Domain Forwarding Versus Domain Masking

Even though a lot of people now realize that the word domain refers to the address of a website, some do not understand other words or tech-jargon associated with the term domain. So here is a quick look at two popular terms that are associated with domains, in case you or someone you know could use some help.

Domain Forwarding & Masking

Domain forwarding helps with the directing of your site link to the address of another website. And domain forwarding is very helpful for websites that may have longer, more complex addresses as well as for advertising purposes; for example, to use a new domain like MarchSale2007(dot)com for directing traffic to a special sales web page.

The forwarding process is pretty simple. Begin by registering the new domain name of your choice that's available. Next log into the domain area where you purchased your domain and click on the option to forward this new domain. A space should become available then where you simply insert the URL or domain name of the site where you want your visitors to be directed when they click the link.

Domain masking allows you to hide or protect the address of your website while still continuing to allow your prospects and clients to visit your site and access the contents there. Domain masking works in this manner:

- Register your domain name first. For example, register the domain name, TinyURL(dot)com or the domain of your choice. Then set up a forward as mentioned above and add masking to it by clicking the masking box in the control area and add masked description meta tag and masked keyword meta tag words to help direct search engines your way when people key in these terms for searches.

- Although TinyURL(dot)com will be the visual address for people who click on the link, it will not be the main Internet address of the website because the main address is too long with too many letters to list in print ads, for example, like MyDomainNameIsTooLong(dot)com. Therefore the masked domain address TinyURL(dot)com will be listed in emails, ads and other communications to direct Internet visitors to the site. And your website visitors need only key in the address TinyURL(dot)com to discover all the content of the main address at: MyDomainNameIsTooLong(dot)com on their computers.

Note that the main difference between domain forwarding and domain masking is that with domain forwarding, your site visitors will still see the original or actual domain name in their browser after they click the new domain link and get directed to the site. In other words, the new domain link does not hide the long original name. So when people click: TinyURL(dot)com, they are directed to the site, yet once they arrive at the site, the domain that appears in their browsers will read: MyDomainNameIsTooLong(dot)com.

Why would you prefer to place a mask over the original address rather than simply forward traffic to the site? In cases like this:

Some website addresses are very long, full of coding with numbers and letters that often may or may not make sense like: http://ThisIsYourAffiliateLinkabczyx12379_JohnSmith(dot)com . So to make the link easier to read and to look more professional, an Internet marketer may mask a short domain like http://JohnSmithNews(dot)com for two reasons (1) to hide the fact that it's an affiliate link, causing some to be uneasy and leave the site right away and get in touch with the main seller instead and (2) to make the site appear more professional and memorable with a recognizable name as the address.

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