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.

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How to Register For a Web Address

You're ready to make your debut online - congratulations! Your first step is to register a web address. It's quite simple once you understand how to do it but can be complicating if you have never done it before. No need to worry though, you can follow these step-by-step instructions to register your web address today.

Step #1: Choose a Domain Name Registration Website

The first thing you need to do is choose one of the many domain name registration sites. Don't choose the first one you find because each site has its own pricing. Shop around to find the site that has the lowest annual fee for domain registration.

Step #2: Check for Domain Name Availability

Once you find the domain name registration website you want to use, you will need to check to make sure the web address you want is available. You may have to try several variations of the address you want, since there are so many domain names already taken.

Step #3: Add It to Your Shopping Cart

Once you find an available domain name you would like to claim your name to, you are ready to start the check out process. Simply click on the 'add to cart' symbol and it will be waiting for you to purchase.

Step #4: Pay for Your Web Address

Proceed to the checkout area of the domain name registration website. Once you are there, review your domain name to make sure it is the one you want. Also, check for other services or products thrown in you do not want. If there is, simply delete them from your cart.

Step #5: Check for Promotional Codes

Before you type in your credit card number or PayPal information, try to find a promotional code for a discount on your annual fee. Search for the website you are using with the phrase 'online coupons' after it. You should then be able to browse some websites with online coupons available. If you find one, copy the code and paste it in the promotional code section of the checkout area of the site you are registering your domain name on.

Step #6: Confirm Total

After placing your promotional code in its section and click on 'apply' you should see the discount appear in your total amount due. Confirm that all is correct and then proceed to payment.

Step #7: Pay for the Web Address

Enter in your payment information as instructed on the website. Once you have entered it in, you should see a confirmation page.

Your New Web Home

Once you see the confirmation page, you are a proud owner of a web address. You are free to go on to securing a host for your web address and then build your website.

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How Does a Domain Name Generator Work

If any of you have experienced using the coolest computer program on the Internet then there is no doubt you know about the domain name generator. The domain name generator is the most famous, most original and creative tool that is used to come up with exciting and innovative names for your websites, businesses, brands, and Internet domains. This powerful tool is the new age program that provides people with extraordinarily amazing names that they can use to promote their items. It's a simple cycle actually and the whole process is complete before you say the word "go".

The issue arises when an individual, say person A wants to name something. It could be anything for example he has started a new business or has opened a new store, he has a website that needs naming or he has a new product. Whatever he/she wants to name is the desired object. This desired object will have some way of describing it. The best word that is used to describe the desired object is therefore the keyword. This keyword is then put into the domain name generator which will instantly add and edit prefixes and suffixes on to your keyword. When your keyword has been edited you will receive a list of all the unique names that you can use.

Of course there are a few little tweaks that you should consider. How many letters should the prefix or suffix contain? What type it should be i.e. adjective, noun and/verb. Other domain name generators may have many other options which can range from the type of extension you would like your domain name to have, the type of blending your title should have. Most experienced domain name generators also have categories with which the name can associate to. As you can see, options are endless and so are the possibilities of you getting your very own name which is not only unique and also exclusive to you and your desired object.

This cycle is so easy to produce and it also involves no effort from you whatsoever. All you have to do is think of one work that can describe your object and wait and see the magic that will unfold. The domain name generator is a remarkable way to get your name in a fast and effective manner. What are you waiting for try it out and see what innovative names are chosen for you.

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   

Expired Domain Names Are Valuable

Thousands of domain names expire, each and every day, due to either their owners forgetting to renew them or the owners inability to pay for the renewal. These become available again.This is excellent because good names are becoming hard to find.

There are over 30 million.com, .org, and.net registered domains. As you see most of the good domain names are taken. Although more are being registered, there are large numbers of domains being allowed to expire. Approximately 1.5 million domain names have expired over the last couple of years. These lists are growing at a rapid pace and the market for expired domains is massive. They can increase your cash flow, often with little work needed.

They come with the benefits of existing traffic and directory listings. By purchasing these, you are also purchasing their benefits. Some expired domain names can be valued from $135 up to $450.

First of all,there are important elements that you can use in determining the value of an expired domain name:

How much traffic do they have?

How valuable is this traffic?

How much value does the it have?

Does it have the keywords that you need for a job that you are working on?

How old is it? Age Search engines elevate older domains in their rankings.

Acquiring an expired domain is akin to getting a treasure chest full of gold coins for.nothing

With thousands of these names expiring daily and thousands being grabbed up every day, the good expired domain names are hard to find as well. Good ones are considered those with high traffic and high resell value. These are the ones you want to buy in great numbers. If you want to get a handful of these valuable names, you need the correct tools to do this job. There are websites to assist you, both paid and unpaid.

It is really important that you possess these tools to save time and to help you get the domain names that you want and to get them before some one else does.

You would have gotten a few and missed some. But as long as you get more than you miss, buy and manage your domains wisely, use the ones you can for your own sites and sell the rest for a profit at auction, you'll find a small amount of time and money invested in them can be one of the highest returning Internet investments around.

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   

Get Good Domains Names by Negotiating With the Hardball Tactic

You want to buy a domain name either to start a site on or to try to flip, either way you need to buy that domain first. A lot of domain owners ask for the world when you want to buy their domain. Sometimes they won't budge and no matter what advice I could try to give you won't get a better price out of them. Sometimes they will budge, but you just need to play hardball with them.

Here's an example of how someone played a little hardball with me and I budged and they got the domain name they wanted for a price they were happy with paying. On the two most popular domain auction platforms (Sedo and GoDaddy) they allow you to include a note when you make your counteroffer. I had a person offer me an amount to buy a domain of mine. My counter offer was significantly higher and they came up a little and I came down a little and we went through three back and forths until the buyer sent a note and said "This is my final offer. I know you want more than this, but I've found another domain name that I can buy for this price and this is all I'm willing to spend. If you can sell it for this amount great, if not then good luck with the domain."

Now, a few things to note which are important. This domain name was not a premium domain. If this was an amazing domain like Cars.com or Life.com or Blue.com than I would not budge because as the seller of a premium domain you hold all the cards. But when the domain name is a two or three word domain, it is not a commonly used phrase, the exact searches for it in Google are not that much, and I'd consider the domain more of a brandable opportunity than anything else I have a decision to make. I'd owned this domain for 2 years. I'd never received an offer on it before. I'd paid basically next to nothing for this domain. And I could use this money to buy a better quality domain, so there is an opportunity cost here if I decline and could have picked up a better domain in essentially what would equate to a trade. I wasn't going to get the price I wanted but it didn't make sense to me to hold onto the domain and possibly get another offer in two years, or never get another offer. I took the offer and I'll reinvest the money into a domain from a domain auction in the near future. For me, as the seller, it made sense to "upgrade" my domain name rather than be a stickler and wait out a better offer that may never come.

Moving back to the buyer's side... what he did was put an ultimatum on the table for me. Some people will say I caved and should have held firm. Others will say a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush. The point being, as a buyer put the seller to a decision. Don't do it with your first offer because it is likely he'll scoff at that. Show a little goodwill by increasing your offer a little bit a time or two and then hit him with your final offer, but also put some reasoning behind your final offer. He could have very easily been bluffing but in the end I'm happy with the sale and I'll wind up with a much better domain as a result. You have nothing to lose by making a final offer and holding firm... only the seller has the potential to lose (a sale that is).

To read more tips on domain names and making money online check out the Anticareer.com internet marketing blog run by one of the premier internet marketers around.

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   

A Better Understanding of the Domain Name

You can use the domain name for the application-specific naming and addressing, it is also useful in various networking contexts. These are representing an Internet Protocol (IP) resource, like the internet access to the personal computer and hosting a website by the server computer.

You will find it really difficult if you have to remember the telephone name instead of the name to memorize the specific person. The domain name was invited to get-rid of the same difficulty on the internet. IP addresses (Internet protocol) are responsible for the connection between the internet and the computer; it is not easy to identify the unique series of the numbers IP address, like 216.195.78.26. On the other hand, the domain names are the humanly memorable names for all the Internet users. You can do the simple identification labeling to indicate the ownership by the use of the domain name.

A vital function of domain names is to turn the numerically addressed Internet resources into easily recognizable names. The Domain names are basically a website addresses, it is not like the home address. You have to type these names into your web browsers to get access to the websites. The web site address and the URL (uniform resource locator) are the same like the domain, but this is more common one among the people.

If you have no plan to build a website or the blog, you don't need to own the domain name. There are hundreds of the social networking sites, forums and the blog where you can participate without owning the website address. On the other hand, if you want to establish your own brand and claim your piece of the virtual real-estate then you have to buy the domain name.

There are some freebies also available in the field of domain names, but you have to follow their restricted rules about publishing the certain contents. While having your own domain name means you have more control over your content, superior flexibility and the freedom to create your own brand.

Just having a domain name will not work for you in creating a website, as it requires also a hosting account. There are some other ways to build a brand without owning the hosting account. By domain forwarding to the specific blog or the affiliate website, you can create also build an attractive pieces of the website.

On the other hand, if you wish for creating your own website, you can own the hosting account. There are hundreds of web hosting companies to choose from, you can easily get the required hosting plan for you.

To get the easy access to the foreseeable future, a lot of people are getting the news, entertainment and shop on the world of Internet. Owning an attractive and user-friendly website is essential if you want to stand apart competitively.

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