Careful Domain Name Selection Will Brand Your Website
The first step in building a website is the registration of a domain name. Whether you are building a site to advertise your local business, an e-commerce site, photo or video or music download site, information site, or if you want to start up a website to feature your family dog Spot, the entire enterprise begins with the choice of a domain name.
But you might ask- “What constitutes the best choice of domain name?”. Well it depends. For example, if you are someone who wants to build a website devoted to your cat, then the answer is that the choice of a domain name really doesn’t matter. What’s the difference? Most likely in that instance you’re not looking for lots of traffic, friends and family are your desired visitors, to keep them informed. In a case like this, it does not matter whatsoever if you find a domain name like “mybabiesphotos.com” or not, since most likely you will only be giving out the website address to a few friends and family and maybe your crazy Uncle Bill.
So really what is most important in coosing your unique domain is the TYPE of site you want to publish. If it is only for friends to see, it hasn’t got as much relevance as a business related or e-commerce website. However…
What if you want as much traffic to your website as possible? What if you are looking for business on the internet?
It really pays to have a domain name that drives traffic to your site or business. Put some thought into how people search. For example, if your company sells insurance or doughnuts or bowling pins or toilet bowls, find a way to incorporate WHAT YOU DO in the website domain name. If you can, get your domain name exactly the same as your business, that is your best bet. Failing that, at least try to put the category of your business into the name. For example, an antiques website should have a domain name like antiques.com or bobsantiques.com, something that immediately associates the domain name with the theme of the site. It’s all about branding, and making a lasting impression on the target audience or customers.
The WhoIs database contains all domain names registered, and when you are searching it will show whether or not your desired name is already registered. For your convenience in searching, I have conveniently placed a domain name search engine on StartYourWebsiteToday.com for this very purpose. After searching for the domain name, you will instantly know whether or not the domain name is available, and if so, give you the option to immediately register it. If it’s not available, several alternative domain names will be proposed, to help you fine tune your search, or possibly giving you an acceptable alternative domain name to register instead.