Error:
ns1.examplehost.com is not authoritative for zone example.ie. Your DNS change has been unsuccessful.
Please verify your DNS entry and try again. If you still get this error, please contact your hosting provider and ask them to set up DNS for your domain, and then try the change again.

What the above error is telling me is that a zone (or DNS record) does not exist for example.ie on the target nameservers. It is a requirement of all .ie domains that a zone exists on the target nameservers prior to actually making the change.

My next step is to contact the owners of the examplehost.com nameservers and request that
a zone be created for example.ie

How do I find out who owns the nameservers? If the nameserver itself is not a give away (dnsireland.com for Lethost nameservers) my first stop would be to go to do an Internet search for it. I could also do a WHOIS lookup on the domain by going to http://whois.domaintools.com and entering dnsireland.com. From the output I can see that this domain is registed by Letshost.

When contacting the owners of the nameservers I tell them the IP address of the server where my website and email are hosted.

e.g.: I have my website hosted with hostingprovider1.ie – IP: 1.2.3.4 <-- A record
I have my emails hosted with hostingprovider2.com - IP 2.4.6.8 <-- MX record

The information I forward on to the owners of examplehost.com is:

Hello,

Regards,
Johnny Customer

Once this zone is created for my domain I can then go back in to my client area and change the nameservers. The response I get this time is “Your DNS has been updated successfully !”

I wait about an hour for these changes to DNS to propagate and then check my site.
To my horror the site still displays a holding page or nothing at all! The reason for this is that changes to the nameservers of a .ie domain will only take effect after one of the IEDR reloads. These reloads occur at 10:00, 12:00, 17:00 & 22:00 7 days a week. For example if I changed my domains nameservers at 14:00 I would have to wait until the next IEDR reload at 17:00 before these changes would take effect.

So how does it work? Every computer on the internet is given a specific number called an IP address that
can uniquely identify that computer on a network. For example letshost.ie will resolve to 78.137.164.40 and google.ie resolves to 209.85.143.104.

DNS effectively acts as the phone directory of the internet mapping computer-readable IP addresses to
human-readable domain names. One could easily argue that the Internet would not have reached such levels of popularity if websites advertised on the internet were of the form http://123.321.12.23. This is just too
hard for humans to remember.

Nameservers hold a lot of information regarding a specific domain such as where to route a connection so
that the webpage is displayed or where to route email.

A domains “A” record governs where a domains website can be found. An A record is entered as an IP address so that when a nameserver is queried it looks down through the “phone book” until it finds the domain and and then redirects the user to the appropriate IP address. The same is true for the MX (mail exchange) record which directs a domains email.

Lets take the domain Letshost.ie as an example…
Letshost.ie uses the nameservers ns1.dnsireland.com & ns2.dnsireland.com
When you type letshost.ie in to your internet browser the .ie of TLD (top level domain) directs the connection the .ie root nameservers (IEDR). The root nameservers show that letshost.ie is currently using the following nameservers:
ns1.dnsireland.com & ns2.dnsireland.com

These nameservers contain the A and MX records (possibly alot more) for letshost.ie
The A record points to where the website is being hosted, 78.137.164.40 in this case.
The MX record routes email to a specific server antispam.letshost.ie which has an IP of 78.137.164.25

As you can see the DNS zone record for letshost.ie can direct traffic to differnt locations depending where the service is located. A subdomain bogota.lethost.ie can be set up and pointed to a server in Bogota to serve Letshosts customers in Colombia for example.

Changes to a domains nameservers will not happen instantly. These changes take time to propagate out to all the internets routers. The algorithms that are used by routers to direct internet traffic pass these changes of IP addresses to each other. It can take up 24hours for a domains to fully propagate throughout the internet.

With .ie domains you have virtually no cybersquatting, less cybercrime and minimal poaching of domains.  You get Higher Search Engine Rating with .ie domains and greater Security.

Registration is Simple. If the domain is for Business use, all you need to provide is an RBN/CRO or Registered VAT Number. If you dont have any of these, dont worry, you can provide a letter from your Bank Manager Solicitor or Accountant confirming you are a Sole Trader along with a document from yourself outlining your connection to the domain.

If the domain is for Personal use, all you need to do is send in a document outlining what the domain name means and what it will be used for along with a copy of your Passport or Driving Licence.

Following the IEDRs announcement of registering the 150,000^th .ie domain, they have launched why.ie, a site detailing further why to go .ie. Please visit https://www.why.ie/ for more information.

For detailed information/examples of the IEDR registration policy, please visit http://www.letshost.ie/domains/domain_irish_domain_names.php

Your domain name helps people to find you on the web, it’s part of your brand, your identity… a fundamental part of your online business.

So, given that the right domain can be such a vital business asset, just how much are people prepared to pay to get the perfect domain name?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

In 1999 the domain name Business.com took the top spot as the world’s most expensive domain when it attracted a whopping US$7.5 million. The domain reigned supreme until 2006, when sex.com was put on the open market and finally sold for between US$12-14 million (depending on who you talk to).

In late 2009 the record changed hands again when Insure.com was snapped up for a cool US$16 million.

While the market for domains isn’t as hot as it was in the dot.com boom years, it’s still a buoyant and lucrative one. Every year tens of millions of Euro change hands through the resale of internet domains.

What are the ten most expensive domain names in the world?

1. Insure.com, sold for $16 million in 2009.
2. Sex.com, sold for $12-$14 million in 2006.
3. Fund.com, sold for $9.99 million in 2008.
4. Porn.com, sold for $9.5 million in 2007.
5. Business.com, sold for $7.5 million in 1999.
6. Diamond.com, sold for $7.5 million in 2006.
7. Beer.com, sold for $7 million in 2004.
8. Israel.com, sold for $5.88 million in 2004.
9. Casino.com, sold for $5.5 million in 2003.
10. Toys.com, sold for $5.1 million in 2009.

Luckily you don’t have to pay that much to bag yourself a really great domain name. There are still plenty available for under €10 – grab yours from letshost today – it could be the best investment you ever make!

We’ve slashed the cost of registering your .ie domain to to just €12.50 a year, and guarantee to offer the lowest cost .ie domain registration in Ireland.

Why buy a .ie domain?

At only €12.50 a pop, perhaps the real question is why on earth not buy a .ie domain?

If you’re an Irish business, entrepreneur or blogger, or if your outside Ireland and are planning to target an Irish audience with your online offering, there are very good reasons to get a .ie domain.

Grab yours from LetsHost today at a price that’s guaranteed to be the lowest in Ireland.

Who can buy a .ie domain?

The IEDR, custodians of the .ie ccTLD, impose certain restrictions on who can register .ie domains.

In practice you should have little problem ordering your .ie domain if

• You’re an Irish business and the domain name relates to a your business name, brand name or area of business activity
• You’re an overseas business operating in Ireland and the domain name relates to a your business name, brand name or area of business activity.
• You’re ordering a personal .ie domain related to your own name

For more details read the IEDR’s quick reference guide to their .ie domain registration policy.

Other great value domains from LetsHost

As one of Ireland’s leading domain registrars LetsHost offers great value pricing on a wide range of top level domains (TLDs), including

• .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info domains for only €6.49/year
• .co.uk, .org.uk, .ltd.uk and .me.uk at just €9.99 for 2 years.

That becomes the primary domain associated with your account, but did you know that your LetsHost Complete Hosting Plan gives you plenty of storage and bandwidth to host up to 25 additional websites, all from a single hosting account.

Add on Domains and Parked Domains

Once you’ve registered your new domain name(s) there are two ways to add additional domains to your LetsHost Complete hosting account. You’ll find these options in the Domains section of your hosting control panel (accessible via cpanel.yourprimarydomain.com).

1. Parked domains

When you park a domain you’re essentially “pointing” that domain to a domain that already exists on your account (either to your primary domain or an add-on domain… see below).

For example, let’s say your primary domain uses the Irish top level domain, .ie. So, greathosting.ie might be your main domain name, but you also decide to buy greathosting.com to help broaden your reach and traffic (and of course to prevent other companies from registering it).

In that case you want anyone who types in www.greathosting.com to be automatically routed to your primary domain at www.greathosting.ie.

By “parking” the secondary domain on top of your primary domain, any traffic arriving via www.greathosting.com is seamlessly redirected to www.greathosting.ie. Simple!

You can “park” an unlimited number of domain names with a single LetsHost Complete Hosting plan.

2. Add On Domains

Your Letshost hosting package also lets you add up to 25 Add-on domains. These essentially  behave as independent domains, complete with web-space, e-mail addresses, ftp accounts, etc. – all conveniently controlled through your central, web based LetsHost Complete Hosting Plan control panel.

Files associated with your add-on domains sit in a sub-folders under your primary domain’s public_html folder, and you can administer them just as you would the files for your primary domain. To the outside world your add-on domains look and behaves like a completely independent website.

Your LetsHost Complete Hosting plan gives you great flexibility when it comes to hosting multiple domains, and don’t forget, LetsHost is also a leading Irish domain registrar… so you get great hosting, great domain registration and great support all in one place.

You’ll find more details and step-by step instructions on setting up your add-on domain and adding a parked domain in the comprehensive LetsHost support knowledgebase.

• Make it catchy, memorable and relevant: choose a catchy, easily identifiable domain name that’s relevant to your business and easy for people to remember.
• Use a country specific top level domain (ccTLD) to appeal to a local audience: if your market is local, it often pays to register the local version of the domain (.co.uk or .ie, for example) instead (or as well as) the more generic .com, .net or .org. If you’re appealing to an international audience, a generic TLD may serve you better. Of the generic TLDs .com is by far the most universally accepted and popular – making it the most valuable one to secure.
• You can buy multiple domain names: there’s nothing to stop you buying more than one domain to prevent others from registering them. You can then redirect or park the secondary domains so that they point to your main website. Another option is registering country specific domains to give yourself an online ‘presence’ in each country you do business in. You can then deploy a regionally tailored version of your website to each of those domains (the preferable option), or redirect them to a localised section on your main website.
• Keywords in a domain name can be beneficial: you may decide to incorporate one of your keyword phrases into your domain name. Opinion varies on the significance of this in terms of its impact on your search engine ranking, but it may help both search engines and users to establish what your site is about right from the start.

What is a TLD

A TLD, or Top-Level Domain, is basically the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System that assigns human-readable addresses to specific resources on the internet.

Back in the formative years of computer networking individual computers were recognised by a unique number. Computers still use these complex number patterns to uniquely identify specific resources on the internet (they’re called IP addresses). But while computers have no problem with complex numeric addresses, as the internet grew people needed a much easier and more meaningful way to memorise locations on the network. The result is the Domain Name System that we know and love today.

In practice the TLD is the last portion of a fully qualified domain name like www.letshost.ie (where the TLD is .ie). Top level domains typically come in two “flavours” today — the generic or category level TLDs, which consist of three or more letters and include the popular .com, .net and .org domains; and country specific domains that typically (but with a few notable exceptions) consist of the two-letter ISO country code for that country.

Why choose a .ie domain for your business?

If you’re an Irish business, a business selling into Ireland or targeting a largely Irish audience, having a .ie domain makes sense for a number of reasons:

• Trust: it’s a small word, but one that’s invaluable to your online business. In common with many ccTLDs the IEDR, Ireland’s Domain Registry, requires individuals and business entities to meet certain criteria confirming their eligibility before they are allowed to register a .ie domain. Anyone from anywhere can pick up a generic .com, .net or .org, but there’s a widespread perception among Irish internet users that a .ie domain is somehow more intrinsically trustworthy.
• Instant local identity: any Irish internet user seeing a .ie domain immediately recognises that this is a business operating in Ireland, and knows instantly that the products, services or information outlined on the website are likely to be relevant to their particular needs. That can have a very positive impact on things like the number of people clicking through to your site from search engine results pages (SERPs), and helps to ensure that the traffic you do get is more targeted (i.e. interested in Irish products and services).
• Improved local search visibility: a .ie ccTLD will help search engines to determine that your site is Irish, and is likely to be of interest to internet users looking for Irish content. It is one of the factors that search engines use to deliver more relevant local search results to their customers, lending more weight to .ie pages in Irish search results, which again drives more targeted search engine traffic to your website.

As an approved .ie reseller, LetsHost can manage all of your .ie domain needs. Coupled with one of the most comprehensive, feature-rich and reliable hosting solutions in Ireland today, we offer the perfect package for all your Irish domain registration and hosting needs.

Well, if you want people to visit your site, you’re going to have to let them know it’s there. Whether you’re using your LetsHost account to host your personal blog or as the hub of your online retail empire, if you want to attract the right people to it then you’re going to have to promote it. Here are five basic pointers on how you can start to drive more quality, targeted traffic to your website.

1. Do your homework: before you do any sort of online promotion (and in most cases before you even build your website) it makes good sense to spend some time researching your potential audience. Who are they, how do they use the internet, what are they looking for online, and does your site deliver?
2. Search engines are your new best friend: despite the burgeoning popularity of social media websites, and their undoubted potential for sending online visitors your way, for the vast majority of businesses the best source of qualified web traffic will be major search engines (especially Google). Make it easy for search engines to find and index your site correctly. Google has a great SEO Starter Guide that outlines the basics of search optimisation best practice.
3. Concentrate on quality content: ultimately the success of any website hinges on content that a) ranks highly for relevant search terms in search engine results pages (SERPs), and b) delivers what the visitor is looking for once they arrive on the page. Think carefully about your content, what search terms you want each individual page to rank for, and what your visitors are going to be looking for when they arrive… then make sure it delivers.
4. Spread the word, online and off: how many e-mails do you send out in a typical week… quite a few, probably. Now, how many of those e-mails have a clickable link to your website prominently displayed at the foot of the message. Set up an e-mail signature to make sure a link to your website goes out with every e-mail you send. Likewise, make sure every piece of business stationary, from your letterhead and business card to your off-line marketing collateral, company vehicles and signage, all feature your web address.
5. Engage with your audience: we mentioned social media sites briefly, and they’re certainly a great way to tap in to what your customers are talking about online. They’re also a fantastic way to build your reputation as a helpful and authoritative source of  information in your field of expertise. Engage productively with the relevant online communities… wherever your customers congregate online… and before long people will start to see you as the “go-to” person when it comes to the products or services you provide.

We’ve barely managed to scratch the surface of the wonderful world of online marketing here… but look out for future articles where we’ll be delving into specific digital marketing topics in a bit more detail.

We go to great lengths to ensure that the relationship between us and our resellers is entirely transparent to your end-clients. They will only know we are providing the hosting for their site if you tell them. Otherwise, we work only with you and you are free to upsell and mark-up our cost-effective hosting solutions as your business model demands. It is this commitment to a true partnership that has enabled us to grow a steady and satisfied base of resellers who continue to use LetsHost as their primary web hosting solution.

After a reseller’s client is loaded into the WHM, the client is then given access to their hosting account through cPanel, which is generally considered as the best available web hosting interface available today. The functionality within cPanel allows your end clients to easily set up sub-domains, e-mail addresses and change passwords without any support from you or from us.

As far as your clients know, you are providing their hosting, in addition to whatever individual products or services you are already offering them. With up to 25 accounts available, unlimited MySQL databases and e-mail accounts for only €30 per month, or €300 per year, resellers have the flexibility necessary to grow their business and their bottom line. As your reseller needs grow, our service and support will grow with you, ensuring that you are able to continue to provide the type of service that will keep your clients happy in the long term.