Selecting a Domain Name & Extension: | |
Step one to a web presence (ie Website) is register a domain. Choose a domain extension (eg: .com .net .ca etc) that best describes your organization, business or one that you favour. Since .com domain is most familiar and common extension in public use, it is generally the ideal choice, although other domain extensions such as; .net .info .org are gaining popularity.
Please note that .com DOES NOT have any preferential treatment with any of the search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing or others when it comes to the ranking of a website. Many people have the notion that a .com domain website would show up higher in a Google search then .net, this is NOT the case. Google or any other search engine does not prejudice with domain extensions, it is content and other factors that determine your PageRank and your position in a search. Of course .com being so popular would be our expected first choice, although nowadays great many are using .net and .info, since many of the desired domain names with the .com extension are already taken or are being sold at a premium price. If your preferred domain name is not available in the .com extension, then try another name rather then selecting a .org or .net or another extension for the same domain name. Only because .com is the first one people usually remember.
The internet gurus always write about how to pick a short name since it easier to remember etc. Well Mr. Expert, just in case you haven't taken note, almost all the desirable short names are gone under the .com extension. So that leaves us with with having to make some intelligent choices.
One of the smart choices to make is select words that reflect your product or services as part of your domain name that will be used in a search (referred to as keywords). For instance a skincare consultant who wants to sell or promote books on skincare, could choose www.booksonskincare.com, instead of the company name, (where skincare and book would be considered as keywords). Or if you were selling golf clubs with a brand name Magic; you could register www.magicgolfclubs.com as your domain.
A longish descriptive name is also gaining popularity as shorter names keep disappearing with the .com extension. A great many corporations also use longer descriptive .com domain names for certain marketing campaigns. An example of this; www.lookingafteryourskin.com.
Try this; do a search on the subject of your interest and take note of all those domain names that show up. You will get a fantastic array of names and a great idea of name selections, and remember these are sites that are showing up on the first page of a search engine. I am sure it will give you a great start for your own domain name building. Remember, your domain name alone does not get you a listed higher on a search engine.
The other option you have is to use hyphens in your domain name selection. So you could have www.books-on-skincare.com. This selection has been noted to get a slightly favourable response from search engines. Using hyphens in domain names is gaining a lot of popularity due to the fact they are still available in the .com extension. It is also a lot easier to read long domain names with hyphens then without on printed matter and in marketing letters and promotions. Mind you slightly tougher to convey this over the phone or on a radio advertisement.
The third option is to use your actual company, team, organization, hobby name as your domain name (www.rogersfoodstore.com), of course as long the name has not already been taken. In case it has, then use one of the options from above to come up with a domain name you like.
All the options mentioned above reflect the relationship between what you sell or do to your domain name. Then there are cases where domain names do not reflect the nature of the business or service at all. They have either registered their business name as their domain name or have tried to come up with some cool name. That works well with companies that have money to promote their products or are already popular (eg: Nike, Amazon etc), even these companies when promoting new products will register a domain that includes the title of a new product line.
If you have come up with a good name, don't wait too long, it is advisable to register your selection as soon as you can. People around the world register thousands of domain names everyday, some for personal use, some for their clients and some for resell. Register your domains as soon as you are ready.
I recommend that you register your domain using up to at least three extension selections. The first one is the one you most prefer, so let say it is .com (not surprising), next I would recommend you register the same domain using the .net extension and the third under your own country TLD. This will protect your domains being registered by someone else using those extensions. You may very well wonder why you should not register your name under the other remaning TLD's, it is a good question. First we have to watch our money, secondly I believe that these three are the most common and popular extensions one should register under. Hey, if you want to go all out, then by all means go ahead. Domain name with your country extension is important to register as a local search could give you added advantage over your competition. This helps when users are looking for local products and services. Google provides users the options to search locally, within their own country and you stand a better chance to show up in a local search then someone from another country. So think about that.
Either way, once you decide on the name and extension you are pretty much set to register your domain and move forward to the next step of becoming part of the beautiful World of the Web. It is also recommended that as a small business or an individual you should register the domain yourself rather then have say a friend or web master do it under his/her name. Certainly take help from them, or call the support staff at the site where you decide to register, they will be most helpful. Reason being; you want total control over your domain, hosting, website and other internet related issues. Many let others do all the work of registering etc, and then later cannot locate the person who set it all up for them or they have lost all relevant information. If someone other then yourself register a domain for you, ensure that you record all the required information of where it was registered, any passwords, logon information and other pertinent details.
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