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Your domain hosting name is not something to be chosen lightly. Your domain hosting name is your front line in your branding campaign for your online business (or your offline business’s online presence). Careful consideration needs to go into choosing just the right domain hosting name to represent your business. The following are some key points to consider:

The Right Extension for the Right Site
Each type of site you want domain hosting for may serve a different market. Make sure the extension you use — .com, .net, .org, .biz, etc. — is the right extension for your market. If you are a business and there is no reason you cannot do it, get domain hosting for a .com. If you are a non-profit organization, consider .org. If you are building a personal website and are on a budget, consider .us or some of the other lesser-known extensions. When in doubt, however, go for .com. The part of a URL people most often first forget is the extension. And when they’re in doubt, .com’s what they type in: .biz and .net should only be considered if you’re completely attached to a particular domain hosting name and the .com variant isn’t available. But our best suggestion for that scenario is to vary the domain hosting name and get the .com extension.

The Shorter the Better
When picking domain hosting names for your website consider that people have to remember it to visit it. Not everyone is going to get to your website by clicking on a listing or an ad or a reciprocal link. Word of mouth leads increase when your domain hosting site’s name is short and sweet. And people make less spelling mistakes and typos when trying to type in your URL directly.

Stay Away from What Doesn’t Belong to You
Big companies with trademarked names seem like tempting targets for domain hosting names that generate loads of free (albeit unintentional) traffic. Heck, you could even sell the domain hosting name back to them for a hefty sum. More than likely, however, you’ll just get sued. And chances are, if you’re reading this article, they have better lawyers than you.

The More the Merrier
Admittedly this catchy tag line is a little misleading. Considering registering a group of domain hosting names in order to cover yourself for the inevitably of interested visitors typing in the wrong URL is an excellent idea. Try, if possible, to get the .com and .net variant of your domain hosting name, or a variant with hyphens as well as the one without (always go for without hyphens first). But don’t buy more than you can afford or more than you need. Once you own the domain hosting names, whatever they are and of whatever number, you still have to get people to visit them.

U R a *, but Your Domain Name Can’t Be
You can use neither symbols nor spaces in your domain hosting name (our apologies to “the artist formerly known as Prince”). And URLs are not case sensitive. So don’t waste your time.

Do it Now
Have you ever heard the concept that if you have an idea then at least one other someone else somewhere else in the world is having or has had the same idea? Well that’s certainly the case with domain hosting names, which is why you need to make all due haste in nabbing your ideal domain hosting name. Otherwise, you may wind up compromising with an alternate far inferior.

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I have been asked many times by new clients how to select a business domain name. I’ve answered some commonly asked questions to assist you with one of the most important purchases you will make for your online business.

1. Should Your Business Name Be Your Domain Name?
99.9% of the time, the answer to this question is Yes. We are living in the Internet age, and consumers are becoming savvier at purchasing goods and services online. When people think of your product (or service) they’ll connect it with your website, which makes repeated visits to your site easier for your customers.

What if the domain name is already taken? All is not lost. You have some options:
• Offer To Purchase - If you are connected with a brand name then you may want to pursue purchasing this name from its current owner. The domain contact information can be obtained in the form of a “Whois” lookup. Inquire as to whether they are open to selling the domain name, but be aware they’ll likely charge a higher fee for it than you would normally pay.
• Back Order - This is becoming a very popular trend. Domains can now be “back ordered”; meaning simply that when the current owner’s domain registration expires, should they not renew, the domain will become available for you to purchase. This may also carry a higher fee than a normal registration.
• Alternate Ideas - If your business is relatively new, it may be wise to consider alternative extensions. For example, mybusiness.com may not be available, but “mybusiness.net” or “mybussines.biz” might be. The Internet has exploded in the last year with alternate extensions and there are plenty to choose from.

2. Should My Domain Name Include Keywords?
This is an excellent idea! Consider for a moment that you are a candle maker whose business name is “Amy’s Jar Candles”. Your business name already uses “jar candles” as key product branding. Registering “amysjarcandles.com” is a terrific way to target your incoming audience which results in a better chance for sales. For example, chances are that anyone shopping for candles would have a general idea of what type of candle they need, such as a jar candle, or pillar candle. Buyers are far more likely to try out phrases like “jar candles” or “pillar candles” in the search engine rather than just “candles” because it will produce relevant results quicker. Having a domain name that matches your product or service branding is crucial because the easier it is to remember, the more likely it will be tried in a browser and/or search engines.

3. What Extension….com, .net, .org?
Domain names have been disappearing at a rapid rate and new extensions have been introduced to keep the pool of available names flowing. What if the “.com” extension for your domain name is not available? In this instance it’s likely that you can register the “.net” or “.org” (or other) variation of your business name. Which do you choose? Should you select a “.net” or “.org” extension, or consider a country specific alternative such as “.ru” or “.co.uk”?

Does your business cater to the local community? If so, then it might be wise to consider searching for a country specific domain extension for your area first. For example, .com is universally regarded as a US or international extension, while .co.uk refers to the United Kingdom. Should a UK buyer be looking for car parts in his neighborhood “mikescarparts.co.uk” is more likely to be a local websites than “mikescarparts.com”.

Businesses with an International audience can benefit from registering their name with the “.net” extension while “.org” can be useful for identifying a non-profit organization. Since the registration restrictions for “.org” have been removed however, this extension is open to anyone.

There are no rules on which extension to register, but should you decide to register a .com alternative, be very sure you market your company using the entire domain name. Most buyers assume a “.com” extension and without specific information may be unable to locate your site.

4. Long Domain Names…Good or Bad?
This is a topic on which you will find wide variation on opinions. Your domain name can be up to 67 characters in length, that’s a lot of space!

The argument for a longer domain name is mainly that it’s easier for the human mind to recall later. If your business name is “I Design and Host Websites” you probably wouldn’t want to register “idahw.com” with the hope that someone would associate this with your company, product or service by remembering what that stands for.

For example, “gacwh.com” is a sequence of unrelated letters that could be difficult to type correctly; whereas if it that is registered as “getacheapwebhost.com” it is more likely to be remembered. Long domain names also have the added advantage of having room for your keywords. For example, if you have a site listed on Google with a domain name like “jansartsupplies” it may do better in a search for “art supplies” than a name such as “mikesartstuff.com.”

The other side of this argument is that shorter names are easier to remember and type, and thus less prone to errors. For example, “websitedesign.com” is less susceptible to typos than “Icanbuildyourwebsiteaffordably.com”

The issue with shorter or more general names is that ones like “candles.com” and “tires.com” are generally not going to be available. If you Sdecide to register a short name, possibly your company’s acronym, be sure it’s a meaningful combination of characters that is easy to remember.
I would recommend finding a domain name which represents your products in the shortest and most meaningful way possible. Businesses with long names may need to shorten their domain name down to assist users with remembering and typing long names; shorter names are also easier to fit in the title bar.

5. Should I use Plurals and Hyphenations?
Domain registration engines will usually suggest an alternative if the name you are searching for is taken. Sometimes this will include adding a hyphen or even “my” or “the” to the name.

If you wanted the term “design.com” and it was taken, you may find yourself staring at alternatives such as “mydesign.com”, “thedesign.com” or even “designs.com”. Which should you choose?

My rule of thumb for my clients is not to register “designs.com” if they cannot also register “design.com” The reason is that many times buyers may forget to type the “s” at the end of the name and your sale may go to someone else. There are those who will argue that this theory works in reverse, but why take chances? If you decide to register a name as “my…” or “the…” remember to market using your entire domain name.

Hyphens are another popular way to successfully register your name when the non-hyphenated version is no longer available. An advantage is being able to get the name that you want; however, it’s my opinion that the disadvantages far outweigh this.

Hyphens are easy to forget. Users are comfortable with typing phrases like “jarcandles.com” but may have trouble remembering to include a hyphen if you registered “jar-candles.com”. This may result in a sale for your competitor and translates to lost sales for you.

Hyphens are also an issue with verbal recommendations. Consider a verbal recommendation for a store named “anas-jar-candles.com.” This may translate at some point to: “Wow, I visited Ana’s Jar Candles dot com today and saw some really neat stuff.” Later, you would probably type “anasjarcandles.com” into your browser hoping to visit. Ouch.

Prior to purchasing your domain name it’s important to carefully consider your business community, target market, and keywords. Just ten minutes spent jotting down ideas can mean the world of difference when it comes to success with your online business.

About the Author
Krista Garren is a website design consultant and webmaster who specializes in partnering with clients with building effective websites. Visit her website at http://www.atsirka.com for more details.