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Domain Name - How To Pick One


Picking a domain name should be easy, right? Why, I'll just use my business name. Not so fast, Sparky. A good bit of thought should be given to selecting a domain name.

A Cautionary Note

Picking a domain name is like getting married. You are going to have to stick with it till the bitter end. People that use your site will come to know it by the domain name. Repeat visitors will often simply type in the domain name to get to the site, better known as "type in traffic". As an example, do you search for "Amazon" when you want to buy a book or do simply type in amazon.com? If Amazon were to change its domain name to Desert, there would be a lot of confusion. The same goes with your domain. Once you pick something, stick with it.

Your Choices

Well, the obvious choice is your business name, but it may not be the best. There are four significant issues to consider.

First, is there something about your business name that makes using it as a domain an unwise choice? This situation typically arises if you have a long business name or have plural words. "Halstatt's Rip'n Marketing Campaigns, Inc." is going to be a horrible domain name. Clients are going to find it difficult to type in such a domain name.

Double letter problems are a second issue that is entirely unique to the Internet. What if Sams Salon wants to use its business name as a domain? The "s" at the end of first word and beginning of the second can cause confusion. Is the domain name Samssalon.com or Samsalon.com? Confusing your users is a bad way to run a site.

The third issue concerns the nature of your site and search engine optimization. If you are shooting for a particular keyword phrase, you may be better off using that keyword phrase in your domain name. Google, for instance, looks at the domain name when evaluating a site. If the words in your domain name are spaced with dashes, many believe it will help in the ranking process. This is why you see so many xxx-xxxx-xxx.com domain names on the net. If your business focuses on a very specific area, strong consideration should be given to using relevant keywords in your domain name.

Finally, your domain name should end in ".com" and I don't want to hear any argument or see any rolling of the eyes. The simple fact is that when people think of sites, they always type in .com. Yes, there are other extensions and .us, .net, .biz, etc., may seem unique, but it kills your traffic. Pavlov and his dog experiments had it right. People have been mentally conditioned to type in .com, so don't select any other ending. If you do, a smart competitor will register the .com version of your name to get some free traffic. If you are really lucky, a porn site will do it!

Take a breath before you select a domain name. Like a spouse, it can be either a good or bad choice.

Halstatt Pires is with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing and advertising company comprised of a search engine optimization specialist providing meta tag optimization services and Internet marketing consultant providing internet marketing solutions through integrated design and programming services.


MORE RESOURCES:

Dotster Offers .TEL Domain Names as Your All-in-One Online ...
MarketWatch - Nov 19, 2008
VANCOUVER, Wash., Nov 19, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Dotster ( http://www.dotster.com/), a leading provider of Internet business services, ...


Rare Domain Names Available to VIP's Before Auction
SYS-CON Media, NJ - Nov 19, 2008
COM) to unveil rare domain names by special invitation. WEBPRO is releasing a very rare domain name back into the marketplace. There are several unique ...


Live Current Media In Trouble, Raising Cash
Washington Post, United States - 3 hours ago
Live Current Media, a Canadian company which is in the business of developing, operating and monetizing premium domain names, has raised a little over $1 ...


Domain names and pirates
Lawdit Commercial Solicitors, UK - Nov 19, 2008
When the domain name server system was established it was never envisaged (what carefree days) that domain names would have any value, financial or ...


Domain Name Wire

Global Warming May Be Hazardous to Your Domain Names
Domain Name Wire, TX - Nov 18, 2008
This headline isn’ta joke. Here’s how global warming and subsequent rising ocean waters could doom a domain name extension. Last night I read an article in ...


Free market vs. regulated prices of new domain names
HostReview.com (press release), IL - Nov 18, 2008
by Ivan Vachovsky Free market prices vs. regulated prices, what is right for the new and upcoming gTLDs? There is no "one size fits all" solution here. ...


New Domain Names Put Name Brands in a Bind
Wall Street Journal - Nov 4, 2008
Companies already spend a significant sum each year to buy up domain names connected to their brand. Industry executives say consumers are likely to stick ...
Innovative Approach to Domain Name Strategy Delivers Significant ... MarketWatch
all 15 news articles


Owning Multiple Domain Names Is Key To Helping Online Businesses ...
Domain informer, IL - Nov 14, 2008
Savvy Internet businesses understand this simple fact and many have invested heavily in owning multiple domain names relating to their business products and ...


December 3rd Trademark Deadline Approaches for .tel Domain Names
MarketWatch - Nov 4, 2008
Applications for trademarked domain names are already being received through a network of well over 100 ICANN-accredited registrars on a first-come, ...
voipGATE Supports .tel Top Level Domain TMCnet
Domainmonster.com Announces Support for Innovative .tel Domain MarketWatch
all 25 news articles


New Aftermarket Launches with Odd Name and Business Model
Domain Name Wire, TX - 19 hours ago
Obviously, the site isn’t selling top level domain names. It’s selling second level domain names. In years past this name wouldn’t be a major problem, ...

Domain-Names - Google News

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