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5 Things You Must Consider Before Choosing A Domain Name

Just like any business, a web site needs a way to identify and separate itself from its competition. To do this you will need to choose a domain name. The function of a domain name is to tell and remind people about specific web sites on the Internet. It’s usually a word or phrase that brings to mind a person, business, service or product.

An often misunderstood step in doing business on the Internet is choosing the right domain name. A poorly chosen domain can cost you lots of money in missed sales.


Here are 5 things you must know before choosing a domain name:

1.  Determine if you going try and register a domain name that's the same as your current business or book title

or

choose an available domain name and name the business, book or product after it.

You may run into trouble if your existing business name has already been registered. If the domain name you want is taken
and has a web site, it's very unlikely the owner of the domain name will want to part with it.

If the domain is owned but there is no web site, you can try to contact the owner by checking http://www.whois.sc/ . Expect to
pay a higher price if the owner decides to sell the domain. It'll be cheaper to just come up with a new one.

2.  There are very few good, short, and easy to remember domain namesleft. The maximum amount of characters you can use in a
domain name is 67. If the domain name you want is not available and you don’t have the time or resources to promote an
unfamiliar one then consider using two or three popular keywords as a domain name.

The benefit of using keywords in your domain name is three-fold:

I. You’re creating a domain name out of keywords that people are already using to look for stuff or find answers.

II.The use of keywords in your domain names boost its relevancy when being ranked by some search engines. Your completed
web site will be listed a little higher in the search engines (once it gets listed) if it contains keywords that are searched for often. The phrase "making money" is a very popular search term. That's why I named my web site moneymakingmemo.com.

III.You can create a domain name that's easy to remember and promote.

Visit http://searchenginewatch.com/facts/article.php/2156041 to get a great list of places you can go to find keywords
that are used often.

3. Consider using hyphens. A technique once thought to be taboo is now a preference. When using hyphens in a keyword rich domain
name, some search engines will recognize it as a keyword phrase and give it a boost in relevancy.

Before Internet users became savvy it was difficult to refer someone to a web site verbally if the domain name used hyphens.
Now if your domain name was make-more-money.com you would say "makemoremoney.com with hyphens."

If you're not sure if you want to use hyphens or not then get both versions. You can point them both to your web site and you
will be found either way.

4. Stick with the top level domain (TLD) .com - TLD refers to the extension behind a domain name like .net, .org, .gov etc.
Dot com is the most recognized TLD and is still the favorite of the Internet Marketers. I would stick with it until the trend
changes.

If you’re planning on starting a noncommercial organization then consider using .org

5. Minimize any confusion!

Stay away from numbers since they can appear in 2 forms. Example: 1greatauction.com / onegreatauction.com

Avoid using domains that contain, '4' instead of 'for', 'u' instead of 'you' or '2' instead of ‘to'

Example: answersforu.com / website4free.com

Using "my", "the", and plurals puts a lot of pressure and extra work on you to promote your site compared to sites that don’t
use them.

Examples:

mymoneymakingclub.com
themoneymakingclub.com
moneymakingclubs.com

Remember you want a domain name that is easy to remember and describes what the user can expect to see when they go to your
web site.

While you’re in the market looking for domain names for the product or businesses you’re trying to promote, consider
registering your full name as a domain name. This way when you’re ready, you can create a web site that links all of your
businesses and projects together. You can have your travel and event schedule posted on the site and product previews. It’s a
great way to brand you. Take a look at Oprah.com, SuzeOrman.com, and AnthonyRobbins.com.

Note: If your name is not available try getting it with the middle initial, or just the first name.


Let me recap what you must know when choosing a domain name.

Determine if:
the domain name will be the same as an existing business, product or book title or will the business or product will be named after the chosen domain name.

Use keywords related to your business or product to create the domain name.

Use hyphens to give your web site a boost in the search engines.

Only use the TLD .com

Minimize any confusion! - Avoid using domains that contain:
numbers
'4' instead of 'for', 'u' instead of 'you' or '2' instead of
‘to' or "my", "the", and plurals.

Although the price of registering domain names has gone down don’t become addicted to getting domain names based solely on
their future potential. It can become very expensive renewing them every year if they’re not used on web sites that create a
profit.

If you’re on a budget make sure to select the best domain name possible. I recommend www.yourdomainsolutions.com to register
your domain names. Their prices are very affordable and you’ll get extra features like URL forwarding & e-mail forwarding for
domain names that are not used for web sites.

This is a very important part of doing business on the web. Follow the advice above and you’ll have a "Good as Gold"
domain name.

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Darrell Boyce is the publisher of the Money Making Memo, a free
membership weblog that teaches how to create a profitable
web site. The site offers free downloads, articles, and
resources for its members.
To become a member visit ==> http://www.moneymakingmemo.com
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