March 10, 2014
If you're self-employed or active in the community; if you only ever buy one domain name, make it yours.
The Sunraysia Daily reports several politicians in the region have discovered their names have been registered as domains recently for purposes that are not yet clear.
While the trading of accusations and questions regarding the legitimacy of the registrations will no doubt go on for a while, the situation does serve as a good reminder to anyone with any sort of profile in the community (or planning to) that they should probably register the .COM.AU version of their name and perhaps put up a basic page.
However, this can present a challenge as .COM.AU registrants must meet certain criteria - among them; being a registered company, partnership, sole trader, trademark holder or similar.
There is one other option for those without an ABN or ACN - a .ID.AU name; which can be registered by individuals. While .COM.AU is considered primo Australian online real estate; a .ID.AU name along with a basic well-established web page might help to head off any potentially damaging activity that may occur.
Even if someone isn't engaged in business or politics, the registration of their name as a domain can serve other useful purposes; such as helping old friends and colleagues to locate them (particularly for the Facebook-averse) or helping potential employers, recruiters or partners learn more about the person.
For those who feel their name has been registered unfairly and in contradiction to guidelines; there is recourse - but that can be time consuming and expensive if the complaint needs to go to arbitration; so it can be a case of an ounce of prevention being better than a pound of cure.
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How to register a name: Enter your choice in the search tool and click 'GO'. If after the check the domain names search results show your choice is available, you will then have the option to proceed to purchase registration; which is a very quick and easy process - start a search and find your ideal website address now.
AUSTRALIAN OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1996
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