Do you own your website? (Part 2 - pick and purchase a domain name)

This is part 2 of the series "Do you own your website?".  Today you will learn how to pick the right domain name for your website and a few tips to follow when you purchase it.

Picking a domain name

Take some time to pick the perfect domain name for your business website.  A good domain name should be relatively short, easy to say and easy to type.  The rules of the past are changing - today you need something remembered rather than something that meets google's standards.  In other words - brand yourself and focus your search engine optimization efforts else where.

Back in 2005 when I purchased my domain name, www.web-design-by-robin.com, we were told google couldn't read words without the hyphens.  Six years later you can imagine my frustration relaying it over and over to people in conversation with all those hyphens.   And trying to type it into your smart phone - forget about it!

Since then I have purchased www.websitesbyrobin.com and permanently pointed it to my original domain name using a 301 redirect.  This will be my mobile domain name and the one I give out over the phone making my life and those interested in viewing my website so much easier.

So where should you start?  Think of the words and phrases used in your industry and try to work them into your domain name.  As you can see I used web design in my first and websites in my second leaving no doubt as to what I do.  Then add a bit of personality.  Yes, webdesign.com would seem like a great domain name but its too vague to be remembered.

Checking domain name availability

As you are going through the exercise of thinking of a domain name for your business website you should probably know how to check if your choices are available for purchase.  Here is a tool Godaddy provides to check domain name availability.

http://www.godaddy.com/domains

Before we get too far along let me make a suggestion about extensions.  If the domain name is for your business use .com.  This goes back to easily remembered.  Everyone assumes .com therefore use it.

Purchasing a domain name

There are two important factors to keep in mind when purchasing a domain name. 

The first is make sure it is registered in your name and this information is public.  When the option comes up to make your ownership private choose NO.  In my blog article titled "Do you own your website? (Part 1 - domain name ownership)" I show you how to check domain name ownership using the whois database lookup.  This process is commonly used to check a business' credibility.  Making your ownership private makes it look like you have something to hide.

The second is how long to purchase your domain name for.  Domain names are relatively cheap, under $20/year.  If your domain name ownership term is 5 years you will rank higher than someone only setup for a year.  Google likes an established website.  Little things like this make a difference.

So there you have it, a few tips for picking and purchasing a domain name for your business website.  I'd love to hear what you decide on!

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