Do you want people to find you on the Web - Then you need a Domain Name

2009-07-27T02:28:00.000-07:00

Your own Domain name

Okay, This is where you should have already thought about a name for your website and the web address you want to register. Example: (http://www.mynewwebsite.com/)

It is highly recommended that you read this ENTIRE page as it contains important information that most sites don't tell you about domain name registrations.
There is very important advice here about choosing your topic and doing the proper research and planning before you begin.

To find more about Hosting a site and building a site please check out http://www.2startawebsite.com/

NOTE: If you already know about domain names, go here to register your domain. If not, I highly recommend you read on to understand why the name selection is so important.

A domain name makes up the address of your site and can end in .com, .net, .org, .info, .us, .biz, .tv and more. Throughout this site you will also see the domain name referred to as the "dot com name".
It’s not hard getting your address registered although there is quite a bit to know about optimizing the address to fit targeted viewers. In this page I will talk about:
-> Web Address name
-> How to and where to register your domain name.
-> Differences between free domains and paid once.

Web Address name

In theory you can call your site whatever you want provide the site name hasn’t been taken already but it would still be worth reading this because in every site, whether it is just for pure pleasure or fun one can make easy money through it.

It starts all about optimizing your site name. I highly recommend you register a name that contains your major keywords INSTEAD of your company name.

Think about it. The average surfer searches by subject, not by proper name. So why it may seem cool to have a name like TimothysToolTyme.com, you'll want to choose a name that includes keywords that your target audience would likely use when they search.

So with that in mind, a name like Tool-Tips-for-Beginners.com would be much better than TimothysToolTyme.com.
Sure, you can still list your company name on your web pages, but I believe it's more important to make sure the domain name includes your important "search friendly" keywords if you want to receive traffic from all over.

Now, as always, there are exceptions...

If you are just creating a website for a local business, getting traffic from all over the web may not be as important to you. This is because your customers will be local and you may want to grow your brand name in a specific area.

If this is the case, it may make more sense to register your company name and create brand awareness locally instead of trying to capitalize on search engine presence.

For example, let's say you have a company called J.W. Reed & Co and you help people get rid of debt, but you're based in Kansas and can only cater to residents in this area.
Since you are only servicing local clients, you may not care if someone in California can find your site in Google since they are not likely to become one of your customers.

In this case, it's not as important to register a name filled with "search optimized" keywords. You may decide to just reserve the company name, JWReedAndCo.com.

NOTE: Keep in mind that the domain name is not the only factor weighed by search engines when deciding your rank.

The content on your web pages and your site's popularity (inbound links from other sites) is very important too. However, it certainly doesn't hurt to make sure your name is optimized for maximum results.

Here are some more tips on choosing the best domain name:

1) Don't register domain names that are too long and have too many syllables if you can help it. Yes, you can register names up to 63 characters long, but that doesn't mean you have to use all 63 characters. You want your name to be easy to remember. Not everyone will bookmark your page initially so try to think of something that can be easily remembered -- although I realize this may be tricky since a lot of names are taken these days.

2) Use hyphens if your name is more than 3 words long (unless your name includes 3 short words). A name like carbuying.com doesn't really need a hyphen because it's readable the way it is.
However a name like used-car-buying-scams.com looks better than usedcarbuyingscams.com since there are so many words in the name.

3) Protect your name by registering multiple extensions (.net, .org, etc.) This deters people from copying your name. For example, if you own garden-tips-for-us.com you can also register garden-tips-for-us.net and any other extension that's available.
You don't have to build a site on all the domains, but you can reserve the others to keep people (copycats) from registering them.

How to and where to register your domain name.Reserving a domain name is easy and very cost friendly. The big name companies like Register.com and NetworkSolutions.com charge ridiculous prices such as $30-35/year for one domain name, and you get the same service at Webhostingpad for much less.

You can save a bundle at WebHostingPad, and you get a bunch of freebies such as a blog, domain forwarding and a free starter page.

You Should Protect Your Privacy

As you're registering your name, you will be presented with the option of keeping your domain name private - a deluxe feature you'll probably want to take advantage of.

A private domain registration will keep your information (name, email address, etc.) out of the global Internet database, and will prevent a lot of spam from reaching your email box.
Even though registering a "private" domain is not mandatory and will not block all spam, I highly recommend you select this option. I certainly wish this had been available when I created my first site.

Top Notch Support Available

If you should ever have a question, support is available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.

Most people that come here are new to the website creation scene. Their number one fear is that they'll invest their money into something that is new and unfamiliar, and then get stuck with no one to help them should they have a question. Well, that's not going to happen here.

Differences between free domains and paid once.

If you are on a tight budget, you can, of course, create a web site on a free web site hosting service without registering a domain name. But there are drawbacks to a "free" web site:

-> A "free" web site must usually include some form of advertising, which distracts visitors from your site content and slows page loading.

-> A "free" web site name is appended to its hosting service name, limiting your ability to promote the site and later move it to another hosting service.

-> Search engines are less inclined to list a web site which lacks its own registered domain name.

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How to choose a Domain Name - Made Easy

Do you want people to find you on the Web - Then you need a Domain Name