Understanding and choosing a domain name
A domain name is basically a succession of characters that are
entered into a computer as part of a website, URL, or an email
address and then looked up into the global Domain Name System,
which informs the computer of the IP address with that name.
Domain names are actually hostnames that provide names that are
easier to remember to stand in for numeric IP addresses. They
allow any kind of service to move to a different location in the
topology of the Internet, which would then have a different IP
address.
By translating numeric addresses to alphabetical ones, domain
names allow Internet users to localize and visit websites.
Additionally, since more than one IP address can be assigned to
a domain name, and more than one domain name assigned to an IP
address, one server can have multiple roles, and one role can be
spread among multiple servers.
In the Domain Name System (DNS) language, each string of
letters, digits and hyphens between the dots is called a label.
Valid labels must respect certain rules, which have become less
rigid over the course of time. Originally, labels had to start
with a letter and end with a letter or digit, (any intervening
characters could be letters, digits, or hyphens).
Later, it became permissible for labels to begin with a digit
(but not for domain names to be entirely numeric), and for
labels to contain internal underscores, but support for such
domain names is uneven. These are some of the rules imposed by
the way names are looked up by the Domain Names System. Some top
level domains impose more rules on some labels, such as a longer
minimum name length. Fully qualified names (FQDN) are sometimes
written with a final dot.
Having to conform to so many regulations, choosing the most
appropriate domain name and the preferred generic name isn't
always easy. Before buying your domain name, you should take in
consideration several aspects:
- The best thing to do is to choose your site's name as the
basis of your domain name. The main advantage of matching your
site's generic name to the domain's name is that it will be much
easier for your customers to find you.
- Choosing the most suggestive generic name for your site is
great, but most of them may no longer be available. However,
selecting a domain closer to your market segment will definitely
cut down the competition.
- Hyphenated Names are less likely to be already registered and
therefore, they are a good option. The problem with hyphens is
that they are more difficult to remember, considering the fact
that customers are more likely to remember your name, not your
URL. Therefore, hyphenated names should be used more carefully.
- If the .com or .co.uk extension is not available then consider
the alternative TLD (Top level domain types) such as .net or
.biz. You should consider this possibility, as your desired
generic name might not be registered on other domain types.
- Sometimes, a domain name is free in the plural but not in the
singular form. It's up to you whether you choose a plural or a
singular form for your name, but if your preferred choice is
unavailable, you might be stuck.
- When your preferred domain name is not available, it's always
worth trying altering the domain name a little. You should try
to modify the domain name by adding a prefix, a suffix, or other
variations.
- Try to choose a shorter domain name. It will be easier to
memorize, although less likely to be available. A longer domain
is harder to remember, but can contain more keywords. As many
search engines use keywords as part of the search algorithm, you
should consider adding more keywords to your domain name.
- Any available domain type acts the same, and search engines
don't do preferential searches. A search engine finds keywords
in all domain types. For example, it will make no distinction
between a .com or a .co.uk domain.
By following these few steps in choosing your desired domain
name and by properly matching the generic name of your site to
your business, you should be able to increase and maintain the
interest of your costumers and cut down competition.