by Aaron Kirk

Created on: May 04, 2008

Your domain name will be your business's address on the internet, so it is very important to choose one that will serve you well.

Tip 1:

Try to choose a domain name that gives people at least a hint of who you are and what it is that your business offers. That way people looking for your particular product or service will be clued in by your name.

Tip 2:

You need to get your own unique domain name. Do not get a domain name from a web hosting company that includes their name in the website address before or after yours. Such as: YourWebHost.com/YourDomainName or www.YourWebsite.YourWebHost.com. With your own domain name your web host can't hold you hostage and you don't have to worry if you change web hosts. You can still keep the same exact domain name. That way your customers will still be able to find you without problems.

Tip 3:

Keep your domain name short and memorable. It should be catchy and easy to spell and remember. You want people to be able to remember your name easily when they sit down at their computers later after seeing your web address somewhere such as in an ad.

Tip 4:

You can improve your search engine rankings by including keywords that describe your business in your domain name. This is an easy way to be a step ahead of the competition, although it's getting harder to accomplish these days with the number of websites out there. Some good tools to use to help select a domain name are: DomainTools, Wordtracker and Nameboy's Gen.

Tip 5:

Always register a .com name first if possible. People always think of .com first and most browsers insert .com as the default when the extension is not entered. You'll be losing potential customers if you don't.

Tip 6:

Register other top level domains such as .net and .org if you can afford to do so. This will protect you from people trying to steal your traffic and a few people actually will type in .net and .org.

Choosing an effective domain name is a very important fist step in getting your online business off on the right track. Take this step very seriously and do your research and you will be greatly rewarded.

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