You know what cybersquatting is, right? It's when someone registers a domain name that heretofore has been someone else's trademark, with intent to hold name for ransom. Sometimes these people identify trademarks in market place and snap up domain name figuring that, sooner or later, owner of trademark is going to want to register domain name and may even be prepared to pay handsomely for privilege.

Other times, and this may even be worse, these trolls seize domain names that have lapsed due to their owners failing to renew them in time. When former owner tries to renew they soon learn to their horror that someone else has gazzumped them and are demanding several hundreds or thousands of dollars to return their property to them. As reprehensible as this practice is, there's nothing new about it and courts are chock-full of cases brought by outraged victims. ] But put *yourself* in shoes of poor person who has unwittingly allowed her domain name registration to lapse only to find that "Dave Web" is now rightful owner and wants $550 from you to give it back.

Now put yourself into these size elevens ... not only has Dave Web kidnapped your domain name, very one that used to point to site containing all of your hard work for past three years, domain name that is synonymous with your hard-earned reputation, not only that ... it now points somewhere else.

To a porn site.

We have now graduated from "mere" cybersquatting to criminal extortion. Not to mention criminal defamation.

This, believe it or not, is what happened to Jan Tallent-Dandridge just this week. Many of you will know Jan as publisher of Rim Digest (http://www.rimdigest.com). You may also be familiar with her other websites, http://www.marketingwarrioress.com and http://www.jtdbizopps.com, although if you tried to visit latter site today, you'd get a rather unpleasant surprise. This is domain name hijacked by Dave Web.

To give you background to this sorry tale, I asked Jan's permission to reprint her email to me

"... I had a domain name, jtdbizopps.com, for over two years but did not renew it. Instead I set up marketingwarrioress.com as a mirror and quit running ads, swaps, etc. for old name.

"When it came up for renewal, I was going to renew it just to keep it from being used for a year or so as I still had ads and link swaps out there I could not track down.

"Network solutions would not release name to me without my paying them $70 for 2 years and THEN transferring it somewhere else. I felt this was ridiculous since namebargain.com, etc. are only $10 or so a year.

"I did not renew in time and when I did try, about a week after cancellation date, it was "in purge", to quote NS, and I would have to wait 30 days or so for it to become available again.

- what your domain name should REALLY say - how to find a great name that will get you noticed - where to register a domain name for about price of a pizza

For starters, don’t think of your domain name as simply a title for your business or web site. You should think of it as a headline - something that appeals directly to wants, needs, and desires of your target market.

It probably doesn't hurt to use "your" name (BobsPlumbing.com). But, you really should be thinking about a name from perspective of your clients and prospects. I hate to tell you, but they don’t care about your name (or you, for that matter). People want benefits and solutions, and you should be telling your prospects what benefit they will receive by doing business with you - in a great domain name.

Despite what you might think, all good ones are not taken. Granted, generic one-word names (i.e. business.com, computers.com) are not available or are very expensive if for sale - but that’s OK. There are alternatives, and good ones.

Step 1: Brainstorm some ideas. Make a list of keywords related to your business. Include some powerful, emotion-stirring adjectives, or at least words that might pique one’s curiosity. Put them together in two or three word combinations. Get creative.

Step 2: Go to http://www.namebargain.com, where you can search up to 30 names at once for free - a HUGE time saver. I’ve had good experiences with them. You can register names through them for $9.99 (unfortunately, they've got a ten name minimum for first purchase.) Also, try http://www.whois.net where you can look for hidden gems among millions of recently deleted domain names (names that were once registered and are now available). You can also search by entering multiple keywords, and combinations of these words are automatically checked. Nifty.

If you’re really serious about finding good domain names, visit http://www.softnik.com. They offer a wonderful program called Domain Name Analyzer which can help you quickly and easily locate a great name. It belongs in toolbox of any online professional - and it’s free.

Step 3: When you find something you like, before you take plunge, ask a few people what they think. Get an objective opinion from someone who could be your customer. How does it sound if you say it out loud? If you advertise on radio, you better make sure it's clear.