| Spam
Proof Your Website
You realize that it's important for visitors
to your Website to be able to contact you by Email, and you
want to provide easy Email access for customers and potential
customers. Somehow though, you need to protect yourself from
a ton of unwanted junk mail (Spam) arriving in your inbox.
With a little forethought you can minimize your vulnerability.
There are people who compile Email addresses just for the
purposes of selling them to spammers. It's hard to control
Spam when this happens. To fight back against Spam, the first
step is finding out how the spammers got your Email address
in the first place.
A wise Internet marketer uses a Website host provider that
allows unlimited Email addresses or aliases. An alias refers
to an alternate email address that forwards email to your
real address. When you use an alias, you're 'real' Email address
doesn't have to be generally available and susceptible to
Spam. If you have several employees in your company, you will
need multiple aliases.
You have to provide a contact Email address when you register
your domain name. If you use your real Email address, then
it's readily available to everyone, and that means the spammers
too. When you set up your domain, use a portable Email address,
for example Hotmail. If you have multiple domains, you should
use an alias (domains@domain.com) on your primary domain for
all registrations . This allows your email software to filter
and save any legitimate Emails that come to the alias from
your registrar's domain.
You are asking for problems if you
use your real Email address when filling out a Web form or
when you subscribe to a newsletter. It's better to create
an Email address that is unique for each Website or newsletter.
In fact, many Email users create a customized email address
for each newsletter they receive, or for each Website that
they filled in a form. If for example, you subscribe to a
newsletter from Greatideas.com (fictitious site name) create
an Email address of greatideas.com@yourdomain.com", and
route the email that this address receives to your real Email
address. That way you will always know where the Email originated.
If that address starts getting Spam or junk mail, you can
simply filter it out with your software. Use a unique Email
address if you submit to search engines or free-for- all pages
(FFA.s).
Your own Website can be the biggest source of Email addresses
used by junk mailers. Many Websites list multiple Emails in
their contact details, and any time an Email appears on your
site in plain text, even hidden in a Javascript or form field,
that address can be captured.
If you want to avoid being the victim of spammers, always
think about where and how your Email address is broadcast
and consider if you are making it easy to be a victim of unwanted
junk mail.
Scott F. Geld is the Director of Marketing for www.MarketingBlaster.com.
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