Sajid Latif

 Choosing A Good Domain Name

Choosing a domain name for your site is one of the most important steps

 towards creating the perfect internet presence. If you run an on-line

 business, picking a name that will be marketable and achieve success

 in search engine placement is paramount. Many factors must be considered 

when choosing a good domain name. This article summarizes all the different

things to consider before making that final registration step!

Short and Sweet

Domain names can be really long or really short (1 - 67 characters). 

In general, it is far better to choose a domain name that is short in

 length. The shorter your domain name, the easier it will be for people

 remember. Remembering a domain name is very important from a 

marketability perspective. As visitors reach your site and enjoy using 

it, they will likely tell people about it. And those people may tell others, etc.

 As with any business, word of mouth is the most powerful 

marketing tool to drive traffic to your site (and it's free too!).

 If your site is long and difficult to pronounce, people will not

 remember the name of the site and unless they bookmark the link, 

they may never return.

Consider Alternatives

Unless a visitor reaches your site through a bookmark or a link from

 another site,they have typed in your domain name. Most people on 

the internet are terrible typists and misspell words constantly. If your

 domain name is easy to misspell,you should think about alternate domain

 names to purchase. For example, if your site will be called "MikesTools.com"

, you should also consider buying"MikeTools.com" and "MikeTool.com". 

You should also secure the different top level domain names besides the

 one you will use for marketing purposes . You should also check to see 

if there are existing sites based on the misspelled version of the domain

 name you are considering. "MikesTools.com" may be available,

 but "MikesTool.com" may be home to a graphic pornography site. 

You would hate for a visitor to walk away 

thinking you were hosting something they did not expect.

Also consider domain names that may not include the name of your

 company,but rather what your company provides. For example, if the

 name of your company is Mike's Tools, you may want to consider

 domain names that target what you sell.For example: "buyhammers.com"

 or "hammer-and-nail.com". Even though these

 example alternative domain names do not include the name of your company,

 it provides an avenue for visitors from your target markets. Remember that you

can own multiple domain names, all of which can point to a single domain.

For example, you could register "buyhammers.com", "hammer-and-nail.com"

, and "mikestools.com" and have "buyhammers.com" and 

"hammer-and-nail.com" point to "mikestools.com".

Hyphens: Your Friend and Enemy

Domain name availability has become more and more scant over

 the years. Many single word domain names have been scooped up

 which it makes it moreand more difficult to find a domain name that 

you like and is available. When selecting a domain name, you have the

 option of including hyphens as part of the name. Hyphens help because

 it allows you to clearly separate multiple words in a domain name, making

 it less likely that a person willaccidentally misspell the name. For example,

 people are more likely to misspell "domainnamecenter.com" than they 

are "domain-name-center.com". Having words crunched together makes 

it hard on the eyes, increasing the likelihood of a misspelling. On the other

 hand, hyphens make your domainname longer. The longer the domain name

, the easier it is for people to forget it altogether. Also, if someone recommends

 a site to someone else they may forget to mention that each word in the domain

 name is separated by a hyphen. If do you choose to leverage hyphens, 

limit the number of words

 between the hyphens to three. Another advantage to using hyphens is that

 searchengines are able to pick up each unique word in the domain name

 as key words,thus helping to make your site more visible in search engine

 results.

Dot What?

There are many top level domain names available today including

 .com, .net, .org, and .biz. In most cases, the more unusual the top 

level domain,the more available domain names are available.

 However, the .com top level domain is far and away the most commonly 

 used domain on the internet, driven by the fact

 that it was the first domain extension put to use commercially and has

 receivedincredible media attention. If you cannot lay your hands on a .com

 domain name,look for a .net domain name, which is the second most 

commercially popular domainname extension.

Long Arm of the Law

Be very careful not to register domain names that include trademarked

 names.Although internet domain name law disputes are tricky and have

 few cases in existence, the risk of a legal battle is not a risk worth taking.

 Even if you believe your domain name is untouchable by a business that

 has trademarked a name, do not take the chance: the cost of litigation is 

extremelyhigh and unless you have deep pockets you will not likely have

 the resources todefend yourself in a court of law. Even stay away from

 domain names in which part of the name is trademarked: the risks are 

the same.

Search Engines and Directories

All search engines and directories are different. 

Each has a unique process for being part of the results or directory

 listing and each has a different way of sorting and listing domain names.

 Search engines anddirectories are the most important on-line marketing

 channel, so consider how your domain name choice affects site placement

 before you register the domain. Most directories simply list links to home 

pages in alphabetical order. 

If possible, choose a domain name with a letter of the alphabet near the

 beginning

 ("a" or "b").

 For example, "aardvark-pest-control.com" will come way above 

"joes-pest-control.com

". However, check the directories before you choose a domain name.

 You may find that the directories you would like be in are already cluttered

 with domain names beginning with the letter "a". Search engines scan websites

 and sort results based on key words. Key words are words that a person visiting

 a search engine actually search on. Having key words as part of your domain 

name can help you get better results.

For Further Information Visit www.apneweb.co.cc