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Domain Name - How To Pick One


Picking a domain name should be easy, right? Why, I'll just use my business name. Not so fast, Sparky. A good bit of thought should be given to selecting a domain name.

A Cautionary Note

Picking a domain name is like getting married. You are going to have to stick with it till the bitter end. People that use your site will come to know it by the domain name. Repeat visitors will often simply type in the domain name to get to the site, better known as "type in traffic". As an example, do you search for "Amazon" when you want to buy a book or do simply type in amazon.com? If Amazon were to change its domain name to Desert, there would be a lot of confusion. The same goes with your domain. Once you pick something, stick with it.

Your Choices

Well, the obvious choice is your business name, but it may not be the best. There are four significant issues to consider.

First, is there something about your business name that makes using it as a domain an unwise choice? This situation typically arises if you have a long business name or have plural words. "Halstatt's Rip'n Marketing Campaigns, Inc." is going to be a horrible domain name. Clients are going to find it difficult to type in such a domain name.

Double letter problems are a second issue that is entirely unique to the Internet. What if Sams Salon wants to use its business name as a domain? The "s" at the end of first word and beginning of the second can cause confusion. Is the domain name Samssalon.com or Samsalon.com? Confusing your users is a bad way to run a site.

The third issue concerns the nature of your site and search engine optimization. If you are shooting for a particular keyword phrase, you may be better off using that keyword phrase in your domain name. Google, for instance, looks at the domain name when evaluating a site. If the words in your domain name are spaced with dashes, many believe it will help in the ranking process. This is why you see so many xxx-xxxx-xxx.com domain names on the net. If your business focuses on a very specific area, strong consideration should be given to using relevant keywords in your domain name.

Finally, your domain name should end in ".com" and I don't want to hear any argument or see any rolling of the eyes. The simple fact is that when people think of sites, they always type in .com. Yes, there are other extensions and .us, .net, .biz, etc., may seem unique, but it kills your traffic. Pavlov and his dog experiments had it right. People have been mentally conditioned to type in .com, so don't select any other ending. If you do, a smart competitor will register the .com version of your name to get some free traffic. If you are really lucky, a porn site will do it!

Take a breath before you select a domain name. Like a spouse, it can be either a good or bad choice.

Halstatt Pires is with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing and advertising company comprised of a search engine optimization specialist providing meta tag optimization services and Internet marketing consultant providing internet marketing solutions through integrated design and programming services.


MORE RESOURCES:

IHG Fought to Control Domain Names But Parks Two of Their Own Generics
Elliot's Blog (blog)
A while back, I wrote about Intercontinental Hotel Group's massive UDRP filing for 1529 domain names that they believe infringed on some of their hotel ...

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CBC.ca

Research In Motion Purchases BlackPad.com Domain Name
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You see, Waterloo, Ontario-based Research In Motion has purchased the BlackPad.com domain name for an unknown amount of money. This, of course, is leading ...
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TheHostingNews.com (press release)

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Missed out on a great .com domain name? Well, maybe you can still get the .co variety. Registry operator of .co domains, .CO Internet SAS, today announced ...
.CO Top-Level Domain Names Officially Available TodayErictric
.CO Domain Names Now Available to the PublicPR Newswire (press release)
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Domain game replayed
Washington Business Journal
“They didn't do their homework,” said William Schippert, a Michigan accountant who snatched up washingtonnationals.co and domain names for several other ...

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Baidu Lawsuit Could Set Registrar Precedent
Internet Evolution
As the title of one industry newsletter blog puts it: “Companies Have a Fiduciary Responsibility to Lock down Domain Names.” The article suggests domain ...

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Domain Name Web Hosting – What You Need To Know
Intac (blog)
When domain name web hosting is mentioned, a couple of things come to mind. First, a place to host your new site, and second, it can be a place to park your ...

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Use of mark in domain name for car brokers held to be nominative fair use
World Trademark Review (subscription)
Rather, as with most trademark disputes, the question is whether the unauthorised use of the trademark in the domain name gives rise to a likelihood of ...




MarketWatch

Meg Whitman submits her resume to California voters
MarketWatch
In a lawsuit Whitman filed against the domain-name owner in late 2008, she sought to make clear: "Meg Whitman is an Internet pioneer and businessperson ...

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Lead Generation Domain Names Lead Quality Prospects Right To Your Doorstep
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Use keyword rich domain names related to your business products or services to attract qualified prospects while you sleep. ...


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