Domain Name Registration – Simple Tips

Domain Name Registration – Simple Tips
When starting a new online business, or expanding an existing one, few things will have as much effect on your ultimate success or failure than a solid plan for domain name registration.

Having a domain name that is easy for your customers and potential customers to remember, that makes sense for the product or service you sell, and that ranks high in search engine queries is an important first step on the road to success for any internet entrepreneur.

One of the most important considerations is the extension. As you probably already know, web sites can be either a .com, a .net or a .org. While .org extensions are generally reserved for use by legitimate non-profit and social service agencies, it can make a lot of sense for a business owner to register both the .net and the .com iteration of his or her desired domain name.

It can also make sense to register several different related domain names in order to take advantage of specific keyword searches. For instance, an online auctioneer who also offers storefront services may want to register a name such as onlineauction.com for the auction part of the business and mystorefront.com for the storefront portion.

The cost of a domain name purchased from a reputable company should be no more than $1 to $10. The cost will vary depending on the extension(s) chosen and the amount of time of the registration.

Choose your keywords carefully, based on what you feel will be the most commonly searched for word or phrase for your business niche. It is important to use that keyword or keyword phrase in the domain name, since most major search engines seem to favor keyword rich domain names.

It is important to make your domain name registration as topically relevant as possible. Search engine technology is always evolving and changing, and sites which feature good relevance will rank higher than general purpose catch all web sites.
Consider purchasing several different variants of your business. This serves a number of purposes. First, it helps potential customers find you, even if they misspell your domain name.

For instance, registering both jewelry.com and jewlry.com can help the spelling challenged find your site. Secondly, registering several different versions, and several different spellings of that name, can help protect your good name by keeping those with ill intentions (or competitors) from registering that name. In addition to purchasing the .net and .biz version of your domain name registration, consider purchasing hyphenated versions or alternate spellings as well.

Consider the importance of domain name registration to product branding and identity. Web sites like Yahoo, Google and eBay all took advantage of the power of the internet to build a strong brand identity, and they are reaping the rewards of that foresight. The internet can be a powerful branding tool, and a strong domain name registration is the first step toward making your business a household name.

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