Or, What's in a name?
Offline, in the brick and concrete world you repeatedly hear that "location, location,
location" is the primary factor for starting a new retail business.
Conversely, location is a non-existing aspect of your web
business. Online it is your domain name (Your Internet address) that holds the value. You
should be shouting to yourself, 'Address, address, address!'
Some points for you to consider.
You should ponder your domain name carefully, as it
could be the determining dynamic of your online business.
In a time when a domain name is registered every few seconds, it is
becoming increasingly tricky to find that perfect domain name for your
website. (Example - http//www.yourname.com)
Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut method for name selection. The
best you can do is to try to find a domain name that meets your
objectives.
You can check and see if your 'pet' domain name is
available by using any of the popular "whois" search tools.
This is a form that
searches for available domain names.
These are readily available at most registrars and domain
registration companies, as well as, your web-host who may even provide
your registration free! One of these web hosts is;
NTCHosting
(more
info...)
Make a search now.
Click here... and follow the instruction, also read a little
about domain names and you information.
Choose wisely, because your domain name is a marketing
device.
Selecting a domain name may seem on the surface to be
just a matter of deciding which word or words to register. As you know
or will soon discover, business on the web is extremely competitive.
All websites struggle to stay on top of the search
engines. The domain name you choose will soon be a quiet player in your
efforts to attract and maintain traffic on your site.
Your domain name will play a key role in word of mouth
advertising.
Every potential source of traffic is a vitally important one. One person
may see your website, mention it to a friend and so on. If your domain
name sounds confusing, is difficult to spell or has another spelling
variation, it could mean lost traffic.
Here a some basics to keep in mind:
Your domain name should be as short as possible. The more characters
that your potential visitors have to type in, the higher the chance that
they will mis-type it.
Make it a point to avoid words that have other common spelling
similarities. It's very easy for people to assume that your domain name
is spelled one way, when it's actually spelled another. This can result
in lost traffic.
Imagine the domain name in a radio advertisement. Ask yourself,
will listeners understand immediately how it should be spelled and will
they can remember it?
Try to hit upon a domain name that reflects the makeup of the business
that your website will reflect. The public will relate your name with the
business and be more likely to remember it.
Consider which top level domain name is best. Dot com is by far the most
recognized, in the United States at least.
You may not be able to find an available Dot com domain
that suits your needs. If this is the case, try to select an alternative
extension that is memorable.
Some of these alternatives are worthy of consideration,
such as .tv and .FM Both of these also happen to be acronyms for
radio or television, and offer a certain degree of public recognition.
Remember your new domain name is essentially your identity on the web,
so choose wisely. There is nothing worse than feeling stuck with a
domain that is confusing, isn't outstanding or that the public can't
spell correctly.
A couple very good websites to check available domain
names are:
http://www.register.com/
http://www.dotster.com/
Did you know...
While you can register a new domain name for only a few
dollars (free when I was first on the web) that one of the most valuable commodities on the
Internet can be domain names.
Owning certain domain names can prove to be a very
worthwhile investment. Several domain names over the past year have been
sold for over 2 million dollars and every day almost 1,500 domain names
are sold. The current average sales price is $5,356 per domain name.
So many domain name owners don't realize what the true market value of
their domain name investment really is. You may want to appraise your
domain name at some time.
