How to Choose a Good Domain Name
In this digital age, your company's web site is your electronic
business card. A strong domain name is the key to your Internet
presence. It should be recognizable and relate to your business
name, brand, product, and/or activities. Make sure it fits on a
business card and is easy to remember whether seen in print or
mentioned over the phone.
Use the name people know you by. Don't abbreviate, unless the
abbreviation is your company's trademark. Ask your co-workers,
your customers, your friends, and your family what domain name
they'd expect your company to have.
Don't forget to include your domain name in your site's logo.
And put your domain name on all company promotional materials
such as business cards and stationary.
Length Matters
Conventional wisdom states that a good domain name is easy for
customers to remember, easy to spell, and short. That said, it's
increasingly difficult to secure short domain names among top
level domain names such as .com, .net and ,org. In these cases
(and you have 67 characters to choose from), it's preferable to
choose a meaningful statement such as Lawreferralservice.com" or
Hotelreservationservice.com," rather than lrs.com or hrs.com
Give a Good Impression
We all know that first impressions can be crucial, so choose
your domain name carefully. Domain names often come without
spaces, so pay careful attention to the total package. For
example, PatternsExchange can look like patternsexchange.
Select Alternate Names
If your first domain name choice is not available, you can check
the "whois" information box for the domain name, contact the
person listed, and see if they're willing to sell it. If they
want to sell, they will likely charge more than the $24.95
registration fee. An easier alternative is to register a
variation of your first choice.
For example, if your company name is Mrs Smith's Cookies, but
mrssmithscookies.com and the more obvious cookies.com are
registered, try adding a small letter such as "e" to indicate
that it's an online business. Or add the word online. Or add
your location to attract local customers:
ecookies.com
Cookiesonline.com
CookiesNewYork.com
Alternatively, try registering a local domain name:
mrsmithscookies.ca
mrsmithscookies.us
Use a little creativity, and you may find your alternative beats
your original choice. Once you've got a list of alternatives for
your online business, test them with your friends and colleagues
to see which ones they like best. Make sure these names can be
easily pronounced and spelled by your test audience. Then, rank
them in order of popularity.
Consider Spelling Mistakes
Consider mistakes people will make when typing your web site
address and how your domain name sounds when you have to read it
over the phone to a customer. Explaining special characters,
abbreviations, and spelling is awkward and doesn't make good
business sense. Will customers accidentally make spelling
mistakes? Will they use the plural form of a word instead of the
singular form, or visa versa? Make a list of possible mistakes,
and register additional domain names that incorporate these
mistakes.
Register Multiple Versions of Your Name
Register all possible domain name variations related to your
company name. If your company's name is hard to spell, register
common misspellings. Register every domain people might use to
find your company. It only costs $24.95 a year to register each
domain name, and that's a small expense to keep a customer.
Take this example: Before America Online acquired Time Warner
for $178 billion, it registered at least 21 domain names that
might be useful to the new company, named AOL Time Warner, from
AOLTW.com to AmericaOnlineTimeWarner.com. Alternatively, web
sites exist that capitalize on misspellings using them as
advertising vehicles and diverting customers from your site.
Register Product Names
When users search the Internet for a particular product or
service they often search by product or service, rather than
business name. To increase the chances of having your site
found, register extra domain names that relate to your core
business or products. If you owned the hypothetical company name
of Widgets & Widgets co. but you sold an array of household
products, you could register generic domain names relating to
all aspects of household goods. You may be too late to snap up
obvious domain names such as detergent.com or vacuum.com, but a
little creative thinking into alternatives can be lucrative.
These alternative domains can be easily linked to your main web
site.
Avoid Trademarked Names
Ensure someone else has not trademarked the name you register.
You cannot register names already registered as copyright (for
example, McDonalds). Like company names, domain names are unique
and cannot be duplicated. Avoid registering domain names that
are similar to your competition or to famous trademarks.
Businesses have lost their rights to registered domain names due
to conflicts with existing trademarks for off-line companies.
Register Locally
If your company is located in Canada, you can register a .ca
domain name even if your business activity includes export
trade. If you have an international presence, a top-level domain
such as .com, .net , or .org is more suitable. Many businesses
choose to register all three, and we suggest doing so. All three
addresses can "point" to the same e-mail account and web site.
Conversely, you might open a virtual office in another country.
For example, bread.com could also register bread.ca, which may
"point" towards the same site, attracting a larger audience.
Don't forget to check to see if a local presence is required in
the country you wish to register.
Use a metaphor
If your .dot com businesses does not have a name, the world is
your oyster. One Internet incubation company decided on the
metaphor campsix, referring to the final basecamp on the Everest
climb rather than a straight description of services. The name
reflected the difficulty and challenges of building an Internet
company to the scaling of Everest. Bear in mind that if your web
site is the primary tool for business, the company name must be
the company URL.