Your domain name is not only your address on the Internet, but also your best asset. Understand how your domain name can bolster the success of your branding and marketing strategies. Your domain is your website’s calling card – it will be one of the first things people recognize and it will be with you for the life of your blog. The difference between a good domain and a poor domain can mean failure or success of your website. That is why it is so important to get it right the first time!
What makes a good domain?
A good domain is something that will be relatively short, easy to remember, and more importantly, easy to type. It should be phone tested, this means, try to say your domain to a friend on a phone and see if they get it right. E.g. 2by2.com, can be heard as tobyto.com or toobytoo.com , you see this type of domain will bring conflicts and you might end up losing your visitors for getting your domain wrong.
Branding is another factor to consider – popular sites such as Google and Twitter are made up words. If you do this well, you might be on to something. If not, you might find your domain in the poor domain names category.
What makes a poor domain?
A poor domain may be hard to remember, have complicated words or spellings, be confusing, and may use excessive numbers or dashes in the name. Be careful when using a made up word; while Google and Twitter were mentioned as good examples of made up words that succeeded as brands, there have been thousands of made up words that died a slow, lonely death from lack of visitors.
What are the differences of .com .net .org .etc?
In the hierarchy of the web, .com extensions are the most common and most favored, followed by .org, .net, other country codes (.co.uk, .ca, .fi etc.) then other extensions. Always try for the .com first, and then if it is not available, try for the .org, or .net. Try to avoid the .info extension, as many of these are used by spammy websites and infomarketers. Read here for details on the meaning of web domain extensions.
How to get your domain name?
I purchase my domains through my hosting company hostmonster.com because they are easy to use and usually among the cheapest options (but not always) also they are automatically attached to my account. GoDaddy and Register.com also provide som reasonable domain registration prices. Another option for registering domains is through your webshost, but many people prefer to keep their domains separate from their host. If you don’t mind having your domain and host in the same place, stand by for the next installment, in which I will discuss hostmonster.com, which offers a free domain with the purchase of a 1 year hosting package – that might save you a few bucks!
Brainstorm and try different options.
When you visit hostmonster.com or bluehost.com or other domain registration companies, you will see a box to input your desired domain name. After you submit the system will check your desired name against all registered domains. You may find your first choice is taken – if so, keep trying variations or other domains until you find what you are looking for. When you find your desired domain name, buy and attach to your hosting account…we discuss on next topic how to host a domain.
Next up – Hosting!
Now that you have your blog topic and domain, we will need to discuss hosting options. For most people a shared hosting package will be the best option. Stay with me!
