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 advertise your garage band, the entire endeavor begins with the choice of a domain name.
The next logical question you might ask- “What makes the best choice of domain name?”. Well it depends. What I mean by that is if your site is just going to be devoted to family photos and events, domain name choice isn’t as important as it might be otherwise. Why not? Most likely in that instance you’re not looking for tons of traffic, your site is probably only something you are going to produce for family and friends, to keep them up to date. In a case like this, it does not matter whatsoever if you find a domain name like “ourdogspot.com” or not, since most likely you will only be giving out the website address to a few friends and family and maybe Aunt Tilly in Toledo.
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 reflects your company name and website. 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. The best strategy is to find a domain name that directly relates to your business, whether it is the business name itself or related to the category of business. For example, a jewelry website should have a domain name like jewelry.com or jensjewelry.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.
You need to search the WhoIs database to find a domain name that has not already been registered. I have conveniently placed a domain name search engine on StartYourWebsiteToday.com for this very purpose. When 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.
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