An Effective Domain Name

© Illa Maden  November 2006

Your  domain name should be unique and set you apart from other websites

Your domain name will serve as the address where your particular website may be found on the internet. Your domain name is much like your physical home address;  

Domain name Tips

1. Domain name should be as short as possible

2. Domain name should target website topic

3. Buy domain name for more than one year

4.  Make your domain name a dot com

5. Protect your domain name-be aware of renewal date

Effective domain name-keywords

Domain name selection isn't difficult, but it should be given some serious thought. Think first about what you are going to be marketing. It is best if your domain name relates to what you are marketing.

If you have done any amount of keyword research, you know how important keywords can be. It only makes sense then, to work some keywords into your domain name.

For instance, if your website is going to be about bass fishing and you are going to sell either your own products or affiliate products that relate to bass fishing, then it's a good idea to work bass fishing into your domain name.

Some odd domain names relating to nothing in particular have proved successful. Google, EBay, Yahoo are some examples. However, this is rare. A domain name related to what you are selling has many benefits when you promote your website. The domain name of this website is a very poor example of a domain name.(It's a long boring story) Having it to do over, another name would be selected. Something with home-based-business would have been a better choice.

A dot com costs little more than a . biz or a . net and is worth the price. When you think of a memorable url don't you first think dot com? Suppose you choose a memorable domain name with a . net or.biz, and a potential customer remembers everything and automatically adds dot com and goes to a competitors website. What have you saved then?

There are theories about some benefit getting into search engines and directories being found in adding numbers in front of your domain name. This was true in the past, but there seems to be no truth in that anymore, but it is something that could be tested if you want.

The other reason for adding a number might be availability. You'll find that many of the domain names you want are already taken. Sometimes adding a number will change the name, and that may prove to be available.

There is also a current theory held by many successful marketers and SEO experts that purchasing a domain name for more than one year will help your website in the search engines, that your website will be viewed as a serious business as opposed to a fly by night operation. There does seem to be some real basis for this theory.

Use notepad and make a list of possible domain names you like. Make different versions and wordings, and add hyphens to some. If you have a domain name you really want, and it is taken, adding hyphens between words may make a similar domain name that is available. In some instances adding hyphens also makes your domain name more readable.

Go to APlus where you can get a domain name for less than nine dollars a year and check your preferred names for availability. Once you have purchased a domain name, protect it. Keep a record of where it is registered, what credit card you used to purchase it and the expiration date of both the domain name and the credit card. You don't want to lose a domain name because you fail to renew it.

Tip: If you use a credit card and have your domain name set up for automatic renewal, know when your credit card renews. If your credit card renews before you are due for a domain name renewal you need to go to the registrar and update your credit card information with your new expiration date, or your domain name will not be renewed. If you've worked hard to promote a website, you don't want to risk losing your domain name.

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