Effective Domain Names


A domain name can be an invaluable asset to your company, or it can be its’ downfall. An effective domain name will be one that consumers can easily associate with your company and remember easily.

 

Do not expect a URL that you received with a free hosting account to be effective; it’s not. Domain names such as these show consumers that you are a small business that doesn’t have $20.00 to spend on a “real” domain name! These types of ineffective domain names also make online marketing a difficult task, and make website development, as well as website design quite a chore, as both of these needs center on the domain name. Owning your own domain name will also allow you to use the email services. This will allow you to have a professional email address at your own domain name.

 

If you want your website to be profitable, you not only have to have a finely tuned marketing campaign and SEO plan in place, but you must have an effective domain name. There are numerous places to find effective domain names, but sometimes finding one requires a bit of patience.Where to Find Domain Names can be purchased through domain registrars. There are virtually hundreds of such registrars in existence, and you will need to conduct a bit of comparison-shopping in order to determine which one has what you want; an effective domain name.


Some of the domain registrars can be found at:

 


How Much Does a Domain Name Cost?


How much your domain name will cost will depend upon many factors including who you buy it from and who you resister it with. Domain names can cost anywhere from $8.00 up to $20.00. If the domain name is already owned by someone else you may have an option to purchase it from the owner or bid on it in an auction. Under these circumstances a domain name could cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.


What Kind of Domain Name Should I Buy?


Whenever possible, you should always purchase the .com version of the domain name. However, if the .ca, .net and .biz versions are available and it is feasible, you should purchase these too. Also, be aware that one of your competitors may buy the same domain name as you, adding hyphens to make it unique, and that some of your customers may end up at his site by accident.

To guard against this, it is a wise idea to purchase any and all variations of your domain name. For example, if your domain name was www.writestuff.com, you will want to purchase www.write-stuff.com, www.write_stuff.com, as well as www.writestuff.net and www.writestuff.org if available and applicable to your particular industry.


The Importance of Words and Variations


When selecting a domain name check all variations of the name and words to ensure that you will not expose your business to undue scrutiny or an embarrassing situation. An example of this is where the domain name avenueservices.com was a business site but avenueservice.ca was a gay porn site. The business service company “Avenue Services” had to change it’s domain name because their clients were accidentally going to the porn site. Check the plural, singular and various ways of spelling your domain name before purchasing it.


Why an Effective Domain Name is Important


Think of your domain name as your address, which in reality, it is. If no one knew the address to your house, how would you get your mail? How would service people be able to arrive for repair work? How could you direct people to your house in an emergency situation if you had no address? In the same way, having an ineffective domain name will not serve the intended purpose of directing visitors to your site. Having a keyword rich domain name is effective, and will also help in SEM. There are many websites where such domain names can be researched. You may be surprised to find the perfect domain name that you hadn’t thought existed!

Having any old domain name will just not do these days; you must have one that is effective. If the domain name you desire has already been taken, keep checking on it as the owner may wish to sell it, or it may soon be expiring and you could get it for a decent price.


How to Lose a Domain Name


If you register a domain name that is a registered trade-name or trade-mark then the corporation or individual that owns the right to the name can challenge you for ownership. There has been precedence in the Calgary area where companies have had to relinquish their domain names to trade-name owners. It is a good idea to check your company name and domain name to ensure that they do not violate another companies trade-name or trade-mark.

The other way to lose a domain name is to register the domain name with an email address that is not carefully managed. The email address that you register your domain name with is key to the control of your domain name. If you register your own domain name, ensure that you guard your email address.

 

If you lose control of the email address associated to your domain you will not receive automated renewal reminders for your annual domain registration. You may lose your domain name.

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