Choosing a Domain Name
What You Need to Know
Andrechelle
Your domain name is one of the most important decisions you will need to make. It is the center of your Internet identity and makes it easier for people to find your site. What types of things should you take into consideration when choosing the name that will represent you on the web?
Smaller is often better when it comes to domain names. Why? Because they are easier to brand, easier to recall and harder to misspell. Try to register the shortest name that your customers and visitors will associate with your Website. The general rule of thumb is, keep it under seven characters if possible. (Not including the suffix.)
Try to choose a domain name that is easy to remember. That way if someone is interested in your services, they are more likely to remember it the next time they're surfing the web.
Your domain name should relate to your business and/or your service area. This will help you in the search engines. For example, if you are a carpet cleaner in Reno, NV. It might be a good idea to get the domain name renocarpetcleaner.com. Another thing some businesses do is buy the domain name of their company. That way people will be able to guess the web address even if they don't know it off hand.
You should always try to get the .com extension of your domain name. That is what people are most likely to go to after doing a search or after typing something directly into the address bar.
Register Your Domain NOW
Domain names are being snatched up faster than candy at a parade. Thousands of new domain names are registered every month. It is only a matter of time before the one you are looking for is taken. Once someone else has your domain it can be very hard to get it from them (the BBC had to pay $30million for www.bbc.com) and some may refuse to sell you the name.
You must register soon unless you want to get stuck with "the-domain-name-that-no-one-wanted.com".
One May Not Be Enough
Sometimes, it isn't a bad idea to register several similar domain names. If you have "yourname.com", register "yourname.net" so no one else takes it. You can register your full company name and a shorter, easier to remember version. Some people even register common misspellings of their company's name. (You don't need a separate Web page for each. Several domains can point to the same Website.)
Just a reminder. Domain names can only use letters, numbers, and dashes. Spaces and symbols are not allowed. Also, domain names are not case sensitive. Domains containing hyphens can be difficult to remember, spell and pronounce, and confusing, but can rank well in search engines.
If you do register a domain containing hyphens, make sure that you also register the corresponding domain without the hyphens. Once you do that, you can simply redirect visitors from the domain without the hyphens to the domain with the hyphens.
However, if the non-hyphenated domain is not owned by you, you run the risk of people inadvertently visiting the site of a potential competitor. In this instance, perhaps you should consider another non-hyphenated name as your main domain name.
Ask for others opinions
When you have settled on several available name choices, see what your friends and clients have to say. A name that may make perfect sense to you may be too hard for other people to remember. Is your domain easy to say? Is it hard to spell? Do you have to explain why you chose the name?
Don't spend a lot of money $$
At one time, companies were able to get away with charging reservation fees plus a "mandatory" InterNIC fee. Recently, it was decided that other companies should be able to compete to sell domain names. This has lowered prices dramatically.
The cost of a domain name is quite varied and depends on two things, namely what type of domain it is and which registrar you use. Different countries charge different amounts for registering a domain name. This is generally known as the Naming Authority Fee. This is the basic fee for registering a name and the registrars will then add to this to cover profits and running costs. Some examples of costs of domain names are .com/.net./.org which can vary between $10 and $35 a year (depending on who you buy from), .co.uk which usually costs between
$5 and $310 a year and .fr names which cost around $500 a year.
As well as paying for the Naming Authority Fee you may need to pay a company to host the domain and point it to your site. Many web hosts will do this free of charge and this is probably the best option. The fees they charge vary greatly from free up to about $115. These sometimes include free extras like e-mail forwarding. Getting your domain from your web host is probably the best option as they will set it up with your account.
Choose a Professional!
When choosing a registration service provider, make sure you are dealing with a trustworthy and experienced professional. Your domain name and all content associated with it are not something to be treated lightly. This domain name could become worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and many companies on the Internet do not appropriately handle this process. Make sure your company has a track record of successful business relationships; this will indicate experience and fairness in operation.
If you think that if you have found the right domain name, but you're not quite sure if it's the one... register it anyway before someone else does!
Andrechelle - Your Website Design, Website Hosting and Internet Marketing Specialist
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