Domain Registrars Pt 2 Choosing a domain name & Taking the plunge!

What Every Web Site Owner Should Know Choosing A Domain Name & Taking The Plunge! Now, if you are ready to take the plunge, it is time to visit a Domain Registrar and pick out a domain name. There is no time like the present and your domain isn’t going to register itself. The sooner you get started the better. The competition for domain names is a lot like the land rush in the early days of this country. There are still many good domain names to choose from, but every day that goes by, hundreds of thousands of new domain names are registered. The sooner you start the better chance you will have of getting a domain name you are happy with. Not to mention; the longer a Website has been in existence (and the length of time it is registered for) is a factor that determines how high Google will rank your pages. Just visit www.EverMoreTech.com/DomainName (URL Coming Soon) for a list of registrars, user’s experiences & ratings of their services, prices and links. Of course, I encourage you to leave your own opinions. You will also find a tool on my site that will allow you to see if your desired domain name is available or not (most registrars will have similar tools). One last thing before you go rushing off to buy your first domain name; take a few moments to think about it. Chances are, if you are in a popular field, there may not be much to choose from, but if you are clever, you should be able to come up with something that you are happy with. When you are choosing a domain name here are a few things to keep in mind; Keep it short. The longer the domain name is, the greater the chance that your potential visitors will make typos, misspellings, or simply be too lazy to type ThisIsMyReallyCoolDomainName.com. Avoid tricky spellings, homonyms, puns, or other gimmicky names. Unless this is really a prominent part of your business branding, I caution against using alternative spellings and or substituting characters (i.e. using the number 3 as a substitute for the letter E, this is known as "Leet") unless your target audience is a young cyber-literate group such as gamers. Using alternative spellings can cause confusion and be difficult to tell someone over the phone. While it may be unavoidable, try to keep that sound alike letters such as S & F, B & V, or D & T etc … to a minimum. When you are trying to give your Website address (particularly over the phone), or someone needs to jot down your e-mail address, it can be a challenge to make sure they get it. Use a .com TLD if you can. I try to use .com where ever possible. The .com top level domain is the most recognizable and will generally be the default when someone types in your domain name without it into a search engine. Keep it simple Allow for growth —if you choose BooksBooksBooks.com you are limited to books, whereas if you go with something more general such as; BooksAndMore.com you have room for growth if your site takes on a new direction previously unforeseen. If your site is specific to an industry and will not change, you may want to disregard this, but that is up to you. When possible, get something that is easy to remember. This is important. How many times have you sat down to the computer and could not think or a particular website’s name? Write down 30 good names. Then, cross out ten. Number the remaining 20 and visit a registrar to see if any of your favorites. If at first you don’t find one that you are thrilled about, or none of your favorites are available, then relax, and try again. If you can’t decide between a few different domain names, you can get them all and simply point, or forward all of them to your Website. Most registrars (not all) will allow you to forward a domain name for free. Of course, realistically, there are countless sites and about a bijillion names have been registered. You may be in a very competitive industry and there may only be slim pickin's so get what you can. You have to feel it... Once you have the domain name that is right for you; GRAB IT! More than once I have waited to buy a domain name only to find it was taken by the time I made up my mind. With that said; be careful checking out.Some Registrars attempt to sell you everything from so-called traffic boosters to the kitchen sink on your way to the credit processing page. JUST GET THE DOMAIN NAME! I do not recommend purchasing the add-ons particularly the $1.99 hosting package … I will talk more about Web hosting in upcoming posts.