When the Internet first came out it was restricted to a wired connection to a computer.  Eventually technology improved, creating wireless Internet.  At that point the Internet could be accessible through desktops, laptops and mobile devices without wiring.  This means that the Internet was now portable.  And as more mobile devices are getting created, consumers are exploring how to increase this portability.  In fact, wireless Internet has gotten so popular with mobile devices, domain name companies have created a new extension.  It’s called .mobi.

.Mobi is the extension of choice for websites that are being formatted for cell phones, pdas and other mobile devices.  It can be bought from most major domain name companies such as Godaddy or Network Solutions.  As far as registering a .mobi domain name, one would go through the same type of procedure that is associated with traditional domain names.  This involves first choosing a .mobi domain name and seeing if it is available.

If it is not available, the domain name company will offer suggestions on what a person can use.  Either way, the customer will be given another chance to select another .mobi domain name.  Once they get one that is not taken, they can proceed to purchase it.  The contract will last one to two years, depending on what they agreed upon with the domain name company.  When the contract is up, a person will have to renew their .mobi domain name if they want to continue to keep it.

So, why would a webmaster decide to invest in a domain name that is restricted to mobile devices?  Well, it’s mainly because they get an opportunity to center in on a market that is relatively new.  Since most webmasters or companies are trying to take advantage of the .coms or the .nets, the .mobi has become somewhat forgotten.  This means that it is prime for search engine keywords that would normally not be available for traditional domain names.  It can also allow a webmaster a branding opportunity for their company.

However, since a .mobi domain name means a webmaster is creating a website specially designed for a mobile phone, it cannot have the types of frills that it could have if it was being promoted on a computer.  Good mobile websites need to be mostly textual with very limited number of pics, (if any).   Granted, plain text is not fancy, but it doesn’t require much loading time.  Mobile phone sites should also not be very large nor should they be created with frames or other more complicated layouts.

A webmaster may also want to consider trying to divert the mobile website visitor to a regular website.  One way this can be done is by advertising the domain name that is associated with a traditional website.  But it must be made clear that the site will only display appropriately on regular computers.  Another option is trying to capture the person’s email address by offering them something free, such as an e-book or low-cost merchandise.

When they sign up to the email subscription, their first newsletter could advertise the traditional website a webmaster wants promoted.  By doing either of these options, webmasters can still take advantage of pay-per-clicks or affiliate programs, revenue generators which may not be promoted on .mobi websites due to viewing limitations with banner or text ads.

A good domain name not only makes people more likely to visit a website, but it can also increase search engine rankings.  This is because search engine bots index websites based on keywords found both in its content and domain name.  Yet, how does a webmaster know if their domain name is going to be profitable?  Usually most don’t until they put it into practice.  Hence, there is the practice of domain name tasting.

What is domain name tasting?  Domain name tasting is the process of registering a domain name and seeing how much traffic it brings to a website during whatever grace period the domain name registrar offers, (which is normally five days).  If the domain name brings in a lot of visitors, the webmaster will keep it.  Otherwise, they will cancel their registration and get a refund.

Does this sound interesting to you?  Well, before you decide to do domain name tasting for your site, first consider the ethics of the practice.  Domain name companies lose millions of dollars every year due to domain name tasting.  While some may not feel sympathy for them, if domain name tasting continues without any legal restrictions, DNS enterprises may strike back by making their prices higher.  Such a consequence would also hurt customers who intended on buying the domain name outright.

Another ethical dilemma involved with domain name tasting is the issue of good domain names not being eligible for more serious customers.  Some may feel that in a system of free capitalistic enterprise, domain name testers have every right to access however many domain names they can.  Yet, if they aren’t really going to buy them, why shouldn’t these domain names be available to individuals who may need them more?  Many would argue it is better to sell a domain name to a company that is serious about using it as their brand than selling it to a person thinking they can use it to get quick traffic.

It is also important to keep in mind that a good domain name is not a sole indicator of whether or not a site is going to be successful.  Domain name tasters are fooling themselves if they think their practice of domain tasting is what has brought about their success with website traffic.  Granted, an expired domain name might have a little bit of traffic associated with it, but to get one that is of value, a person would have to pay hundreds maybe even thousands of dollars.  Many domain name tasters wouldn’t have the funds for such a domain name, so they may instead deal with cheaper ones.  And most of these cheaper ones probably do not have their own traffic stream.

Indeed, the type of website that gets a lot of traffic is one that has: a decent domain name, keyword-enriched content and lots of inbound links.  Even if one doesn’t see anything ethically wrong with domain name tasting, doing it may not accurately reflect whether or not a domain name is valid.  In fact, if a person does domain name tasting and their website did not have the other elements that make for proper traffic-building, they could potentially be throwing away a domain name that could be a gold mine in the future.