 Your Domain Name = Your Web Site Name
Naming your web site the same name as its domain is important, because when people think
of your web site, they will think of it by name. And if your site name is also your domain, they will
automatically know where to go. For example, when people think of WebHelps, they do not have to wonder what web address to type into their browser to get there: webhelps.com. The name of the site is also the domain, and therefore is part of the web address.
What if someone else has already registered your business name as their domain? It depends on how committed you are to the name. If you have an existing brand name that you are known for, you will probably want to keep it and use it. If so, you might be able to buy the domain from the current owner. First, check to see if there is already a site on the Web using the domain. If there is, it is less likely the owner will be willing to sell. If not, the owner may be willing to sell you the domain. Check the WHOIS information for the domain (using the form below), and contact the person listed as the owner. If the owner is willing to sell, it is likely you will be charged a considerably higher fee than it will cost you to register a new domain.
If you do not have a well-known existing brand or business name, you should first register your domain name, then name your web site (and business) after the domain. It might seem like you should name your business first, but the reality is that most one and two-word domains are already registered, so registering the domain needs to be the first step.
Generic Names Or Brand Names? One school of thought says your domain should be something generic, like "flowers.com" if you are selling flowers. Another school of thought says that when people are looking for things on the Web, they generally already have some brands in mind, and are more likely to search by brand, such as FTD.com or 1800flowers.com.
Whichever is correct really makes no difference so long as your domain name is the same name you use to advertise your products and/or services. This is why it is so important that your domain name match your brand name. It is the easiest for people to remember, and whatever is most easily remembered, is most likely to be the first domain name they type into their browser's address bar.
Long or Short Domain?
Domain names can be up to 80 characters in length. You may not have any spaces in your domain name, nor any characters other than letters, numbers, and hyphens. Some people believe that shorter domain names are easier to remember, easier to type and far less susceptible to errors. For instance, WebHelps.com is easier to remember and type than GetHelpBuildingYourWebSite.com. Others believe that a longer domain name is actually easier to remember. For instance, "baciws.com" is difficult to remember and type correctly because it is a sequence of unrelated letters. But if we use its long form, "BuildACheapInteractiveWebSite.com", we are more likely to remember it. So, long or short can both be good, so long as the domain name is a meaningful combination of letters and numbers.
Long domain names that contain your site's keywords have an advantage in that they rank better in some search engines. These search engines give preference to keywords that are also found in your domain names.
The best domain name will contain your site's keyword(s), but not be so long that it is hard to remember, a chore to type, and difficult to fit on a web banner. |
Hyphenated Names?
| Extension |
Description |
|
The most highly recognized and highly used domain extensions |
|
.BIZ is the world's first domain built just
for business! |
|
.INFO is your opportunity to reach a worldwide
audience with information about you, your ideas, or your business.
Perfect for businesses, trademark owners, organizations or marketers. |
|
Grab Your Personal Space On The Internet! Name
- the only gTLD designed specifically for individuals! Yourname.name! |
|
.Kids.us is the new Internet domain that parents
and children can trust for educational and appropriate online
fun! Businesses, tailor your messaging to a younger audience
who has significant buying power. With a .kids.us domain name,
you demonstrate that you care that kids are protected from adult
web content. |
|
Do you have a business in Los Angeles? Louisiana? How about a domain name like fitnessguru.la? or lawncare.la? |
|
Make "America's Internet Address"
yours! .us is where businesses, organizations and government
agencies establish a unique and memorable American identity
online. |
|
Downside: It is easy for people to forget the hyphen(s). Web users have become accustomed to leaving out the hyphens, so they will
probably type the domain in their browser's address bar without the hyphens and end up at your competitor's site.
Downside: When your domain name is spoken, the hyphens cannot be heard. This makes it hard for people to verbally recommend your site to others without having to spell out the domain name (which they are unlikely to do). You may find you own site members are accidentally referring their friends and family to your competitor.
Downside: Domain names containing more than one hyphen are hard to type.
Upside: Search engines can more easily distinguish the keywords in your domain
Upside: If the non-hyphenated form of the domain you want is not available, this is a way to still get the domain.
Plurals, "The", and "My" Forms of the Domain Name
Sometimes, if you cannot get the domain name you want, the domain registrar will suggest alternate forms of the name you typed. For example, if you want domain.com, and it is taken, the registrar might suggest forms like:
- domains.com
- thedomain.com
- mydomain.com
and others, if they are available. These can often be good alternatives and may even be better than hyphenating the domain name you want. However, if you decide to register one of the "the" or "my" alternatives, you must always remember to promote your site with the full form of the name. Otherwise, people are likely to forget to affix the necessary "the" or "my" and will instead pay a visit to your competitor. We recommend against registering the the plural form of the domain (eg, domains.com), unless you also are able to register the non-plural form (eg, domain.com). There are two reasons for this: First, the frequency of people failing to type the "s" in the domain will be unacceptably high. Second, you will be putting yourself in the line of fire for a trademark dispute with the owner of the non-plural form of the domain.
Which Extension Should You Choose?
Despite all the new domain extension choices, people's first inclination is to type .com at the end of the name. In fact, if your domain name is something undeniably catchy like GetaLargeScreen.TV and that is how you advertise it, there will be a large percentage of people who will see your ads and go to getalargescreentv.com. The .com domain is indelibly ingrained in people's minds to be synonymous with the Web. All web businesses are referred to as dot coms. Unfortunately, probably every one word and most two-word .com domains have already been registered, which means getting the perfect .com domain might be impossible. Some companies have even resorted to "making up" words to name their sites and businesses so they can have short .com domains that matches their business names.
Does this mean a .com domain is the best choice for every site? Not necessarily. If you are putting up a global business web site, a .com domain should be your first choice. But, if your site and business caters to a local community, then it makes sense to get a country-specific domain. You will actually benefit from having a local domain because the people in your country know they are dealing with a local entity
Some people argue it is better to have the domain name of your choice, even if it has an extension of .net, .info, .biz, or a country specific extension, than to settle for an obscure and meaningless .com domain. In fact, many people find .net, .info, .biz and other TLD (top level domain) extensions to be quite acceptable. In particular, non-profit organizations generally do just fine with the .org extension, and educational institutions fair well with .edu. What is most important, is that if you use *any* extension other than .com with your domain, you always display your full domain name, including the extension. You may even find your site does better if you accentuate the extension, such as making the .biz bigger and bolder than the rest of your domain.
Should You Register Multiple Versions of Your Domain?
In short, yes. All of the domains you register can easily be setup to deliver visitors to your web site. If possible, register the plural version of your domain, any common mispellings, and the .net version if you are using a .com. Registering the other TLD versions, .org, .biz, and .info, might be a good idea in order to prevent others from using them, but you probably do not have to worry about people mistakenly typing those extensions instead of .com.
Should You Register Common Mispellings?
It is very important for you to register any common mispellings of your domain. Not only do people make typing errors, they are also notoriously bad spellers. If you have an international web site, keep in mind that foreigners may also have difficulty with the correct spelling of your domain. Many English words sound the same, but are spelled differently. For example, if your domain is "BrakeJobs.com," you should also register "BreakJobs.com." One English spelling rule that often trips people up is "i before e except after c." So, if your domain is "GiftReceipts.com" be sure to also register "GiftReciepts.com," and if your domain is "PuzzlePieces.com," also register "PuzzlePeices.com." You should also consider registering your domain phonetically (as it sounds). For instance, if your domain uses the English "ph" as in "phone.com," you should also register "fone.com." |
DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION
