The Purpose of a Good Domain Name

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When you have determined that now is the time to start your online business the next step is the start up process.   It is now time to find a domain name. A domain name is your websites internet address.  With a domain name people will be able to distinguish between your online business and another business that is on the web.  Consider the following points before registering your domain name on the Internet:

Make your Domain Name Work for you

•    The internet name and the domain should be one in the same. If you have an offline business your company name should be your domain name.
•    Your domain name should contain at least one word that will signify the services or product you are promoting.  For example, if your services or product you are selling involves a line of cosmetics at least one word of your domain name should contain the word “cosmetics” as its main keyword. By including the name or service of your service or product will increase the ranking of search engines to your site.
•    You should write down ten keywords that correlate to the service or product you want to advertise.  The reason for writing as many down as possible is that some of your favorites may already be registered with someone else.  An optimal domain name should be catchy and short so it is easily remembered.
•    You should pick domain names that are brand driven, benefit driven or purpose driven and the following are examples of each.
1.    Brand driven-Reebok.com. Google.com
2.    Benefit driven-Getfitquick.com
3.    Purpose driven-mybestcookingguide.com, mybestgolfingguide.com

You should select a name that is not already registered with someone else.  Henceforth, once a domain name has been registered and selected by you, no one will be able to register your domain name.  These tips should give you an added comprehension of choosing a good domain name.

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Proper Domain Name Formatting

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A domain name is one of the most integral parts of how you will market your product or service. It is basically similar to a logo or brand name product in that the correct name will help customers associate themselves to your service or product. The more easily your domain name is remembered, the more customers you will attract.  The following are tips on choosing domain names.

Do’s and Don’ts of Domain Name Usage

•    Be aware of the domain name format-Domain names can typically go up to around 63-67 characters (extensions included), and contain two or more to the characters 0-9, – (hyphen), and a-z. There are some domain names that must contain a minimum of three characters, not including and extension.  A domain name cannot end or start with a hyphen. Because domain names are not case sensitive, names such as domainnae.com, DoMaInNaMe.com, and DomainName.com are all equal.  Multi-lingual domain names can now be registered.
•    Be aware of your target audience- You should select names that will be appropriate for those you want to attract to your business.  This could mean choosing names that sound professional, current, sincere, active, or cool.
•    Keep the names simple and short-The shorter the domain name, the easier it will be remembered or be able to be written down.  Limit the domain name to one, two, or three words at the most. Give reference to words that are easy to pronounce and have few syllables. You should use short words but never difficult words such as cxfmz.
•    Use correct plurals-An example of this would be newboats.com would most likely be better than newboat.com if the website is not referring to a particular boat.  When in doubt just register both names.
•    You can register a long name that contains relevant key words in order to get higher search engine rankings.

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Quick and Easy Domain Name Tips

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Just as a trademark of a particular service or product serves to represent it, domain names can do the same for your internet business.  If you choose a correct name, it will do much in the area of giving you higher search engine ranking and attracting clients, friends, and family to your website.  The following are important domain name tips to consider:

Time-Saving Domain Name Tips

•    Visual words are best- Vision is a very strong human sense. When your domain name is easily visualized it can do wonders  for your online business. The following are some things to remember:  use more common nouns (objects or names) action verbs, and descriptive adjectives.  An example of this would be that the word “fire” is easily visualized.  With the word fire you hear crackling noises (auditory) you can smell smoke, sense the feel and heat of the fire, and see the colors of the flames.
•    Future projection-If you will be releasing other services or products in the future with your domain name you are currently using, do not limit your name to one service or product.  You still must remember that it is recommended that a website should have one focus or subject.  All the products on the website should relate to one another.
•    Use search programs-Mozzle Domain Name Pro is a great domain name search program to help check and generate domain names.  This is one of many great free to try and free programs available that contain features such as trademark searches, acronyms, an automatic thesaurus and more. These online tools can save hours of your time.
•    Use the correct country or global level domain-To appeal universally, use a .biz, .info, .com, .net, or an .org domain.  To appeal locally use the correct domain for your country such as .org.au or .co.uk.  Check to see what restrictions may apply.

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Domain Name Proper Use

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To achieve success with an online business, many have found that choosing the correct domain name is the key to their positive achievements.  A domain name works similar to how a logo represents a product or service.  Having the best domain name will help people associate a product or service to your online business.  The following are tips that may aid you in selecting the name that is best suited for your business.

How to use Domain Names Correctly

•    First check infringements- You may have picked a name that you feel is perfect for your needs but it is best to check and see if it already belongs to an individual or company.  This will not only save time, but may keep you from being sued!
•    Never use hyphens-When said aloud, a domain name that uses hyphens is harder to describe. Commonly accepted is a domain name with multiple words not using hyphens. There are exceptions and that is when a domain name has multiple words and is hard to decipher.
•    Use Words that can be easily spelled-Steer clear of words having different spellings throughout the world if your target audience is worldwide. An example of this would be words ending in ise (UK) or ize (USA).  This also relates to words that have different meanings. Be careful with the words you use internationally because some English words are offensive in other languages.
•    Try to be as unique as possible-Stay away from domain names that are comparable to others if at all possible.  This will be to your benefit because you want to attack others to your online business and not aim them to someone else.
•    Watch word joining- you do not want to unite words that once they are joined together form unintended words such as “ Wigs Wearing” can be read “ Wig Swearing".

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3 Tips on Selecting a Domain Name

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An important thing when establishing an online business is selecting your domain name. This decision will impact many things. Choose wisely, and your business will be successful. Create a bad one and watch your business fail. Here are three tips to help select your domain name.

First, consider having one or more domain names. Let’s say that you are an auto insurance company. In addition to selling auto insurance, you also offer homeowners insurance. You will want two domain names: one for people needing auto insurance and one domain name for those looking for homeowners insurance. That way, you’ll be able to reach out to both types of customers.

If you are well known in your community, you might also want to get a domain that uses your personal name. That way, when people type your name in a search, your domain name will be on the list. There are many places where you can pay only ten dollars to register a domain name, so having three domain names would not be expensive.

Second, consider using dashes in your domain name. Research has shown that domain names containing dashes rank higher in the search engine results. If your domain name ranks higher, more customers will see your site listed and click on your link.

Also, it is easier to read a domain name with dashes than if all of the words run together. For example, if you wanted a domain name for Bill Brown auto insurance, having bill-brown-auto-insurance.com is far easier to read than billbrownautoinsurance.com. If your domain name is long, your customers will be grateful that you use hyphens to separate the words.

Third, purchase variations of your domain name. If people often misspell the name of your company, buy that domain name. Then, customers will find you on the web even if they misspell the URL.

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