Premium Listing? Baloney.

OK. I just got off the phone with a woman who wanted to “update my information” for the White and Yellow Pages. I have nothing against phone books. They’ve come in quite handy over the years when I’ve needed anything from plumbers to pizza. (Well, I’ve never NEEDED pizza. But it does come in handy now and then, especially when facing a couple of dangerously starved teenagers.) And, phone books are actually still handy for some things. . . although I can’t think of any at the moment.

There are a couple of things wrong with this woman’s approach. First of all, she failed to mention that I would have to pay for my “updated” phone book listing. While she rattled off my address (which was wrong) and phone number, I interrupted to ask if there was a charge. Oh yes. Minor detail of $389. BUT, she continued , you’ll get a bold listing AND (here’s the Grrrr) a “premium listing on major search engines Google, Yahoo,  etc.” (This is a direct quote.) I think she was kind of annoyed when I told her it isn’t true that she can give me a premium listing. In fact, she hung up when I said it was totally absolutely and in all other ways inconceivable that she could give me or anyone else a “premium listing” on any search engine. There’s no such thing.

If it were possible to demand top billing for specific businesses, then they wouldn’t be search engines. They’d be advertising engines. And, the guy with the most money would get the Most Highly Profitable and Pretentious Premium listing. Take the Super Bowl. Who even watches the game anymore with so many clever commercials all stacked up waiting to pay their millions for few seconds’ rent on a bunch of pairs of eyeballs? Well, LOTS of pairs of eyeballs, I guess. (And, sometimes the half-time show has some interesting equipment failures, too.) Only the very, very rich can afford ads on the Super Bowl.

The fact is, it’s the quality of a Web site that determines placement on search pages. Searches are designed to return the most relevant information based on the words typed in by the searcher.  That’s it. If the text on the pages of your Web site is relevant to exactly what’s being sought, that page will be more successful in searches, because the text explains exactly what you do or sell and it matches the searched words.

So buy phone book ads if it helps customers find you and brings in revenue. But be sure to question anyone who guarantees higher (“premium”?) placement in Google or Yahoo! searches. That’s not how search engines work.

Is someone trying to steal your domain name?

Here’s a note to us from one of our BeeLine customers. She writes:

Hi,

I received notification and an invoice from the Domain Registry of America for a reply to register my website. I don't recall if this is something your company has done for my website or not. Please let me know how I should respond.

Thanks,

Mary

Grrrrrr. This makes me so mad. Domain Registry of America sends you an “invoice” indicating that your domain name is expiring. They ask you to pay immediately to avoid interruption in your Web site availability. Wow. The nerve of some people.

Trouble is, Domain Registry of America has NOTHING TO DO with your domain name. If they snag you into paying the fake invoice, THEN, they have succeeded in taking control of your domain name. In essence, control of the domain name results in control of your Web site.

You’ve worked hard to promote your business through your Web site by including your Web site address on all your printed materials, billboards, and other advertising. If someone nabs your domain name, you may need to start over with a new name. Just like changing your phone number, would require you to reprint business cards, print ads, re-letter your vehicle, etc. etc. What a pain.

If you’re a BeeLine customer, in most cases we manage your domain name for you. Or, if you’ve opted to manage it yourself, we’ve given you detailed instructions on how to keep your domain name safe. When we manage names (recommended), we always notify you a couple of months in advance of the expiration. This leaves plenty of time for renewal before there’s any danger of the name expiring. That notification always comes from BeeLine, not from any other company or registrar.

	Registrar: the company where your domain name is registered. Registration is always done online. You should have a user name and password for accessing your account on your registrar's site.

And, if you ever receive notification from any company claiming to be “renewing” your domain name, be absolutely sure you’re dealing with a legitimate company and that they are really your domain registrar.

If you’re not a BeeLine customer or don’t know who is managing your domain name, give us a buzz. We’ll be glad to tell you the status of your domain name and help you manage it. We’ve helped dozens of companies straighten out domain name problems.