By Colby Horton
Shop Site of the Month
The V Shop—Volvo Specialists - Baton Rouge, LA
www.thevshop.com
This site features innovative graphics and a fun design complete with tips for Volvo owners, customer testimonials and complete service descriptions.
Web Wise
What's In a Name?
Online auctions have been an Internet commodity for several years now. Recently, however, companies such as GreatDomains (www.GreatDomains.com) and Afternic.com (www.afternic.com) have geared their auctioning power to the selling of domain names. A domain name, such as autoinc.org, uniquely identifies a site and serves as an advertisement for a company.
If you want to expand your shop's marketing strategy to include the Internet in the foreseeable future, it is a good idea to register your domain name now. High profile domain names have sold at auction for more than $800,000. According to GreatDomains, forsalebyowner.com sold for $835,000, Drugs.com sold for $823,450 and Cinema.com sold for $700,000. If your shop has a common name, gaining access to a unique domain name may not be an option or could cost you substantially.
Web sites such as Register.com (www.register.com) and Network Solutions (www.networksolutions. com) allow users to enter a suggested domain name to see if the name is already in use. It will also give recommended variations of the name if it is already taken. Not all Web sites must end in “.com,” but it's certainly a convenience. Most consumers will make that assumption. If the domain name you want to use is already taken, you might want to end your Web address in “.net” and submit the name again.
These sites also function as an appraisal tool for those who want to sell domain names. Afternic.com appraised the name MotorCentral. com at $10,000. In May, GreatDomains had more than 775,000 domain listings with a total selling value of more than $11 billion.
You can register your domain name through these sites for a set fee per year. These fees average between $30 and $70 per month. By doing this, you can secure your shop's name so no other company can use it. Prior to registering your domain name, you will need an Internet Protocol (IP) number from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Your shop can receive abundant exposure from the Internet. Creating a Web page is an excellent marketing tool that can benefit any shop regardless of size or income. Register your domain name to ensure proper and complete exposure.
Net Numbers
The domain name “loans.com” was purchased for $3 million by Bank of America is January 2000.
Source: Afternic.com
ASA Web Ways
Shop Web Pages
A shop Web page is one of the best ways for you to inform customers of shop hours, location, specialties and certifications. ASA can help you get your shop online. For $75, all national members can have ASA design a Web page with the aforementioned items and a graphic. The cost includes storage of the page as long as the member remains in good standing. If a shop has an existing Web site, ASA will link to the site from its “Find Nearest ASA Shop” database at no charge. For more information, go to the ASA Web site (www.asashop.org) and click on “Membership Benefits,” or e-mail the request to colbyh@asashop.org.
 |
Net Worth is written by Colby Horton, ASA's electronic communications manager. He can be reached at (800) 272-7467, ext. 234, or by e-mail at colbyh@asashop.org.
|
Copyright (c) 1996-2008. Automotive Service Association. All rights reserved.
