Blog vs CMS, which one to choose?

April 15, 2008 By 2 Comments


Blogs and Content Management Systems (CMS) are two popular platforms for creating a website. Both platforms have their own strengths and weaknesses. Therefore it is often hard to decide on which platform is more suitable for your website.

When I decided to start TechThinker.com, I was torn between Blogs and CMS. I like the features of both platforms! But I can only choose one. Finally after carefully considering a number of factors, I decided to go with a blog based website.

So which platform is right for your website?

In order to understand the main differences between Blogs and CMS one has to look at why they were created in the first place.

1. Blogs were created, so that a single person can quickly add content to his/her website. In a blog newly added content is shown above old content. The content is displayed in reverse chronological order.

2. A CMS on the other hand deals with the creation, organization, management, and distribution of information, by multiple users who have no or little technical knowledge.

Please Note: When I was evaluating these platforms I was using WordPress as my blogging software and Joomla as my CMS software.

The following are some of the key factors that I considered during my selection process.

1. Simplicity and Ease of Use

Both blogs and CMS are intended for non-technical people. But out of the two blogs are far easier to setup and maintain. CMS software like Joomla, requires relatively more effort to setup.

2. Available Features

Blogs are simple because they provide fewer features compared with a CMS. Many consider blogs as a specific type of CMS. CMS are relatively complex and they provide a wide range of features.

3. Number of Authors

A blog is usually authored by a person and in some cases by a few. Blogs are primarily driven by a single person. A CMS on the other hand is designed to be managed by multiple users, all contributing to the content. Therefore, blogs are better suited for a website with few authors while CMS is a good choice for a website with many authors.

4. Tone of Voice

As you saw in the previous point, blogs are generally driven by a person. Therefore the information on a blog is usually presented as a person’s own views and opinions. The tone of the voice is very informal. If you do not want to present information from a personal point of view, but would like to present information with a formal voice, a CMS based website might be a good solution.

5. How is Information Structured

A blog shows content in reverse chronological order (recently added content is shown on the top of the page). This is a key feature of a blog. But not everyone wants this type of structure for their websites. But in a CMS you can present your information in different structure and formats.

6. Customization of Look and Feel

A CMS system provides better control over customizing your website. You can precisely configure the look and feel of your website by configuring templates. Blog templates on the other hand are less customizable.

7. Levels of Security

Since CMS are intended to be used by many users, they provide better security and control on who can do what. Compared with CMS, blogs provides fewer levels of security.

8. Community Building

Blogs are great tools for community building. Bloggers interact more with other bloggers. Blogs provide better features for community building (ex. comments, track backs etc).

Conclusion

All of the above points show the fundamental differences between blogs and CMS. But, depending on the type of blogging or CMS software you use, these points may not always hold true.

Which platform do you use for your website? What is the main reason for choosing that platform? Please share it with us.

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: ,

Is .me right for me?

April 12, 2008 By 5 Comments
.Me Domains

The independence of the state of Montenegro (from Serbia & Montenegro) on the 3rd of June 2006 resulted in the creation of a new TLD (Top Level Domain) called “.me”, for the new country.

Like the .tv TLD, which is now popular in the entertainment industry, .me has a good potential to become popular among English speaking countries. Consider domain names such as “contact.me”, “remind.me” and “hire.me”, now you know what I mean. The word “me” is also found in many other languages including Spanish.

Recently GoDaddy was given the rights by the Government of Montenegro to manage the .me TLD allowing anyone around the world to register .me domain names.

But you have to wait for some time to secure your dream .me domain. This is because when a new TLD becomes available it is released in 3 stages as follows:

1. Sunrise Period

During the sunrise period any owners of a trade mark can register a domain name with that trademark on it.

2. Landrush Period

During the landrush period everyone can apply for a domain name. Landrush pre-registrations takes place on a First Come First Served basis or using auctions. People who apply during the landrush period pay premium prices for their domain names.

3. General Registration

When general registration commences, everyone can register a domain name for the standard price.

The .me domain roll out schedule can be found at www.buymedomains.com, a blog completely dedicated for .me domains! What do you think about .me domains? Do you think that they will become popular? Or will they flop like .biz? Please share your opinion.

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The Four Pillars of Success

April 9, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Four Pillars of Success
The founding philosophy for a successful website

In this article I explain my philosophy for a successful website, a philosophy that is based on the following 4 key fundamentals:

1. Content
2. Design
3. Traffic
4. Monetize

I call the above fundamentals as “The Four Pillars of Success”. I believe all 4 fundamentals are equally important for building a successful website.

Now let us examine what constitutes each pillar to understand them better.

1. Content

You may have heard the phrase “Content is King”. The word “Content” refers to any informational material that is published on a website. The published material can be in text, image, audio, video or multimedia format. It is widely accepted and proved that good quality content is what drives visitors to a website. In the Content Pillar the primary focus is on how to create high quality website content.

2. Design

No matter how much quality content you may have, if your website is not designed properly, you will not attract as many visitors as you wish. A good website should be user friendly. It should be easy to use and navigate. In the Design Pillar the focus is on the usability aspects of a website.

3. Traffic

Traffic refers to the number of visitors to your website. Even with a properly designed website with high quality content, you are not going to get loads of traffic. This is because your website is not marketed properly and is not optimized to get more traffic from search engines.

There are two types of traffic

  1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Traffic, gained by optimizing your web pages for search engines.
  2. Non-SEO Traffic, gained by marketing your website via other means such as advisements, promotions etc.

In the Traffic Pillar the primary goal is to increase targeted traffic (i.e. visitors who are interested in what you offer) using both SEO and Non-SEO methods.

4. Monetize

After building a successful website (using the above 3 pillars) your may want to reap the benefits by making money from your website. This is where the monetization comes into play. The term “Monetize” refers to ability to make money from your website.

In the Monetize Pillar the focus is on making money from your website using advertisements, affiliate programs and e-commerce.

There is a lot of interest in the community to make money online. This is part of the reason I made Monetization as the fourth Pillar of Success. If you are not interested in making money online you can ignore this pillar.

Final Thoughts

Even though I have presented 4 unique Pillars of Success, in reality these fundamentals are interwoven. Based on your website objectives and requirements, some fundamentals may weigh more than others.

Pillars of Success
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5 tips on improving the accuracy of your blog posts and web articles

April 7, 2008 By 2 Comments
Proof Reading

Beside from the obvious points of checking for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, here are few tips on increasing the accuracy of your articles:

1. Do not make any mistakes

The best way to avoid errors is not to make them in the first place!
Write your articles when you are in a good mood. Do not write, if you are upset, angry or constantly distracted. By concentrating well you can avoid mistakes. It is much easier to avoid mistakes in the first place rather than scanning for errors and fixing them later on.

Do not parallel task doing other activities while writing. Allocate time exclusively for your writing. Pick a time slot that will allow you to work without many interruptions.

2. Get someone else to proof read your content

When we write, most of us go over the same sentence many times. Therefore the words you choose and the sentences that you form are unconsciously recorded in your memory.

Therefore when you proof read your own article, you have the tendency to read it the way you intended to write it, not the way it is actually written! This happens due to your prior knowledge (in memory) of the article.

But when someone else proof reads your article they come across the content for the very first time. They do no have any preconceived ideas about your article. Not knowing what is coming next allows one to read with more interest and attention. Therefore it is easier for someone else to spot errors quickly.

3. Read it aloud

If you do not have anyone to proof read your work, read the article aloud by yourself. By reading aloud you can spot grammatical errors and poor sentences.

4. Use a Text-to-Speech program to read your article

Another technique I use to proof read my articles is using Text-to-Speech software. Text-to-Speech software can read any typed text. I use a software called Natural Reader. Using this software I can listen to my writing before publishing it. Text-to-speech software follows punctuations, such as commas and full stops. Therefore it is very easy to identify complex sentences. By listening to your text, you can easily identify spelling and grammatical errors as well.

5. Give it a rest for a week

Finally, another technique I employ is to write an article and give it a rest. Now, start working on a second article. After a week re-visit the first article for proof reading. By this time, most of your memory of the first article would have diminished, because you have been focusing on the second article. This allows you to read the first article as it is written. You’ll be amazed how many mistakes and issues you will come across. You will not only find errors but also find better ways to reword poorly written sentences. But this technique is not useful if you have any time limitations for publishing your article.

I hope the above 5 simple tips will allow you to write better quality articles. If you know any other proofreading techniques, please feel free to share them.

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What bloggers can learn from Barack Obama?

April 3, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Obama Quotes

I am a Canadian following the 2008 US presidential nominations with great interest. Out of the many candidates I find Illinois Senator Barack Obama to be inspiring and motivational.

I personally believe that everyone can learn something from Obama and his speeches, including bloggers. In this post I explain how new bloggers can use some of Obama’s inspiring quotes as way to understand good blogging practices. This is not a political post, so please read on …

“I’m asking you to believe not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington… I’m asking you to believe in yours.”

Key lesson: believe in your abilities

To become a successful blogger you have to first believe in your ability to create good content for your readers. It is said that every second, 2 blogs are created on the Internet. There are countless blogs on the same subject matter! This means you will have to compete very hard, for your blog to be noticed by a wider audience. The best way to compete is to differentiate your blog from the rest of the pack by developing your own unique style of presentation.

Some bloggers employ guest bloggers to create content. While guest posting is good way to expand your blog, you should not primarily depend on others to create content for your blog. Guest bloggers have their own reasons for writing guest posts. Therefore guest posts are not effective as your own posts when it comes to making your blog unique. You are the only person who can make your blog unique.

“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.”

Key lesson: continuing to do the right thing on a regular basis will lead to success

In order to become a successful blogger you should have a clear vision about your goals and objectives. Knowing your destination makes a long journey a little bit easier than having no clue about where we are headed. Clear goals and objectives allow you to keep your blog on track.

Your goals and objectives should be set for the long haul. Some people expect quick returns from a blog. But, building a successful blog can take years. You should have good perseverance, patience and determination.

Blogging needs a lot of discipline. You have to commit time for it everyday. Learning, researching and posting blog entries should become more than a habit, they should become part of your life style!

“This union [racial union] may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected.”

Key lesson: no blogger is perfect, but a good blogger strives to get better over time

Your blog posts will never be perfect. But as you continue blogging you can and should perfect it. A good blogger strives hard to get better over time. To become a better blogger you need be a voracious learner, learning through research, experience, successes and failures. A good appetite for learning will make you a better blogger and eventually an expert in your subject matter.

“Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference.”

Key lesson: do not get carried a way with the concept of making money online

Many people are interested in making money from their blogs. There is nothing wrong in trying to generate revenue from your blog using various money making programs. But some get carried away with the concept of making money online. In trying to monetize their blogs they loose focus on the content. Having good content is what attracts a large number of readers to your blog. When the quality of your content is compromised, your reader base will shrink. A shrinking reader base will have a cascading effect on your website traffic and revenue. Therefore it is important to have the right balance between the efforts you put on content creation and revenue generation.

“This campaign can’t only be about me…It must be about what we can do together.”

Key lesson: do not become self-centric

You are the driving force behind your blog. But that does not mean you have to be self-centric. Good bloggers collaborate with others. They invite guest bloggers to write for their blogs. They participate in social networking. They help new bloggers to get up to speed with blogging. By sharing their knowledge and expertise they build valuable relationships. Building relationships lead to new opportunities.

“Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.”

Key lesson: learn from failures

Finally I want to leave you with the above quote that holds true for any successful blogging experience. This quote encompasses many key points we have discussed up to now and emphasizes the need to learn from failures.

As your blog matures it will face more scrutiny and critique by a wider audience. You will come across both constructive and negative criticism. While positive comments can make you feel happy and motivated, negative comments can halt your progress. To become a successful blogger you should become seasoned enough to face challenges and learn from failures.

Your comments are welcome.

Post Update (2 May 2008)

Similar Articles

Please checkout the following article at DoshDosh.com where the author explains the importance of empowering your audience with a powerful message.

It’s Not Just Words: The Importance of Empowering Your Audience.

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How to view image files in NEF format?

March 28, 2008 By 3 Comments

NEF (Nikon Electronic Format) is the format that Nikon digital cameras use to store images in raw form (as it is, without any compression or transformations applied). Not all graphics software can view this image format. If you own a Nikon camera it would have come with required conversion software to convert NEF files to other popular image formats such as JPG and BMP. In the absence of such conversion software, you can use Picasa image viewer from Google. Using Picasa you can view NEF images as well as save them in JPG format. Picasa image viewer can be downloaded as part of Google Pack.

Do you know any other software that can handle NEF images? Please share them in this page.

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Getting a Domain Name like URL for Free

March 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment

If you do not want to spend anywhere from 4$ to 10$ per year on a domain name, you can register one for free at www.freedomain.co.nr. Your domain name will have the format of www.yourdomainname.co.nr. Actually you are NOT getting a domain name, instead getting a sub-domain on the domain name co.nr. In order to get this free sub-domain you have to satisfy certain requirements that are stated in the website. If you are serious about your web projects I recommend getting a paid domain name. But for any toy projects or experiments you can consider registering a free sub-domain at co.nr.

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Who referred my site? An overview of Referral Spamming

March 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Spam

Yesterday, when I logged into my web hosting account to check my website stats (statistical information on the behavior of website users), I found an unusually high number of referrals from the domain “readrun.com”. When I visited this website I found it to be very doubtful. The site was called “Canadian Pharmacy” and was selling various drugs.

By now it was clear to me that this website did not really refer my site. Instead it has sent many fake referrals with fake referrer information, tricking my website to believe that a visitor has come from “readrun.com”. These fake referrals were logged by my website stats program which interpreted them as a genuine requests.

A genuine referral only takes place via a hyper link. Genuine referrals are important to increase the page rank of a website (ranking given to a website by a search engine).

Sending fake referrals is known as referral spamming. Referral spamming is done with two intentions in mind.

1. Increase traffic

Many webmasters will be interested in finding out who referred their website. Out of curiosity they visit the spammer’s website. This way the spammer is getting more traffic to the website. If the spammer’s website looks credible enough some might get tricked into buying products and services from that website.

2. Creating more back links

Referral stats for your website could be recorded in log files. Depending on how your web hosting account is configured these log files can be publicly accessible. When the log files are available on the Internet, search engines will index them. As a result the spammer is getting more back links to the spam website. Back links contribute to the page rank of a website.

Testing

To see how successful the spammer has been in achieving these two objectives, I did the following tests:

  • I checked the Alexa rating for “readrun.com”. It had a ranking of 189,193. This ranking is very high given that the domain was only registered a month ago (see point 4).
  • I searched Google for the keywords “readrun.com” and “awstats” (awstats is the name of my web statistics program). The first 10 pages of Google search results came up with awstats logs from various websites.
  • Checked Google page rank for “readrun.com”. Google did not have any page rank for this site. Looks like Google is smart enough to detect this as a spam website.
  • Checked whois entry for domain “readrun.com”. The domain name was register on February of 2008. The contact information on the domain name looked very bogus.
How to avoid referral spamming
  • Keep your log files private. Do not make them publicly accessible. This way search engines will not find them. Therefore search engines can not crawl to the spammer’s website (since there are no back links).
  • Blocking major well known referral spamming sites using the IP address.
  • Have special code to check back whether the referrer link actually exists.
  • Using special code to identify fake or automated referrals.

Have you been a victim of referral spamming? Do you have any tips on preventing it? Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments.

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18 Tips for choosing a good Domain Name

March 19, 2008 By 13 Comments

1. Match website name with domain name

Choose a domain name that will be the title of your website. Many people make the mistake of having different website title and domain name. For example, one might register the domain name as “TheGPSGuide.com” and name the website as “GPS Buyer Review”.

Having inconsistent website and domain name will confuse the average user. In the above example there is a good chance the user might refer the website as “GPS Buyer Review” to a friend. The friend can mistakenly visit the website “GPSBuyerReview.com” which can be a competitor’s website!

2. Generic vs. Brand name

Your domain name can be either a generic name (e.g. “cars.com”) or a brand name (e.g. “Toyota.com”).

If you already own a business with a very reputable brand name then choose your brand name as your domain name. Brand name is not limited to a business. A brand name can be successfully developed for any website, building a community of loyal readers around the brand.

On the flip side brand based domain names might rank slightly lower on search engine results especially when searches are performed using common keywords (e.g. searching for the word “car” instead of “Toyota”). During an Internet search, a search engine like Google will consider hundreds of factors to determine the most relevant search results. The presence of a keyword in the domain name is only one of those factors. Therefore the impact of not having a common keyword in your domain name is minimal.

Generic names have the advantage of instantly letting the user know what your website is all about. For example, if your domain name is called “CarCareTips.com” it is very obvious that your website is about tips on maintaining your car. In addition, generic domain names rank better when internet searches are performed with common keywords.

3. Keep it short

Domain names can be up to 67 characters long. But that does not mean you take the liberty of using as many characters as you want for your domain name. To make the domain name memorable and easier to type, try to keep it as short as practically possible.

Short domain names reduce the possibility of typing errors and reduce the risk of sending the user to a type squatting website (a website that is intentionally created to benefit from misspellings in your domain name).

At the same time do not over short your domain name. For example, if the name of your organization is “Snowy Mountain Skiing and Snowboarding Club”, do NOT shorten it to “SMSASC.com”. This abbreviation is very hard to remember!

4. Avoid hyphens (i.e. dash signs “-“ )

Avoid the use of hyphens in your domain name. Using hyphens can be confusing when the name of the domain is told verbally. For example, consider the domain name “in-car-gps-navigation.com”. When you say this name verbally it will be something like “in hyphen car hyphen gps hyphen …” get my point?

I also find domain names with hyphens lack credibility because there are so many doubtful marketing and money milking websites on the internet that use hyphens in the domain name. Credible sites tend to avoid using hyphens in domain name.

Hyphen based domain names do have some advantages. They include the ability to rank well in Internet searches, because search engines can easily identify the keywords using the hyphen as a separator.

Hyphen based domain names can easily stand out in print. Non-hyphen domain names can be harder to read in print. But you can over come this problem by using capital letters for the first character in each keyword so that they will stand out when printed. For example, “car-care-tips.com” is more readable than “carcaretips.com”. But “CarCareTips.com” is equally readable as “car-care-tips.com”.

5. Avoid numbers

Having numbers in a domain name is not a good idea unless the number is part of the business name. For example, “1800Flowers.com” is good domain name because the number 1800 is actually part of the business name. In this example the phone number and domain name are the same!

6. Try your best to get .com

Try to get a .com TLD (Top Level Domain) for your domain name. It has more credibility than .org or .net. The only exception to this if you are involved in a non-profit operation where the .org TLD can be used to reinforce the non-profit nature of your operation. For example, .org is very popular among charity groups.

But if you really want a domain name and the .com version is already taken, you can still consider .net and .org. But considering other TLDs such as .biz is not a great idea (at least in my own opinion) because hardly anyone knows about them.

If your website is targeted for region or country you can consider country specific TLDs. For example, the .ca TLD (Top Level Domain for Canada) has got very good recognition within North America. Having a country based TLD might rank you better when searches are performed with in the country.

7. Consider prefixes or suffixes

In many instances you will find that the domain name you want is already registered. In this case you should consider adding a prefix or suffix to your domain name. For example, if “GPSGuide.com” is already registered, you can consider “theGPSGuide.com”.

8. Keep your domain name legal

Make sure that the domain name you want to register does not violate any copyrights or trademarks. If your domain name contains common descriptive words then you do not have to worry too much about any legal issues.

To illustrate the above point let me take the following 2 examples:

Example 1: Assume that the domain name “microsoft.com” is available and you were able to secure it before Microsoft Corporation. You can be sued by Microsoft for registering their trademark and most probably Microsoft will win the law suit.

Example 2: Assume that you register the domain name “sun.com” before Sun Micro Systems was able to secure it. If Sun Micro Systems sues you, most likely they will lose and you will keep the domain name, because the word “Sun” is a generic word.

If you were to end up with any domain name dispute the domain administrator (such as ICANN and CIRA) will look into the following factors:

  • Is your domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark?
  • Do you have any rights or legitimate interests in the domain?
  • Was the domain name registered in bad faith?

9. Consider registering multiple TLDs (Top Level Domains)

Just to make sure you do not lose traffic to any type squatters, register other popular TLDs as well. For example, if your register a charity called “SickKids.org”, consider registering “SickKids.net” and “SickKids.com” so that no one else can try to profit from users who might mistakenly go to the wrong TLD.

10. Consult with friends and colleagues

Once you have decided on your domain name, before registering it, ask your friends or colleagues on their opinion about the name. For example, look at the domain name “ExpertsExchange.com”, at first glance the name looks fine, but one can also read this domain as “ExpertSexChange.com”!

11. Previous history of the domain name, abuse by spammers

If the domain name you are about to register had a past history of being owned by spammers and type squatters, it is possible that popular search engines such as Google might have penalized them by lowering the page rank. Once you own the domain name you can experience a slow start in term of search engine ranking. You can eventually come out from this black list by adding good quality content to your website and make sure you do not offend the search engines by engaging in any bad practices to increase more traffic to your website.

12. Future plans for your website

When selecting a domain name keep in mind any expansion plans that you might have for your website or business. For example, assume that you are in the business of selling roses and you want to register the domain name “RosesOnly.com”. You also have plans to sell a variety of flowers in the future. “RosesOnly.com” would be a great name for the start but as you expand your business this domain name becomes less applicable to your business. In this example you might me better off with a domain name like “FlowersOnly.com”.

13. Location and user base

If your website users are from a specific region or country, then you should consider country TLDs. For example, .ca for Canada and .com.au for Australia are two TLDs that have very high credibility with in the respective countries.

Country specific TLD can rank well when searches are performed with the country.

14. Avoid confusion

At all cost try to avoid any confusing domain names.
Follow these simple rules:

  • Do not pick the wrong spelling (unless you already have established brand name with that spelling).
    Example: “KoolKars.com” is a bad choice. “CoolCars.com” is a better choice.
  • Numbers can confuse people.
    Example: “Cash4You.com” can be interpreted as “CashForYou.com” or “Cash4U.com”.
  • Names that spell differently but pronounced the same.
    Example: The domain name “WebSpear.com” can be confused with “WebSphere.com”.

15. Easy to memorize

Domain names should be easy to remember and memorize. The name should be easy to type as well.

A domain name such “AutoBodyShopCare.com” is a confusing name since the keywords do not have a logical sequence. The user can easily forget a keyword or mix the order of the keywords when referring the website to a friend. For example, the user might refer the domain name as “AutoBodyCare.com” or might refer it as “AutoCareBodyShop.com”. The possibility of not remembering all the keywords and their order paves way to endless mistakes.

16. Use plural form

In many instances a plural form of a domain name is more valuable and preferred over the singular form. For example “CoolGadgets.com” is a more desirable name than “CoolGadget.com”. Most probably the website will deal with many gadgets not only one gadget! But to ensure you do not lose any traffic to type squatters, register and secure both the singular and plural version of a domain name if they are available.

17. Be creative and make it personal

Be creative in choosing a domain name. This is especially true when you want a brand name. Make the domain name reflect the nature of you website. Choose a domain name that can stand out, conveys a positive message. Choose a name that motivates you. At the end you should like the domain name you choose otherwise you’ll have second thoughts and may try to change it in the future.

18. Compromise – the key to success

So far I have given 17 tips for selecting a good domain name. But if you try to find a domain name that satisfies all the above 17 tips, you will be disappointed. In reality good quality domain names are already registered.

Therefore you have to compromise and choose the best possible domain name that is left unregistered.

As general rule of thumb make sure that your domain name satisfies at least half of the above mentioned tips.

Good luck with your domain name search!

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