Advice on Choosing a Domain Name

The choice of a domain name is one of the most important decisions you can make with your new web site. Particularly if you are starting a web-based business, there is nothing more important than getting traffic to your web site. Research shows there are ways to choose a domain name that can help bring traffic to your web site, as well as choices that can hurt your fledgling business.

Domain Name - Dot Com or Not?

One very important consideration as you set out to choose a domain name is what extension is best for your web site. Experts universally agree that .com is the most widely used and recognized extension and would make an excellent choice. After all, about 70 percent of all web sites have a .com extension. However, the domain name is more important than which extension to choose, experts say. So if you come up with a great idea for a domain name, but find out it is already taken, it's generally better to consider purchasing the domain name with a .net or .org extension - or perhaps others.

What to Consider When Choosing a Domain Name

• Shorter is better. Research shows that shorter domain names are easier to remember. Think about how you might construct a search on a particular business topic. Most searches are a few words at most. Part of the goal with a domain name is to come up with something that will match an Internet search for people interest in whatever products or services you offer.
• Personal names. Personal names are great choices for web sites because anyone who knows you knows your name. The use of personal names can be coupled with the business purpose to tie your name and what you do together. Experts say lawyers, accountants and writers, among other professionals who largely have a single person operation, should consider using their own name as the domain name of the web site.
• Keywords, common phrases. Many people spend time using free online keyword tools looking for search phrases related to the business their web site will be promoting. It's a smart idea because you can try to take advantage of a phrase that already is generating thousands of individual searches a month.
• Protect your domain name. If you find that johndoeoilpaintings.com is available, that's a great domain name for an artist offering his work online for the public. Internet experts say it also makes sense to buy the variations of your domain name in other extensions. This stops potential competitors from doing the same in an effort to confuse the public and take away from your traffic.