2) The key factor as to whether you have much flexibility is whether you have an existing business or are starting a new one, a web version of your business, or a new web business. Seriously analyze and study strategy and understand the web is different than regular business, with growing competition. See Checklist starting a new website.
3) Before you get excited about a name, do a lot of searches on Google and Yahoo and other search sites to see what names exist that are similar in your business line or even not in your business area. Take notes and get ideas for names and ideas to tweak your focus and differentiation.
4) Most people think the domain name should match the main business name, but that is not necessarily true. Several options exist and the goals may not be to read just like the company name. Not many people remember not very popular names, and most people don't look for a business or product by the company name, unless it is a major or known area brand. More often the product or service type is what is searched. Some choices are to have the company initials, or a domain name each for a few major products, with the name spelled like the product or brand. If your brand or company is not well known, a product or service type in the name is usually good, or a catchy oddball name that can be turned into a brand. But test such names on people who are not your friends, who will be honest. The reactions will usually surprise you.
5) Another option is to identify your prime customers within the name, or try a complimentary name flattering them, like "betterbuyers" or similar, or consider something that implies expertise or specialization or superiority. Think hard about the opportunity to establish a brand while choosing a domain name to register. If you want to do that too, you should research the brands or trade names you are considering. For that, also search the Trademark office of the US or what area or state you are in, such as DBA's, or your state's "secretary of state" office.
6) At this stage, write down many names and alternative formats. Try not to depend on capitalization of the first letter much. What is your purpose? To be memorable? Or to be cute or clever? Or to be very simple and short? Simple and direct or short is often good. People can not read a longruntogetherdomainname. See?
7) When you have a lot of good names, it is time to sit down and get online with a domain registration company (See Top Domain Registration Companies - Registrars) and try out their domain name search function. That will bring up all the names that are exactly like your choice. The issue will then be whether the .com and .net (if for profit) are taken, or whether you will have to settle for .us (United States) or country code extension.
8) To understand the meaning and purposes of such domain name suffixes, go study at Wikipedia which has various pages explaining the naming standards. The big issue is whether you are profit or non-profit. The options have expanded, and there is not quite the same stigma to not being a .com or .net that there once was back around the year 2000. In the big scheme of things, that is not likely to be a big factor in your web success. It would be preferable to "lock up" a series of the same name, including all the profit or non-profit categories. This can get expensive. The permutations are many if you try to do this on many optional names.
9) If you really like a name someone owns, and they have no website, and you see it has been registered for a while, maybe 3 or 4 years, consider contacting such person to see if they will sell it. Domain names vary a lot in price and are what the market will bear. Probably $300 to $50,000 would be most of the range and around $500 to $3000 would likely buy a large proportion except major names. There are also name brokers.
10) A key part of your business strategy has to be your budget and whether you can afford mostly paid promotion or rely on free "organic" search engine placement, which is hard to do and does not work unless you work constantly at it for thousands of hours. unless you are in a very tiny niche of unusual product with almost no competition (the ideal business). Go over your goals, your business strategy and your web strategies with your web designer in consultation with their web business consulting arm to review your goals and make suggestions for more improvements to save you money and be more competitive in the long run. They can tell you how to save money on PPC and how to use alternate hooks to more strongly draw prospects. These may require alternate domain names, if you get ambitious, to compete organically.
11) Give a last consideration of using the main search keywords as the domain name, regardless of the company or product name or brand. That is especially important for a company depending on organic placement to rank high. studies and how to information. Avoid sending prospects to other sites.
12) Keep in mind there are wide ranges in costs for registration, some quite expensive, like Network Solutions who does not appear to give any better service, if as good, as many less expensive registration companies. Try to use a top-tier top-rated domain name registration company, because many are "re-sellers" and many are unresponsive or their website may not function correctly. There may even be issues about someone watching or cherry- picking good names that you pass over. The reliability and permanence of the registrar is important, so review the top domain registration companies carefully. This is a many years relationship, so think about that. It is possible to move the registration, but it's a hassle. We suggest mainly looking that they have been in business more than a year, and charge a mid to mid-low price adequate to keep them in business.
13) So, like any shopping and anything worthwhile, do your homework, work hard, then shop hard and hopefully your creativity and work will pay off, if you do all the other things necessary for "web success".
14) Do not be concerned about having a domain registrar who is not a hosting company. We believe it is wise to keep the two separate and be able to easily move a website by also choosing a good hosting company, which is your next step. That includes finding a good web designer and webmaster to help you understand issues. They can help you choose a better hosting company with which they prefer to work, and also to perhaps help you find a good template which might save you a bit or give you a more attractive and maintainable site. Do not only look at the top hosting company ratings, but also at details of issues about which to be aware regarding hosting companies. This is also a good time to really study proper web site design tips and factors for web business success.
Good Luck
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