How to Choose and Register a Domain Name -- 8 Smart Tips

Got a business? Or just want to connect with the world? Get a web domain name! This article will show you how to choose and register a web domain (it's EASY), and what the costs are (PUNY). Let's start with what makes a good name.

SELECTING A DOMAIN NAME

An ideal domain is one that's relevant to the business, short, memorable, easy to pronounce and spell, and is "speakable."

1) Use relevant keywords. If your business is about gardening, then "gardening" should be in your domain. This is the keyword people are looking for. Or use "garden," "gardener," or other variations.

Suppose your name is Jane and you prepare and deliver custom-made meals. "MealsByJane.com" would be ideal. It's relevant, short, easy to spell and pronounce, and looks good in print (at this time, no one has registered it, but someone will probably read this and register it just for kicks -- you're about to see how simple the registration process is).

Of course there are famous domains which give you no clue as to what they're about, such as Yahoo, Google, and Amazon. They're well-known and highly promoted, so they've become institutions. The names are unique and stand out from the crowd. But if you're just starting out, keywording is usually best.

2) Short is good. Short names are easier to remember, faster to type and work well for non-web advertising (billboards, t-shirts, newspapers). Note that of the current ten most-visited websites in the world, only one has more than 7 letters (#7-microsoft), and four have 4 letters or less (#3msn, #4live, #6aol, #10ebay. The others are #1google, #2yahoo, #5youtube, #8myspace, #9google.co.uk).

3) If possible, make it memorable. People have many concerns on their minds, and your domain is NOT at the top of their list. If there's any way to add catchy zing to your domain without losing the main point, that's great.

4) Make it "speakable". If you were to announce your domain name on the radio or over the phone, what would happen? Close your eyes while reading this out loud: "Visit our site at Two-Good-Ways.com!"

Some listeners wouldn't know whether to type "too," "two" or "2." You'd also have to pause and say, "dash" or "hyphen." Some might wonder if you meant "ways" or "weighs."

So avoid sound-alike homonym words, as well as written or digital numbers (unless it adds real value to the domain). Hyphens can mean trouble: if people forget to type the hyphens, you'll send them straight to a competitor's site which has no hyphens.

Get Low-Priced Domain Registration and FREE Privacy Protection

5) Make it easy to pronounce and spell. This is related to item #4. People are less inclined to think about words which are hard to say. And if they have difficulty spelling your domain name, they may never arrive at your site. If your domain must contain something difficult to spell (i.e., your personal name), register the likely misspelled variations as well.

6) Dot-com (".com") is king of extensions. There are others such as ".net," but it's hard to go wrong with ".com". Dot-com has become synonymous with the internet. It's a cultural cliche. "The dot-com industry." "Have you gone dot-com, or are you staying brick-and-mortar?"

If someone already owns the dot-com you want and you choose a different extension (.net, .biz, etc.), some customers will forget and type in ".com" and go straight to the competition. Not only that, but if your name ends with anything other than .com, people may also visit the .com version just to compare the two sites. Consider a different name, still using the ".com" extension. Although there are non-.com sites that do very well, dot-com is tops.

7) Consider an add-on. Let's say you and your competitors are selling gazooples, and "Gazooples.com" is taken. You might try "MyGazoople.com" or "GazooplesGalore.com." Other add-ons include "Best..." and "Get..."

8) Think marketing. Think the way your customers think. Know what appeals to them. Smart choices might be "DiscountGazooples.com" or "EasyGazooples.com".

Note: for outdoor advertising, go caps-and-lowercase: "YourProductOrService.com" is easier to read at 45mph than "www.yourproductorservice.com", even though that's the craze -- and rarely do you need the "www" to let them know they're about to read a domain name. See the pictures at right.

Remember, the qualities touted in these 8 tips are relative. For example, "MEmtg.com" and "VAmtg.com" are non-pronounceable, but savvy mortgage brokers in Maine or Virginia could attract dozens -- or hundreds -- of new customers by displaying domains like these (see picture example) which "redirect" to their main site. If prospects see a short, memorable name for just half a second, they may end up a customer. More about "redirects" further below.

REGISTERING YOUR DOMAIN

It's easy to do:
1) You go to a registrar (a company which registers a domain on your behalf). This link takes you to my own favorite, due to their low registration prices and at the time of this writing, FREE domain privacy (more about privacy below). Others may offer cheaper registration, but it might be for "first year only," AND you could end up paying more overall should you choose to buy yearly privacy protection.
2) Use their search box to find a name that's not taken
3) Accept or decline any upgrades or special offers
4) Read and accept the Terms & Conditions
5) When prompted, type in your name, address, and other details, then
6) Proceed to the checkout
7) Have them "host" your site, if you choose to keep everything under one roof. Hosting is the use of their computer to serve up your website to the whole world. And of course, they offer help on how to transfer your files to them over the web.

Unless it's a package deal, you are not required to host with the same company that registers your domain. But registrars do offer great deals on hosting -- it's a very competitive business!

After you've registered your domain, you must renew it each year. The registrar above offers credit card auto-renewal, so you don't lose your domain.

DOMAIN PRIVACY = BETTER SECURITY: If you value privacy (in the age of identity theft, who doesn't?), consider "WhoIsGuard" or "private registration." This yearly service, ranging from $5 to $10, prevents your personal information from showing up on the global "WhoIs" registry for identity thieves and spammers to exploit.

Within a day of registering your domain, you should be able to put your site online. Build your site on your computer, then transfer the files via web to the company doing the hosting (they'll show you how). OR if you're just starting out, use the registrar's online site builder. You have less control and flexibility, but it's a snap and gets you going IMMEDIATELY.

COST of Domain Registration

There is no universal domain registration price. It can range from under $10 to over $30, depending on the registrar and the extension (exotic extensions such as ".tv" charge a premium). Shop and compare.

Got an unused domain?

Suppose you register a general-interest domain, but haven't developed a website yet. You can park them (see "parking," below) while they are idle, develop a few into full-blown money-making sites, or use them as "re-directs" to a pre-existing site (when you type in a web address and another website shows up, that's a re-direct).

Parking services deliver a screen of sponsored, relevant ads when a surfer types in your domain name. If a visitor clicks to visit a sponsor, you get a share of the money. Most parking services are free to the domain owner.

You pick a parking service, go to your domain registrar's control panel and direct each domain to the service provider's "nameservers" (your registrar's user control panel should provide this slot; the parking provider will furnish the info to type in -- don't worry, it's easy), set up your domains at the parking service (setup includes choosing "keywords" or "key phrases" that will interest your visitors [example: "tents" for a camping-related domain]) - then sit back. How much you earn depends on your domain name and the categories you select.

One of the best parking services is NameDrive. Here you can start with just one domain. The pages look great, you have huge selection of graphics, and a choice of one keyword or keyphrase. The statistics (how many visitors, how much money you've earned) are complete and easy to use.

CONCLUSION

So there's your starter guide to domains, the vital heart of the internet. Not only can a good domain help a business make money -- even the domains themselves can make money. We'll see you on the internet. Enjoy the ride!