t find anything? Then Windows 7 might be for you. It is designed to save time for people who work on multiple documents, spreadsheets, and web pages at once by allowing you to simply shake your mouse vigorously and make all those open Windows drop to the bottom of the screen and clear up your workspace. In addition to the “shake” feature, Windows 7 also makes it easier to view and use two programs side-by-side with just one click.

DON’T – Expect miracles.
Windows 7 does truly make using your computer faster since many of the features Microsoft has rolled out to help business owners and their teams work on multiple projects at once easier to use than ever before. Initial studies are showing that it might add one to two hours of productivity to your week over previous versions. But, if you expect Windows 7 to actually do the work for you, you may be disappointed. Windows 7 does truly make using your computer faster since many of the features Microsoft has rolled out to help business owners and their teams work on multiple projects at once easier to use than ever before.

Still not sure if Windows 7 is for you? We’ll also throw in our Windows 7 Compatibility Audit ($397 Value). At no cost to you, we’ll come on-site and put your network through a battery of tests to check its health, security, speed, and performance to make sure that Windows 7 is a good match for your business.

Give as a call at 866-524-7762 for a FREE evaluation.

Are you being too cheap about protecting this aspect of YOUR Business?

Think back to the last time your server went down or you weren’t able to get e-mail; remember how frustrating that was? Or perhaps you experienced a virus or other data-erasing disaster. Remember how painful that was to resolve?

There are very few business activities that don’t heavily rely on your computer network, e-mail and data – and if any of these components stop working, business grinds to a screeching, frustrating halt. And with viruses and hackers becoming more sophisticated (and smart) about accessing your network, you simply cannot afford to NOT monitor the health and security of your network daily.

A network monitoring system is simply a way for a trained professional to watch over your computer network for slow or failing components, security breaches, and alarms that signify trouble is brewing. It can also detect signs that your backup is not working, that you’re running out of space on the server, or that a firewall is not functioning properly. Think of it like a security camera watching over your entire network 24/7/365.

So if network monitoring is SO important, why aren’t more small businesses INSISTING that their IT person put a system in place? One of the biggest reasons we see is lack of knowledge. The reality is that many businesses DO have their systems monitored for problems; and the bigger and more sophisticated the company, the more critical this becomes. But smaller businesses are often outsourcing their IT support and, unless their computer guy offers this service, they may not even know it exists.

The second reason is complacency; the belief is that, “If it isn’t broke, why fix it?” This is akin to saying, “We don’t need locks on our doors because we’ve never had our house burglarized.” The reason you HAVE the locks is to prevent your home or office from being robbed – and the reason you have network monitoring is to make sure you DON’T have problems.

Plus, simple monitoring is cheap. For as little as per employee per month, you can have a basic monitoring system in place.

Call 866-524-7762 or go online today for a FREE month of Network Monitoring for your ENTIRE office!

Are You Making These “Summertime Mistakes” With Your Company’s Server?

How To Ensure The Heat Doesn’t Fry Your Server (and your Data!)

With the “dog days” of summer upon us, many business owners are looking for ways to keep their company’s sales and profits HOT, while keeping their Computer IT expenses COOL. But if proper attention is not given to your server and network equipment during the summer, all that heat outside can actually cause serious damage to your server, causing your system to crash and burn – literally!

Excess heat IS a big problem for all computer equipment including laptops and PCs. But since your server is carrying the load, overheating will cost you more in electric bills and problems. And once a server gets too hot and blows out, it weakens components so that they are more susceptible to failure forever afterward, not just during the particular moment they overheated.

“9 Steps Every Business Owner Must Know To Prevent a Server Crash”

Here are a few things simply things you can do to prevent your server and network equipment from overheating and crashing this summer:

• Tidy up the server room; a neater room will increase air flow.
• If you have more than one server, arrange them in a row so that the cold air comes from the front and is expelled out the back.
• Keep the doors to the server room closed and seal off the space to prevent dust buildup which can contribute to electronic equipment overheating.
• Make sure cold air reaches all the equipment.
• Have a redundant A/C that is specifically designed for computers.
• Buy a rack enclosure where the cooling is built in to the bottom of the rack.
• Keep the temperature at no more than 77 degrees.
• Use blanking panels over any empty spaces on your server rack.
• Consider virtualization so you are generating a lower amount of heat in the first place.

During the month of August, Protect Your Server and Computer Equipment From Frying!
Just as our way of saying “Thanks for giving us a try,” we’ll come on site and put your server, computers and network through a battery of tests to check their health, security, speed, and performance and to make sure they won’t overheat.

Give as a call at 866-524-7762 for a FREE evaluation.

Is Anything in Life Really FREE?

Warning: If You’ve Downloaded Free Software From The Internet, Your Computer May Be At Risk For Viruses, Hackers, and Spyware!

We’ve all heard the saying that the best things in life are free, but I’m not sure they were referring to software. Freeware (free software, not to be confused with open source software) such as the AVG anti-virus free edition, Spybot, and Ad-Aware are all programs you can download for the ultimate discount: free. However, you get what you pay for.

While these programs may work just fine for someone’s home computer, they are not business-class tools and should not be trusted to completely protect your computer or network from viruses, spyware, hackers, and other problems. Every month we receive calls from clients who are infected with a nasty virus or boatload of spyware who had these programs installed and running, and were under the false assumption that they were protected.

Why Freeware Doesn’t Protect Your Computer
In most cases, freeware is a light version of a software program that you purchase. Take the AVG free edition for example. AVG offers a free edition of their for-fee software as a way of introducing you to their fully-featured product. However, this software does not come with any online, e-mail, or phone support. It is also illegal to use it on multiple machines or in a commercial, non-profit, or educational environment (single-home users only).

You’re On Your Own!
As you might expect, freeware comes with zero guarantees or promises to function correctly, to be compatible with your system, or to safeguard you from threats. You’re not a paying customer so you’re on your own to resolve any technical problems you encounter, and you certainly won’t get support if your computer gets infected. Since many free applications are plagued with bugs and incompatibilities, you may end up with a mess on your hands and no one to blame but yourself. Additionally, freeware programs are not always current with the most up-to-date protection, and don’t always update themselves automatically or perform scans and tasks on a regular schedule.

Bottom line: You get what you pay for. If the files and functionality of your computer or network are of high-importance, then investing in a trusted, industrial-strength software program is a smart and worthwhile investment.

Is Your Computer So Slow That You Want To Throw It Out The Window?

Is your computer running as slow as molasses? Does it frequently freeze up, crash, and take forever to open files? If so, there could be several reasons for its sluggish performance.

Here is a list of the most common reasons for slow computer syndrome and how you can fix it:

• Spyware: While they are not quite as dangerous as viruses, spyware programs track and transmit your personal information and web surfing habits to advertisers without your direct consent or permission. These programs take up memory and often cause slow performance and system crashes. To get rid of spyware, download Malwarebytes and run it weekly.
• Low Memory: PC Magazine says that adding memory is, “The quickest, easiest, cheapest upgrade.” Adding memory can be one of the easiest ways to significantly increase the speed of a computer.
• Unnecessary Programs: Many PCs come with programs automatically installed to run at startup. Over time, these programs (along with all the other programs you install) can significantly slow down your computer. They are often running in the background, but are never used. Removing them will speed up your computer quite a bit.
• File Fragmentation: Fragmentation occurs when the operating system cannot or will not allocate enough contiguous space to store a complete file as a unit, but instead puts parts of it in gaps between other files. Run Windows Defrag application on a periodic basis.

If you see little or no improvement in speed and performance after applying the above solutions, you should seek professional help immediately. Slow performance could be a sign of a more serious problem that could result in a system crash, data loss, or both.

Give us a call today at 866-524-7762 for a totally FREE consultation.

Are You Making This Deadly Mistake With Your Company’s Critical Data and Files?

Imagine walking into your office tomorrow only to discover that a virus, hacker, or system failure had erased every file on your computer.

How confident are you that your data could be restored?

If you are not backing up your network – or if you are, but have never tested your backups by performing a full system restore – you are at high risk for losing irreplaceable company files and information.

We recommend backing up every night and performing a full system restore once a month to ensure your backup system is working. It’s not uncommon for backup files to become corrupt and useless, and you certainly don’t want to wait for a crisis situation to find out the backup system you had in place was not working.

If you aren’t currently backing up your system daily, or if you want to be absolutely certain that your backup files are valid and usable, contact us today at 866-524-7762 for a FREE Data Security Consultation.

We’ll come on site to test your current back up system, answer your questions, and make recommendations on how you can secure your data and sleep better at night.