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1. Facebook wins the right to use facebook.com.au

Social networking site Facebook has successfully acquired the rights to its Australian domain name, facebook.com.au, after the World Intellectual Property Organisation stripped the address from another business.Marketing company Callverse has held the facebook.com.au address since 2007, but Facebook argued that because the group held no Australian or international trademark rights to the name, they had no basis for its ownership. Facebook pointed to its status as the sixth most ...

2. Someone is using my business name. What can I do?

James Omond replies: Unfortunately, your experience is all too common in business, and illustrates a number of traps for the unwary. First, there is the confusion between business name registrations, company names, and registered trade marks.  You thought you had registered the name of the business as a trade mark, when it was only registered as a business name.  Business name registration does not give you any rights to use that name at all, and no protection from other people who say ...

3. IT checklist

Running an IT system can be a headache. Few small businesses can afford the luxury of a dedicated IT department or Help Desk, but they still need to cover their functions. A small business needs to make sure that those tasks are allocated to someone within the business or to an outside provider. The following checklist will ensure small-business owners and managers have an IT overview and don’t over...

4. I've had enough and I want to sell my business. Help!

Dear Aunty B. I want to sell my online business. And badly. The business has been up just over a year. During that time, despite the 80-odd hours I've worked each week, it's grown at a snail's pace. At the moment I'm coming in at about $100 a month in income - if I'm lucky. This is despite the fact that (1) it is a better- developed online business than the competitors (2) it uses social media (both Facebook...

5. Software – hardwired!

Scott Farquhar tells how, with partner Mike Cannon-Brookes, he built the enterprise software house Atlassian to a global operation turning over $22 million. By JACQUI WALKER.

6. Top 10 search-and-sale tools and how to get on top of them

The web is constantly changing. CHRIS THOMAS runs through the top 10 new search tools to help you get found and sell moreBy Chris ThomasThe web is constantly changing, and business ow...

7. The real tools of a veteran internet marketer

Marketing is war. It’s either, kill your competitor, or be killed. Only one person gets the sale. To get a superior advantage in the war you need the following basic thing. Know thy enemy: If you keep tabs on what your enemy is doing you can spot things that you can repeat and re...

8. Online marketing: the latest tips and trends

It's the great downturn dilemma - as times get tough and cash gets tight, the temptation to cut back on your online marketing efforts gets bigger every day. Stop right there. As we've said many times at SmartCompany, this is ...

9. New internet millionaire shares his secrets

What works online? Ask David Eedle. He just sold his young internet site for more than $3 million. He made plenty of mistakes building the site and learnt from all of them. By AMANDA GOME. David Eedle of Arts Hub tells Amanda Gome about his strategy, his exit, and why all companies should use the internet to improve communications with customers. Listen to the

10. Prescription to online success

Getting prescription medications used to require a trip to the local chemist, but no more. By EMILY ROSS.By Emily Ross Having rudimentary computer skills and a low level understanding of...

11. Starting your social media strategy

Don't forget about the importance of your own website when planning your social media strategy. I continue to see so many small business operators trying out social media marketing techniques only to visit their website and find something that must have been developed by 'a friend who knows how to program the web' back in the 90s. Any social media campaign needs to be developed as an extension of the core digital presence - your business website. Before considering any social media activ...

12. .com or .com.au?

When deciding what type of domain a business should register, remember that the more, the merrier. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul WallbankI was asked during the week what type of domain a busin...

13. 4800 websites destroyed after hacking attack on web hosting

Thousands of site owners and businesses are reeling after Melbourne-based hosting provider Distribute.IT confirmed yesterday the data on 4800 websites was entirely unrecoverable after a massive cyber-attack. The incident is the latest of an unprecedented set of attacks against major corporations and websites over the past few months from hacking groups such as Anonymous, LulzSec and others. The instigator of the latest attack has not been revealed. The groups have attacked compani...

14. Twitter, Melbourne IT order uSocial to be shut down

The chief executive of an Australian company that sells packages of Twitter followers to clients claims the social networking giant has attempted to shut him down. Leon Hill says Twitter has used Melbourne IT, the Australian firm that manages the company's domain names, to contact uSocial and demand it stop "spamming" the site. "They've basically used Melbourne IT to send through to us all of these spam notices to both our hosting company and to us. Melbourne IT manages th...

15. AusRegistry’s domaination plan

Domain names have taken on more significance (and value) than just the web's version your business's location. AusRegistry's Adrian Kinderis tells how his business took a niche and shaped it into a mainstream money maker. The AusRegistry business, which was set up to register domain names, has grown to have revenue of $20 million. ...

16. Google Instant launches in Australia - here's what you need

Google Instant is now available in Australia and small businesses need to start thinking seriously about how they can optimise their sites for the new feature, SEO experts have warned. The new feature, which displays constantly changing search results as users type, has also been a hit according to Google. The company wrote on its Google Australia blog post yesterday the company has seen an increa...

17. Our ideal domain name has been bought by someone else. What

We currently own a business name (Sydney Designers) and are looking to register a domain name under the same name. However, the domain name (sydneydesigners.com and .com.au) have been purchased by another person, who is not using the domain as an operating website. We understand that we can purchase this domain from the owner, but we were wondering if, as the ACN/ABN owners of the company, we have any rights to own the domain name? This i...

18. Spotting fools and liars

I can’t stand dealing with fools and charlatans. It drives me mad. The only resource I have that’s finite is my time and I will never get back every second wasted with idiots and liars.  Every day I meet or contact any number of new people or businesses that I have never dealt with before, so I have a quick system of validating their bona fides before investing time into them. Here are four resources I regularly use to conduct a quick check on new businesses I inter...

19. Netregistry founder Larry Bloch tells – why I’ve joined

The Retail Coalition that is campaigning to have the Government abolish the GST exemption on purchases made overseas has an unlikely new member – domain name reseller and web hosting firm Netregistry. While Coalition spokesmen Gerry Harvey and Solomon Lew have been slammed for suggesting that consumers who purchase goods from overseas websites under the $1,000 GST threshold should lose the GST exemption, Netresigtry founder Larry Bloch s...

20. Beat the domain name gold rush

Domain parkers and cybersquatters may be circling your web name right now. It's part of your brand, so protect it. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul WallbankThe

21. Regulations that matter

The top 19 things you must do!   The following list is general, but needs to be completed before starting most businesses, although of course each business will have its own requirements.   Business premises   Know the business address. Sounds obvious, but if it is to be leased, negotiate the

22. The top 10 start-up vows

Starting a company can be a lonely, stressful, exhilarating, scary and wonderful adventure. To help guide you through the process, we've assembled your very own personal support group: marketing expert Colin Benjamin, accountant Sue Prestney, venture capitalist Doron Ben-Meir, search expect Chris Thomas and lawyer Peter Vitale. With their help, we'...

23. The best and worst awards of 2009

24. Why you're never going to rank number one on Google - and wh

Number one, like most things in search engine marketing, on top of the heap is the best spot to be. Depending on the niche you operate in, you will see around 42.13% of the click marketshare of a particular keyword if you rank number one, 11.90% for number two and 8.5% for number three. Ranking number one is almost an unfair advantage - and that’s why gr...

25. Groupon claims Australian rival Scoopon reneged on deal to s

Group buying giant Groupon has slammed local rival, Scoopon, accusing the site in a explosive blog post of cyber squatting on the Groupon.com.au domain name and then rejecting an offer from Groupon to buy it for $286,000, thereby delaying Groupon’s entry into the Australian market. Groupon has also confirmed the company is suing Scoopon, created by Gabi and Hezi Leibovich, in the United States for trademar...

26. The big guys in retail!

How the big players approach the web can be salient for everyone (even if it’s how NOT to do things). CHRIS THOMAS By Chris ThomasThe big retailers have been in the news quite a bit lately, so why do...

27. Woolworths buys hardware.com.au for $33,000, as domain marke

The domain name market in Australia is heating up as SEO competition becomes even more fierce and the number of innovative URLs being created dwindles, one expert says, following a move by Woolworths to buy hardware.com.au for over $33,000. David Lye, who heads up domain name registrar Netfleet, says the purchase comes just a few days after CurrencyCoverter.com.au was sold for over $27,500. He says businesses are searching more than ever for established domains to help them rank well in G...

28. 10 ways to spring clean your business

Spring is here and it is time to cut the excuses and give your business a thorough spring clean. SmartCompany has called in the experts to help get the dirty jobs done. TASK ONE: Spring clean your thinking Executive director of

29. The next global shortage… domain names?

The world could face a shortage of domain names in less than three years, a new report on the future of the internet economy by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development argues.According to the OECD, nearly 85% of all available internet addresses are already in use, and if current trends continue, by 2011 we are likely to have run out of addresses entirely.

30. Alec Lynch

Alec Lynch is the chief executive of leading crowdsourcing site Design Crowd. The site has been growing rapidly in recent years, with month-on-month growth of about 20%, with $100,000 to $200,000 of work sold through the site every month according to industry sources (Lynch won't comment on financials).

31. Domain name trader sells Hobart.com.au for $65,000 after buy

An Australian domain name company has sold Hobart.com.au for $65,000 to a website hosting business after purchasing the website for just $875 back in 2005, highlighting the potential riches in buying and selling geographic domains. While the sale isn't anywhere near the highest figures earned through the sale of domain names, it represents the potential for lucrative sales in the do...

32. Is Getting Australian Business Online right for your busines

The fact that half the country's businesses still don't have a website is worrying, as more and more customers are moving online in order to search for products and services. Last week accounting software provider MYOB and search giant Google announced the Getting Australian Business Online initiative to make establishing a website easier for those 50% of Aussie businesses that aren't on the web. Tim Reed, MYOB's Chief Execut...

33. Shaun Stenning

Age: 24Company: GeekversitySector: Education Shaun Stenning's entrepreneurial spirit was clearly evident when as a 12 year old when he called up ABC Radio National's share specialist and grilled him about what shares he and his sister should buy. Over the next 12 years he experimented with numer...

34. Poker.com.au domain sells for $100,000, but expert says pric

The local domain name market has continued to heat up with Poker.com.au selling for $US100,000. But one industry expert says the site's value may have been reduced because of Australia's restrictions on online gambling. Legislation released about a decade ago restricts the advertising of interactive gambling services in Australia. David Lye, who runs domain name auction house NetFleet, says the laws means Poker.com.au has sold for less than it would have otherwise. "There is a C...

35. Australia registers two millionth domain name as prices for

The number of domain names registered as a .com.au URL has now reached two million, and the market is heating up, with nearly 25% of those having been sold within the last 12 months. But those in the industry say the explosion of .com.au domains means businesses now have to constantly think up new ideas for unique and memorable websites, and are paying more for existing URLs. The new figures come from .com.au regulator AusRegistry, which says the number of domains has grown f...

36. Dave Slutzkin

Dave Slutzkin is the chief executive of Flippa, an online marketplace for buying and selling websites and web businesses. The company, which was spun out of Melbourne-based group SitePoint two years ago, posted revenue of $1.38 million in 2009-10 and continues to grow strongly. Today, Slutzkin talks about ...

37. The top 10 start-up vows

This article first appeared August 11, 2009. Starting a company can be a lonely, stressful, exhilarating, scary and wonderful adventure. To help guide you through the process, we've assembled your very own personal support group: marketing expert Colin Benjamin, accountant Sue Prestney, venture capitalis...

38. Domain names, misspellings and SEO

Buying a keyword rich domain can give you an incredible boost in the rankings without having to do very much at all. By way of a quite recent example, I built a website on Wordpress one Sunday afternoon in mid-February for a friend so she could talk about her favourite topics, food and mood. It's www.completenutrition.com.au and almost as soon as it was indexed by Google, it ranked number one for the (ever-so-reasonably competitive and n...

39. US group buying giant Groupon hits local rival Scoopon with

US group buying pioneer Groupon has hit local rival Scoopon with a trademark lawsuit in a United States District Court, alleging Scoopon's name is too similar to its own and claiming that Scoopon's owners even registered a company called Groupon Pty Ltd and the Groupon.com.au URL in Australia. Groupon wants Scoopon to change its name immediately, pay as-yet unspecified damages, and turn over both the Groupon.com.au and Scoopon.com.au URLs to the company. Scoopon began as a spin-of...

40. Sextoys.com.au sells for $25,500 as domain name trading take

Australia's fledgling domain name trading sector has scored its highest ever sale, with sextoys.com.au sold for $25,500 on exchange site Netfleet.com.au. The domain name trading market has been in existence for just over a year, since the Australian Domain Name Administrator allowed the buying and selling of domain names. There are two main companies providing an exchange for domain names: Netfleet and Domain Market Place. David Lye, chief executive of Netfleet, which currently ha...

41. Court appoints liquidator to company in Nicholas Bolton’s

A company belonging to maverick investor and IT entrepreneur Nicholas Bolton has been placed in liquidation by order of the Supreme Court of Victoria and is now in the hands of liquidator John Lindholm of insolvency firm Ferrier Hodgson. Australian Style Pty Ltd is one of 15 companies in Bolton's Australian Style Group and previously operated a domain name registration business. However, in July 2010, Australian Style Pt...

42. 52 entrepreneurs share their real life tips

Over our first year of existence, many of Australia’s best entrepreneurs generously shared tips, trends, ideas, leads and opportunities. So here are a few favourites from the zillion of tips from the SmartCompany community. There are 52 tips – one for eacBy Amanda Gome

43. Groupon, Scoopon settle out of court over battle for local t

The legal battle between group buying giants Groupon and Scoopon has come to an end, with the two companies agreeing to settle out of court for the ownership of the Groupon trademark and Australian URL. But one group buying analyst believes that while Groupon may now adopt its official trademark, there is still power in the StarDeals brand. The settlement, the exact details of which have not been revealed, comes as the two companies were preparing to fight over the ownership of b...

44. Zoupon pays $100,000 for Deals.com.au domain, says SEO benef

Daily deals site Zoupon has paid over $100,000 for the Deals.com.au domain in a move the company hopes will bring in more traffic and push the site higher in search engine rankings. The huge purchase – one of the largest among the Australian domain name market - comes as Zoupon faces competition from the ever growing group buying industry, which all use variations on the phrase "daily deals". Jeremy Same, Zoupon managing director, says the company was willing to pay the price d...

45. EXIT STRATEGIES: When to sell your business

There are very few entrepreneurs who would say they sold a business at the right time. Many will tell you they sold the business and then discovered the market improved and they would have received more if they had hung on longer. Others will tell you they sold the business after the market peaked and received less than...

46. Tech sector veterans Domenic Carosa and Danny Wallis to rais

Tech sector veterans Domenic Carosa, Danny Wallis and Tony Stephen will raise more than $3 million for acquisitions through their Future Capital Development Fund, before a planned listing on the Australian Securities Exchange later this year. Carosa, the co-founder of digital and media company Destra, told SmartCompany from the US this morning that he has already raised more than $2 million in the capital raising from existing investors, who include online classifieds guru Simon Baker an...

47. Real (user-generated) innovation

One of the things that I love about my iPhone is that is a fully fledged 16GB iPod as well as a multimedia device and phone. Every time I go for a drive (or catch a tram) I am now entertained and/or challenged by podcasts that I subscribe to (they automatically get downloaded to my phone). My current passion is TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design). I have about 100 lectures, each about 20 minutes long, sitting on my phone waitin...

48. 10 biggest SEO mistakes

Google AdWords is losing its power as ads get more expensive. Search engine optimisation, which aims to get better natural search rankings, can be a more reliable strategy. But watch out because there are traps. By CHRIS THOMASBy Chris Thomas

49. We need a name for our consulting business. Help!

With names, you really need to start with the end in mind.  What is your grand plan for the business? Sell it eventually. Just have the business for a few years until you've worked out what you want to do longer ...

50. How I kicked off my professional blogging career

Darren Rowse started blogging in 2002 and has never looked back. Once working a variety of part-time jobs, Rowse now runs a number of blogs from Melbourne including Digital Photography School and ProBlogger, a blog teaching others how to blog professionally.