Domain Names 101 - A Dummies Guide to Choosing Great Domain Names

When it comes to choosing your domain name, do not allow yourself to get stressed out or worry over choosing the perfect domain name that will make your website a success. When it comes down to it, there are several things you can do to ensure you choose the best type of domain for your business, and after that any number of domain names will work effectively for you. However, you need to read the following suggestions and follow them in order to avoid any costly mistakes to your traffic and business due to a bad domain name.

Tip #1 Short and Sweet

You will want a domain name that is short and sweet. There are many reasons for this, however if you have a short domain name it will be easier for people to remember and revisit not to mention tell others about. Also, if your domain name is short, other websites linking to your site will not have to worry about broken URLs and invalid web pages.

Tip #2 Make a List

You should definitely make a list of the domain names you like the most, but it is best if you make a list of themes rather than exact domain names. The reason for this is there are so many domain names on the Internet that finding an easy one is not so easy. So, come up with themes you are interested in and then start searching from there.

Tip #3 Be Open

Do not set your heart on one particular domain name, especially if it is a generic one because odds are it is taken. You will only be disappointed and unhappy with any other domain name. Do not set yourself up like this and realize ahead of time that you will need to be really creative with your domain name and open to new ideas and options.

Tip #4 Search for Options

Once you have your list of themes and ideas you want for a domain name you can start searching online. There are plenty of websites that will allow you to search and register different domain names. Most likely, several that you search for will be taken and the program might suggest you take that domain name with a really large number on the end or other variations that are available. In general, you do not want to do this because it is more difficult to remember your URL and you will get a lot of your traffic misdirected.

Tip #5 Dot Com

There are many kinds of extensions or suffixes available for URLs from com to .net and .biz to .info. While all of these are options and your particular desired domain might be taken under .com and available under tv you should consider long and hard before doing this. The reason for this is everyone knows about .com and if they are thinking of your website they will probably search for it as .com first. So, having a .com will keep people from getting confused. Also, if your keyword URL exists as a .com and you choose .net, you will probably lose customers and traffic to the other site because people know to go to .com.

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ICANN Press Release Acknowledges Theft of Its Domain Names
Associated Content, CO - 8 hours ago
ICANN is the organization which is charged with regulating the use of domain names among other things. Having its own domain names stolen is comparable to a ...
New International Policy to Change the Face of the Internet Associated Content
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ICANN Loses Control of Its Own Domain Names
Slashdot - Jul 5, 2008
NotNormallyNormal writes "CBC picked up an AP story about ICANN recently losing control over two of their domain names on Thursday, June 26. ...

First big change in Internet for 40 years could see Maori names in ...
Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand - 2 hours ago
... perhaps thousands, of new Internet domain names to join ".com," making the first sweeping changes in the network's 25-year-old address system. ...

The Domain Blast
Global Politician, NY - 1 hour ago
For a cost, you can create your own suffix, any letters and any name. Domain names are made of three parts. The www, the "name" and the suffix like .com. ...

SIDN quarantines expired Dutch domain names for 40 days
Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands - Jul 3, 2008
Dutch organisation SIDN, which manages .nl domain names, intends to quarantine terminated domain names for 40 days. The object being to prevent domain names ...

NDTV.com
Watch out! Web’s doomsday clock is ticking
Sify, India - 18 hours ago
In fact, domain names are only a convenience for people who have better luck remembering to type, say, www.google.com, than they would have trying to ...
Waiting for the internet meltdown Times Online
Online address registration body loses its own Economic Times
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What's in a name?
Globe and Mail, Canada - Jul 3, 2008
Proposed domain names must also be unlikely to cause confusion with other domains, and pass muster according to trademark laws, to say nothing of the United ...

Who Could Hack Web Regulators?
Infopackets, Canada - Jul 4, 2008
ICANN and IANA manage the routing system which allows web users to type in a domain name (such as www.infopackets.com) rather than having to know the ...

Domain name decision looks like Web.disorg -- editorial
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com, OH - Jul 4, 2008
The people who run the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers think opening up domain names -- those last few letters at the end of ...

Best Syndication
The basics of Domain Name Registration
Best Syndication, CA - Jul 4, 2008
The first step to starting your website is to choose a name for your website, which is also known as its domain name. You can only choose a domain name that ...

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