How to Choose a Good Domain Name
So you have decided to launch yourself into the World Wide Web- great! But before you can effectively reach people with your site, you must have a good domain name. Here is a simple reference guide for the characteristics of a good domain name.
The first, and most obvious thing to include in your domain name is the name of the business or organization you want the site to promote. The simpler and clearer, the better. For example, "google.com" is simply their business name.
Try to include what your business does in the domain name. For example, if you own a dog grooming business called "Super Cuts" supercuts.com could be a poor choice for a domain name. Why? First, because a customer looking at that domain name would not know that your business was dog grooming, people would not even give your site a chance! Second, and more important, is that Google Robots (and other search engine robots) will respond less-well to a domain name that does not mention what the business is about in the domain name. That could result in customers not being able to find you.
Having the name and type of your business in your domain name could get lengthy, and lengthy is not a good thing! Imagine trying to find "NorthCarolinaStateEmployeesCreditUnion.org" versus "NCSECU.org", what a difference! If necessary, use abbreviations. Keeping your domain name short, concise and to the point is good for you, your potential customers, and search engine robots.
Next, it is important to choose a good extension. What are extensions? The most common ones are .com, .net, .gov, .org, .edu, and so on. There are new extensions that have been added in the past few years such as .biz, .ca, .xxx, and so on. So how do you choose? Each extension is linked to a specific type of website. For example, all .com sites are theoretically supposed to be e-COMmerce in nature. .org is a good choice for nonprofit and other organizations, like churches. .net is a good choice if your site is for networking, such as a band's site, perhaps. Most of the domain names are self-explanitory, just use good judgement and choose one that works well for your site.
Keep in mind that all domain names are stored in lower-case format, and that lower and upper cases do not matter when you type in a domain name to search. Some people get caught up with the cases, and it is really a non-issue.
Finally, where can you go to get a domain name? The answer is simple, just about anywhere. Registering a domain only costs $6-$10.00/year, so don't let anyone fool you! We here at Triad webcrafters can register your domain name for you if you would like for $10.00/year. However, registering a domain name yourself is fairly simple. Triad Webcrafters recommends ipowerweb.com for all your domain name registration needs, but there are many other suitable choices out there as well.
If you are still unsure about domain names, Contact Us and we will help!