How to Choose a Domain Name

 

Choosing a domain name is a very important step to building an online business. The goal of a domain name should be that your site is found, but more importantly that it's easily found again if your visitor hasn't bookmarked your site. Most likely the first time your site is visited it's through using a search engine or clicking from a banner ad or link on another site.

 

Don't Play the Trademarked Name Game

If you're thinking of buying a trademarked name to use or to hold for ransom, think again. Companies have teams of lawyers who will take action.

 

Choosing an Extension (.com, .biz, .net, etc.)

So you've selected a name and are searching the web for its availability and you need to choose an extension. If your site is to be an online business, the most logical extension would be .com. If your desired name with .com extension has been taken, don't settle for .biz or .net. Think of a variation of your domain name and see if it's available as a .com. A business site with the extension of .com is the conventional choice andt has more credibility. If you are located in another country, the obvious extension would be your own country code. Example – if someone is searching for a plumber in Australia he'll be looking for a site with the extension of .au; someone in Spain would check for .es, etc.

 

Domain Name Characters and Length

The temptation may be to describe your business using key words which is a good idea as long as you don't use the maximum number of characters allowed (67) or very long names (e.g. islandandbeachrealestatewesterncaribbean.com). Long domain names are hard to remember and typing many characters can lead to typos, frustration, and bailing out before visiting your site.

 

Buying More than One Domain Name

Consider registering several variations of your domain name ... yourname.com, yourname.biz, yourname.net. Doing this will prevent someone else from using your top level domain and loosing traffic to his site.

 

If you want to use a long domain name, you can register the long name and a shorter, easier-to-remember version. Some even register common misspelled versions of their company's name then point the multiple domains to the main domain.

 

If you need assistance choosing a domain name or, are in need of website design, call us ... 301.481.9979.