How To Choose And Use A Domain Name And The Importance Of Managing One

By Author: Dan Farrell
Total Articles: 15
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Making sure you have an excellent domain name is very important for all entrepreneurs. It affects many parts of your business and should be considered with care as to what name you choose. Once you choose a name, it won't be easy to change, so you should pick one that can be easily associated with the business you do. Your domain name has two principle purposes:

� Brand your business

� Helps to achieve search engine optimization

Brand your business: Know that this name will represent your business and should have a professional ring to it. It will be what your customers will recognize as YOUR business. Thus your domain name must represent your company or enterprise. Here are some points to keep in mind when you choose your domain name:

� Make it memorable: People should be able to easily remember the name of your website so they will be more inclined to tell others about it.

� Make it short and easy to spell: Try not to make your domain name too complicated. It should be easy to spell and short enough to remember.

� It should describe your business ...
... and what you do. When people look at your domain name they should know exactly how you can help them and what you are selling.

� Your domain name is your business name: Get your name right the first time because it is hard to change, and so is critical you really describe your full business.

Optimizing your website: Try to include your keyword or key phrase within your domain name. This helps position you better in the search engines and make your website easy to find.

Registering your domain name:

� Make a list of domain names: Now that you have your keywords you can now create some domain names. Sometimes you will find that other people may have the same ideas as you and your first choices are taken so have at least 5-10 names on your list and just go down your list until you find one that is not taken.

� Go to a domain register website to register your domain name. Look for .Com at 1st but if this cannot be found .Net or. Info can also be used. Now there are a couple of terms that you will find here that will need to be defined: o Nameserver: this is referring to the host's server. If you insert the host's DNS or server code when you register, you will ensure your website and domain name will be found for registration, and thus your website will be published effectively for the world to see on the World Wide Web. o Whois contact info on your website. You can make this either public or private information. When Public, this can be seen by anybody so try to put as little personal information as possible.

Some important things to remember:

o The longer term you register for, the more credible Google will see your site to be, so you will move up in the ranks. Try to register for two or even five years.

o {It is best to lock your domain name so that nobody can transfer it to another service or otherwise tamper with it.|Lock in your domain name so no one else can transfer it or tamper with the name.|So no one can tamper with the domain name or transfer to another service