Domain Name

Choosing a domain name can be a simple process if you follow a few basic steps,

Define your goal.
What do I want to accomplish with the website you are planning on choosing a domain name for? If your main focus is to get as many visitors to your site as possible via online searches, then you may want to choose a domain name composed of keywords related to your website content.

If your goal is to be remembered by a 'catchy' name offline (example: Yahoo!, Google, eBay), then choose that name but remember that you will have to work harder for search engine ranking because of the un-categorical domain name.

If you are indifferent to who ends up on your website & lacks any need to promote business or product, then choosing a domain name is simple because you can choose any domain name that suits your fancy and persona. By defining your website goal, then makes the decision on choosing a domain name much more manageable.

Determine your audience.
Do a market research and determine who are you trying to attract to your website? Name your site after those you want to find your site. People who are looking for a group to associate with online or a resource related to their demographic have a higher chance of finding your site if that demographic is found within your domain name. Based on your website content, choose a name that is related to who your audience is.

Be visitor friendly.
People in general have short term memories, therefore, the easier you make it for them to remember your domain, the greater the likelihood that you can attract them to your website. By choosing a shorter domain name, you increase the visitor's ability to retain your website's name.

You can also make your domain name visitor friendly by choosing one that is clearly related to the item that you are selling on your site. For example, if your service is selling domain names, then you may want to have anything that is related to selling domain name (ex. Domain-Names4Less, DomainName, NavlysDomain, etc.) within your domain name rather than just solely YOURNAME.com. People are more inclined to remember the product or service rather than a plain name of the website owner.

When strategically used, hyphens & numbers can allow you to get that desired domain name when the preferred version may already be registered. Although the domain DomainNames4Less is already taken, by inserting a hyphen before 'domain' a domain seeker can secure the available name Domain-Names4Less.com to take advantage of the KEYWORD richness.

Adding hyphens also make it easier for search engine spiders to read your name, thus, aids to optimizing your ranking.

Match your domain with your company name.
You'll be promoting your company and website simultaneously if they are one in the same name. The matching names saves you time when you begin promoting your business or product because you can embed your item and site into everyone's minds as you speak to them in one stroke.

However, don't fret if you've already established your business name and your desired domain name is no longer available. Be creative; it may be more advantageous to choose a domain name that generically describes your inventory. Incorporating items that the company sells in the domain name may prove to better boost your site's search engine ranking. One example is the company, Image Works that specializes in stock photography; they've skillfully named their website www.StockPhotos.com to highlight their specialty.

Choose the level of domain specific to your purpose.
Top level domains like .com, .net, and .org are more recognizable, however, if you’re desired name is already taken, you can still have the opportunity to get that name by choosing another domain extension. If your business is primarily in the U.S.A., it would make sense to obtain a domain with the extensions .us or .us.com. The extension .bz may also be applicable to any business seeking a domain name. Although the other extensions are not as widely known as the top level domains, they can still give you the opportunity to capitalize on your desired domain name and obtain it.

If your ultimate goal is to be noticed on the Internet, then your best bet in choosing a domain name is finding one that is succinct, filled with keywords that relate to your business or your overall website content & is tailored to target your specific audience.

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