Choosing The Right Domain Name | Your FREE & Concise Guide To Choosing The Right Domain Name

Choosing The Right Domain Name

Choosing the right name for your new website is one of the first and most important decisions you'll make. The NAME of your business will lead customers to your business.

For example, you've probably noticed how banks and lending institutions often use words such as "trust," "fidelity," and "first" in their business names. There's a reason for that. These businesses want to be known as stable institutions that people will trust with their money. It's unlikely that you'll ever see "Joe's Bank & Lending" as a name for a banking institution.

Names are of vital importance in the online world as well. One-word domain names fetch premium prices at auctions. In 2008, Photograph.com is rumored to have sold for $195,000 at a live auction. Two- and three-word domain names are auctioned off at hair-raising prices every day.

So does this mean that all of the best names are already taken? No it doesn't. With just a little thought — and a lot of imagination — you can come up with some terrific domain names for your new website relating to your niche.

Let's discuss one of the overriding factors in choosing a domain name. Do you know what USP means? It stands for Unique Selling Proposition (sometimes called Unique Selling Point or Unique Selling Position). Whenever possible, your unique selling position should be a part of your domain name.

For example, let's say that your company name is AVG, Inc. AVG is your company NAME, but it does not describe what your company does. If you are planning on selling Blu-Ray players at a reduced rate, THAT is your unique selling position; but the name AVG doesn't tell the world, or the search engines, what your business is.

Choosing a domain name like www.avginc.com won't really help you much. But, a domain name like www.cheapbluray.com would describe your business and your unique selling position to the search engines as well as to the world at large.

What to consider when choosing a Domain Name

Consider these five factors when you choose your domain name:

• Use your main keyword in your domain name. If your niche topic is rose gardening, you want to get

the words "rose gardening" into the domain name.

• Don't cut corners. Register extensions other than .com.

• Make you domain name as short as possible. Long domain names are hard for people to remember.

• Avoid using dashes in your domain name. If the name www.cheapbluray.com isn't available and you buy www.cheap-bluray.com, you'll likely be paying for advertising to send YOUR customers to the guy that has the domain name without the dash.

• If you find a good domain name, buy it, and also buy the dashed version simply to keep someone else from getting it.

How To Choose A Domain Name

If you're wondering exactly what makes a domain name memorable, here

are four things to remember:

1. It should be easy for users to remember.

2. It should suggest the nature of your product or service.

3. It should serve as a strong trademark. This prevents competitors from

using your business name or buying a domain name similar to it in order to

steal customers.

4. It must be free of legal conflicts with trademarks belonging to other businesses.

Your Domain Name Should Be Easy For Users To Remember

One-, two-, and three-word domain names are at a premium. But with a little imagination, you can find short domain names that are easy for users to remember. You might consider adding "The" or "My" to a short domain name just might be available (thephotoplace.com or myphotoplace.com, for example). Adding a number at the end can also help you find short domain names that are available (rosegardening101 or photography101 for example).

Your Domain Name Should Suggest The Nature Of Your Product Or Service

Your main keyword should be in your domain name. If you have to take a longer domain name in order to include your keyword, take the longer domain name. This makes it easy for your customers, and the search engines, to find you.

Also, your domain name should also note your USP when it is at all possible.

Your Domain Name Should Serve As A Strong Trademark

This will ensure that competitors won't be able to use a business name or domain name similar to it to steal customers.

Trademarks are invaluable, and companies go to great lengths to protect them. Trademarks are what make a business memorable, and your domain name needs to establish your trademark. You can do it with your own name ("photosbymark.com," "rosegardeningbyleon.com"). Names can also be placed at the beginning of a domain name ("marksphotos.com" or "leonsrosegardening.com").

It Must Be Free Of Legal Conflicts With Trademarks Belonging To Other Businesses

There are laws that forbid using brand names that are owned by others. You might find out that washingmachinesbysears.com is available. It might even attract a few customers. But you can be sure that it will come to the attention of Sears, and it will be brought to the attention of their attorneys. You'll spend a lot of time and money in court defending yourself.

And one additional note...

When you’re choosing a domain name, be sure to print it out exactly like it will be used in the address bar and see whether any double meaning can be attached to it. For example, "therapist.com" can be interpreted as "The Rapist.com." Write "Speed of Art" all as one word and see what you get!

Domain Name Suggestion Tools

With more than 46 million domain names registered, finding an available domain name for your new affiliate business might seem impossible.

Fortunately, it's not.

If you're creative, you'll be able to find a domain name that will work for your business. You can start by using one of the hundreds of Free domain name suggestion tools on the Internet.

Here's 2 of the top Free Domain Name Suggestion sites you can try to get you started:

- http://www.bustaname.com

- http://www.domainit.com

You can use their free search tools to obtain a list of suggestions, or do a little brain storming and check if there availiable.

Availability and Registration of Your Domain Name

Every single domain name is different. While on the surface it might not appear that many of them are different, there IS a difference in every domain name.

Remember that a domain name is your business's Internet address. In the same way that there are no two houses in the same town with the same address, there are no two websites on the Internet with the same address. The trick is to find the unique domain name that differentiates your business for your customers.

When you're looking for your domain name, the easiest way to check availability is to go to the website of a domain registrar. One of the best known of these domain registration sites is GoDaddy.com. While GoDaddy might be the biggest, it certainly isn't the only domain registrar out there.

You can quickly do your own name search on Go Daddy to find what is available.

When you have found a domain name that suits you, GoDaddy and other domain registrars give you the option to buy it and similar domains. The search results will indicate the extensions for which the domain is available. Of course, we recommend that use .com for your business. While it depends on your budget, if you can afford it, you should also buy the .net extension as well as hyphenated versions of your domain name.

You should register your new domain name for at least two years. Google and other search engines view domains that are registered for a lesser time as "fly-by-night" operations. When you pay for your domain, it is registered to you and nobody else.

A Quick Review

Before you move forward, let’s review some of the most important information from this course:

Choosing the right name for your business is one of the first and most important decisions you'll make. The NAME of your business will lead customers to your business. Learning how to search for domain names and find the right name for your business can greatly improve your chances of success.

Some Quick Tips

• Your domain name should be easy for users to remember, and it should include your main keyword.

• Take advantage of online tools that can help you select a domain name.

• Register extensions other than .com if possible.

• Your domain name needs to be as short as possible.

• Avoid using hyphens in your primary domain name, but remember that securing versions of your domain name with hyphens will protect your business's identity.

Glossary

Domain — The unique address of each website.

Domain Availability — No two websites can have the same name. Website addresses are all unique. A website name that is already in use is not available. If you change one word, the spelling, or the extension -- it becomes a different address. You can add words like "the" or "my" to make a domain name unique.

Domain Name Suggestion Tools — Sites on the Internet where you can find suggestions for your domain name.

Domain Registration — The process of securing a domain. When you register a domain, the name belongs to you; it is the Internet address of your business. It's a good idea to register as many extensions as you can afford as well as hyphenated versions of the name.

Extensions— Extensions such as .com, .net, .biz, .org, etc., designate particular websites. A website with a .com extension is a different site than one with the same name but with a .net extension.

GoDaddy — The best known (but not the only) site to check for availability of and register a domain.

Keyword — The word that describes the market that you are in. For instance, "cat" is a main keyword no matter what product or service you are selling that relates to cats.

USP — Stands for Unique Selling Position or Unique Selling Proposition. A USP makes one merchant or marketer different from others who sell the same general type of merchandise. A USP designates a specialty. "Doghouses" is a general market. "Big dog houses" is a unique selling position.

Action Items

- Identify your business' main keyword.

- Include that keyword in your domain name search.

- Register your domain name for at least two years.

- Register .com and .net, and variations of your domain name with hyphens, if possible.

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