Part 1 > "thinking" about buying a domain name: selecting the right one

Buying a domain name that makes sense for your business

As obvious as this step sounds, don't overlook the importance of buying a domain name that reflects what your business is about. Before you buy, take time to brainstorm for ideas. Start with the most obvious. your company name. If your company name is unique enough, you may be able to buy it intact as a domain name.

On the upside, buying a domain name that is also your company name provides a great branding opportunity. But be careful if your company is "Midwestern Country Fresh Beef and Eggs". Customers will have a hard time remembering, let alone typing, "midwesterncountryfreshbeefandeggs.com" and it'll be quite a mouthful for you every time you repeat it. Also beware of companies with similar names. If someone already owns "midwesterncountrybeef.com" then buying a domain name so similar might accidentally drive your customers to a competitor's site.

If you decide to buy a domain name that is also your company name, try typing it into a browser, printing it and saying it out loud. The look and feel of your domain name is important to consider before buying. Make sure you can use it to advertise effectively.

Another idea for buying an effective domain name is to select keywords that relate to your business. If you manufacture cat-shaped pet rocks, then try "petrockcats.com" or "pet-rock-cats.com". Hyphens between words give you the added (albeit slight) benefit of search engine recognition for those keywords. But hyphens make it harder for customers to type your domain name into a browser and harder to speak when you want to tell people about it. If you use hyphens, try to stick to only one, and make sure the keywords you choose are meaningful. There's no sense in buying a domain name for "my-site.com".

During the "thinking" phase, think easy-to-use, easy-to-say and easy-to-remember:

• Avoid buying a domain name that is too long. It'll be hard to type and more likely to be typed incorrectly.
• Don't buy a domain name that can be easily misspelled. Or be sure to buy an additional domain name that includes a common misspelling... "petersonsgarden.com" is great if that's your company name, but try to pick up "petersensgarden.com" as well, to catch customers who spell it either way.
• Stay away from numbers that can be confused with words such as "2cute4you.com". You'll spend a lot of time explaining to people that it's the number 2, not "too".
• Avoid cute and clever. It may seem like a good idea to buy a domain name like "frydaysfish.com" but if you do, be prepared for customers who hear your web site advertised to type "fridaysfish.com".
• Always remember that the domain name you buy is a reflection of your business and your brand. Make sure it's professional and appropriate for your industry.

Part of buying a domain name is finding something that will stick in people's heads, flow off their fingertips and compel them to use it. over and over.

Domain name extensions: buying .com, .net, .biz, .org

If you're running a for-profit business, your best bet is to stick with .com. Buying a domain name with another extension is *almost* a waste of time. More on alternate extensions later, but for now, let's discuss why buying a .com domain name is a wise choice.

The most important reason to buy a .com domain name is because that's what most people (your potential customers) think of, recognize and expect. Let's say you're looking for the phone number for the great restaurant, the "Flying Taco". You decide to look it up on the Internet. Quick: what would you try?

Most people would start with "flyingtaco.com". Few would think to move on to "flyingtaco.net" if the first failed. You especially want to avoid alternate extensions if a competitor already owns the .com extension. Since .com is so prevalent and common, even customers familiar with your site may automatically type "superproduct.com" instead of "superproduct.biz". If your competitor owns the first, that's bad news for you.

A good reason to buy a domain name with an alternate extension is to protect your brand. If you're lucky enough to get "superproduct.com" then go ahead and snatch up "superproduct.net". You might even want to buy "greatproduct.com" and "terrificproduct.com", too. Buying similar domain names gives you multiple windows into your site and also keeps the competition from getting too close. Secondary domains can be routed automatically to your primary domain. You'll cover your bases and prevent competition from tailgating on your incredibly successful site. Buying multiple domain names adds only a small cost to your marketing budget for an added measure of security.

As for other extensions, don't go crazy trying to catch them all. Many aren't relevant to your business anyway. Generally, .org is associated with non-profit organizations, .edu with educational organizations and .gov with governmental organizations. There are also dozens of country-specific extensions, like .uk (United Kingdom), .au (Australia) and .it (Italy), all great choices if your site is country-specific.

Buying a domain name requires analysis of the benefits and the tradeoffs. Spend some time on the potential of yours before you buy.

Next > getting online and buying: going through the purchase process