How to Choose a Good Domain Name for Your Business

Choosing your domain name is an important decision that should not be taken too lightly. After all, it will be on the forefront of your web presence. Here we discuss some handy information to help you choose your new domain name.

Keywords or business name?

While having keywords in your domain such as "web design" can help your rankings, from a professional branding perspective, you would be best off using your company name. If you were looking for shoes, chances are you would not go to "shoes.com", but a brands name such as "nike.com".

Of course, if your company name is something like "John and Jake's Garden Services", you may want to steer away from using johnandjakesgardenservices.com for obvious reasons.

To Localize or Not?

If you have a country-specific domain such as .co.za or .co.uk, Google will more likely bring up your website for people searching within that country. With a .com, .net or other top-level domains, this is not an issue.

If you are a South African based business and are not aiming to target an international audience, the .CO.ZA domain should suffice. However, if you think that you may set your sight on an international audience at some point, I would highly recommend choosing a non-country specific domain such as.net.

With Google Webmaster tools, you can change the geo-targeting of your website for generic top-level domains - so even if you register a .com or .net, you don't have to miss out on location-specific searches. The hard part of course - is finding a .com or .net that is not yet registered.

Keep it Short, Simple and Readable

Your domain needs to be easy to remember, easy to type and easy to sound out. Avoid words that can be mistaken for other words and ensure that people don't have to pick up a dictionary or thesaurus to understand it.

A longer domain means more space for typing errors on potential visitors behalf. So keep it short.

Don't Hyphenate

Hyphens provide more space for error - people may forget where they go or completely forget to put them in. Hyphens also make saying the domain out loud a bit harder - especially if you have more than one.

On a more opinionated note - I believe hyphenated domains look "cheap" - as if the website owner was left with only the second choice. Avoid that appearance if at all possible.

Register It Now

Don't ponder for too long, someone may as well snatch up your domain. New domains are being registered constantly.

Finding a Short, Easy to Remember Domain Name - It's Possible!   Get Your Online Presence Started With An Effective Domain Name   In the Social Media Age, You Still Need Your Domain Name   Why Domain Age Matters   

The Domaining Home Business Model for Entrepreneurs

Domaining or domain investing was the very first business transaction the public internet created even if the first private registration was not intended for that reason. Today, entrepreneurs have embraced domaining as a legitimate home business opportunity taking part in the exchange of hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

What is it about this home business model that is so attractive to entrepreneurs?

First of all, investing in domains is open to nearly everyone and you can get started for under $20 a year. It has great flexibility and many factors that investors can control to improve their investments. The internet is growing at astonishing rates, more than double that of the world population growth.

So, the domaining market is; financially accessible, flexible, and massive in size. What else could an entrepreneur ask for in a home based business model? Domaining could be considered the king of opportunities.

The domaining home business model is structured as follows.

Buy a domain name Domains can be purchased from an authorized Registar from the unregistered pool, on the aftermarket where already registered domains are put up for sale, or purchased directly from the current owners. Bank It - Park It - Build ItOnce you have your domain(s) you have the choice of banking them and letting time do all the work waiting to sell for a suitable return. Or, park your domain(s) usually with some form of monetization on them usually in the form of simple advertising in the hopes of generating some revenue as you wait for a suitable time to sell. Or, you can build a website on the property with the intention of creating a revenue stream as well as increasing the end value of your domaining investment.

After registering your domain(s) and picking a path of banking, parking, or building, you have even more options. You can sit back, invest more, build more, market, improve the property, or seek out potential buyers or advertisers to increase your roi.

There are many opinions on what constitutes a good domain investment and countless variables people use to calculate the current and future potential value of domains. The truth is that in the end an investment is worth what someone is willing to pay for it but attracting a better price for the sale of a domain can be boiled down to:

Market/Industry the domain is in Is there a developed website Does the website produce a current revenue stream How much traffic does the domain get and how much of it is unique traffic Is the name brandable or contain valuable keywords Is the domain a.com Does the domain have age and credibility Is there room for improvements and growth Does the web address have directory listings and relevant backlinks pointing to it

And the list goes on and on. There are numerous ways to increase the value of a domain investment and the more an owner works with these variables or what I like to call Influencing Factors, the better chance he/she has of increasing the roi.

Recap

Register a domain or buy one on the aftermarket Bank it, Park it, or Build it. Pick an investment path and take the steps. Hands on or hands off, you can work the Influencing Factors or you can let time take over while you pursue other pleasures. As with all investing, when investing in domains there is always a risk of losing money, but unlike traditional investment markets, domaining has many Influencing Factors you can control to increase value and roi.

Happy Domaining!

Finding a Short, Easy to Remember Domain Name - It's Possible!   Get Your Online Presence Started With An Effective Domain Name   In the Social Media Age, You Still Need Your Domain Name   Why Domain Age Matters