|
For new businesses, one of the first items that you need to complete is obtaining your domain name. If you wait too long, you run the risk of having someone else buy your name or losing it to an unscrupulous domain name registrar. I have listed five tips below that will help you in getting your domain name registered painlessly.
1) What Name Should I Use?
People often ask, "Should I use my company name or a benefit-laden domain name?" For example is TheAcmeCompany.com a better name than WidgetsForLess.com?
In my opinion there isn't really a right or wrong answer. If you are going to spend money branding your company name, then using that name would be a good choice. On the other hand some search engine optimization experts recommend that you use your main keyword phrases in your domain name. This may still be true, but you should never make a business decision based on what the search engines are currently doing. They are very fickle and will change their ranking algorithms in a heartbeat if they think people are spamming them.
Note: Domain names as well as e-mail addresses are not case sensitive. That is TheAcmeCompany.com will be treated the same as theacmecompany.com. However, you should capitalize the first letter in whole words when you write them to make your domain name easier to read.
My recommendation is to pick a domain name that is easy to say and remember. Your main goal in developing your website should be to please the human visitor. If the site is easy to find and use, then you'll be on the right track in building a successful website.
2) Always Use a .com Domain Name
You've done your research and found the perfect domain name, but then see that someone else already purchased it. This can be very frustrating, but don't compromise and get the .net or .us or .whatever and think that you'll be fine. The .com top level domain (TLD) is far and away the most popular one in use today. It is so ingrained in our minds, that you may say your domain name is TheAcmeCompany.net, but the person you are talking to will remember TheAcmeCompany.com.
Here are some tips on creating your domain name:
l Avoid numbers and homonyms that you will have to explain to your audience
l Avoid acronyms that are hard to say because a short cryptic string of characters will be hard to say compared to a long domain name
l Use no more than one hyphen
l Write your domain name in all lower case to see if conjoined words form an unfortunate word combinations like lumberjacksexchange.com
Once you find your perfect .com name, you may want to purchase several other TLDs and lock out anyone else from purchasing them. Domain names are cheap, GoDaddy.com sells them for around $9 per year.
3) Be Ready To Buy Immediately
I always recommend that you have your credit card in your hand when you are researching domain names. When you find that perfect name or one that looks promising, don't waste time, go ahead and buy it.
I have seen two scenarios that have caused some of my clients grief. The first is that they wait to buy only to see someone else come in and snatch the name away. The second are unscrupulous domain name registrars that monitor names being researched. If you don't purchase the name, they will and then offer to sell it back to you at a premium. As I mentioned in tip #2, domain names are cheap so go ahead and buy it. You can always release it after a year if you decide you are never going to use it.
4) Where Should I Buy My Domain Name?
I am a firm believer in using a registered domain name service to register domain names. There are many companies you can use such as GoDaddy, Network Solutions and Register.com. I recommend against having your hosting company or web developer register your domain name for you. The simple reason is that you should be in total control of your domain name. If your host or developer goes out of business or you decide to switch providers, then they are in a position of holding your domain name hostage. This is more common than you think. In my nine plus years in working with website owners, this scenario has occurred more than a dozen times.
When you are registering your domain name(s) during the checkout process, you'll be asked to buy many extras including e-mail addresses, hosting, and privacy protection. It's up to you what additional services you select, but your domain name is the only thing you really need to pay for.
If you already had your host register your domain name or it's just easier right now for them to do it, I highly recommend that they make you the registrant and admin contact on the domain name record. This way you will be the owner of the name and will have administrative control over it.
5) Managing Your Domain Name
Always make sure that you have your contact information up to date, especially your e-mail address. You could be in for one heck of an administrative nightmare if the e-mail address you used to create the domain name is no longer valid.
There you have it, five simple tips for finding and retaining control of you most important Internet asset...your company's domain name.
Mark Beck is Vice President and Partner of The Boulevard Group, a full service internet services company specializing in web design, web development and internet marketing. The Boulevard Group serves a broad customer base and provides services that include dynamic content management systems, database-driven ecommerce catalogs and shopping carts, and traditional brochure-style web sites. Mark formerly provided content to the Duct Tape Marketing blog where he covered topics relating to web design and internet marketing. He may be contacted at
Mark@theblvdgroup.com or by calling 908-876-3707.
|
