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Learn more about Domain Names, read below.
1. Starting out
When you choose a domain name, think
about your keywords, and try to include them if possible. If you're
starting a new business, choose a name that describes your products
or services. If you have an established business, you'll want to try
and get the same domain name if possible.
Domain names aren't really "bought" -
the domain you choose is only yours for a short time. A .com.au name
is available for two years before renewal; other domains such as
.com are available for up to ten years, depending on various
factors. The cost also varies according to the top level domain.
The "top level domain" is the last part
of the domain name - for example, .com, .com.au, .ca and so on. The
top level domain that you're allowed may depend on where you live -
for example the "country" TLD's such as .com.au or .ca will
only be issued to people or businesses in that country. Different
TLD's have different prices.
You may choose your local TLD - some people prefer
to do business within their own country, especially if they're
buying goods. On the other hand, .com is the most well-known (and
well-used!) TLD - if people aren't sure of your TLD, .com is the one
they'll probably try first. So budget for both your local and the
.com TLD - you'll reach more visitors that way.
2. What makes a good Domain Name ?
The key elements of a good domain name are:
It should convey effectively the nature of your
business
A name such as golfnews.com will immediately give the reader an
idea of what the site contains, with no further description. It will
also be easy to recall from memory at a later time.
But, a warning, you must also plan ahead for any future
diversity.
Suppose you then decide to provide news about other sporting
activities. It would make no sense to set up new names such as
golfnews.com/boxing golfnews.com/tennis
The name of your site should be generic in order to allow for future
variation. If you had chosen the more general "sportsnews.com"
this gives you the flexibility to add sportsnews.com/golf
sportsnews.com/boxing sportsnews.com/tennis
It should be easy to remember and to spell.
Think of the situations when you need to convey the spelling of
your Url. It could be in spoken format (during a conversation, a
phone call, in your voice mail) or printed format (on all your
stationery). You want to make it as easy as possible for your
customer to record it and to recall it later and, hopefully, to
communicate it to others.
You need to avoid a name that is too long or one with confusing
characters such as ‘~’ or ‘-’ or mixing ‘I’ with ‘1’
(And just how do you explain the tilde sign ‘~’ over the phone?)
3. What are the benefits of a Domain Name ?
Portability
A domain name means that you are free to move to a different web
host or ISP and leave the name unchanged. Why would you want to move ? Some of the reasons could be:
A better standard of support (quick response and competent
replies to technical questions)
Lower prices
Faster connectivity to your site
Better tools and features
Whatever the reason you are no longer tied to your old ISP.
A professional image for your company
Would you feel comfortable about ordering goods offline from a
company based at
Flat 4a, Dodgy Street, Cheaptown
or about sending an order online to an Email address of
perkins23@localisp.com , where there is no way of finding any
information about the company such as the postal address.
Contrast this to ordering from sales@VCRworld.com where you have the
option of obtaining company details through their registered domain
name (via http://www.internic.net/whois.html).
Think of the credibility it lends to your company to have a name
based on the business: contrast this to a cheap sounding name
possibly hosted on a free site.
Ease of use for your customer
A well chosen domain name will be shorter to enter into a browser
and easier to say over the phone or appear on a business card. In
addition a customer may guess that your site name is
www.[yourcompany].com and reach it successfully.
Submission to search engines
Some search engines may not accept submissions from free (non-domain) sites
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