If you have decided to put a web site on the Internet, the following are some points you need to keep in mind while doing the same. These factors help a great deal in choosing a domain name for your business web site. And the same principles apply in choosing the name for a hobby or informational site.
First, let's talk about some of the biggest mistakes that people make in choosing a domain name. When you're in business, you want to make sure that people are able to find you on the Internet. So here are a couple of things to avoid when choosing your Internet domain name.
The first is try not to use numbers in your domain name.
There are a lot of web sites out on the Internet that use numbers in their domain names, either to save letters or to be "cute." For example, someone might choose a domain name like "www.fun4pets.com" for their pet-related web site. The problem with this domain name is that people have to know whether the "4" in this domain is the number or the words "for" or "four." It's confusing.
Next, try not to use a hyphen in your domain name. You see a lot of sites out there that think it's better to put a "-" in their URL to make it easier to read. For example, you might have a domain like "www.fun-for-pets.com." But, you are assuming that the potential customers are going to remember that there are hyphens and won't type in "www.funforpets.com" because it makes more sense. Remove the doubt and go without hyphens.
Now that you know what not to do, let's talk about some of the things you should do when looking for a domain name.
First and foremost is to ALWAYS use the ".com" extension for domain names. This is the standard that everyone uses when typing in a URL to their Internet browser, and if you have another extension - .net, .org, .biz, etc. - you may be sending people to another site altogether. If the name you want is not available with ".com" then pick another domain.
Socondly, you must select a name which is easy to spell.
Most people, these days, don't pay attention to spellings, and if your name is difficult to spell it will surely be misspelt. For instance, a site called 'www.specialoccasions.com' can have such hilarious versions as 'www.spechulokashens.com', and this is not the worst example; there are many much worse and more hilarious.
It would also be prudent to keep the domain name short. Two to three words, and under 25 characters, are considered most acceptable. In this way, the chances of mistyped URLs could be avoided. The chances of people making mistakes and missing letters when you give a name to your website such as www.thebestwebsiteevernomatterwhat.com is quite high.
Obviously, these are general guidelines, and there are always going to be exceptions to the rules, but if you keep these in mind when searching for your business' domain, you will have a better chance that people will find your new web site, and your business will thrive on the Internet.
Encargado Telosh is the owner and operator of FYE Internet, Inc., a leading Internet directory for internet information. For more internet information and resources, be sure to visit:
http://www.FYEinternet.com
