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How to pick a great domain name

(This article appeared in the Nov 2009 edition of Tasmanian Business Reporter)

The most important thing you can do for your business once you have decided to have a web presence is to choose a great domain name. Your domain name will identify and brand your business online for many years to come, so you need to choose wisely.

Choose a domain name that represents your business and the products and services you offer.

Here is a short list of "please consider" facts to assist in choosing your next domain name.
Who knows, it may be worth a million dollars!

1. Keep it short

Domain names can be up to 63 characters, but try to create the shortest domain name that is most recognizable to your audience. The number one tip is comfortably simple - keep your domain name short. A short domain is easy to remember and easy to spell.

2. Keep it memorable

Memories last forever. Your domain name is going to appear in your advertisements, on your business cards, even on your motor vehicle. It should be as memorable as www.paypal or www.ebay.com.au

Anything less and you then miss out on those potential, forgetful, customers.

And of course, the easier your domain name is to pronounce, the easier it will be to remember.

3. Keep it guessable

Lets say someone can't quite remember what your domain name was. Customers know our business is called Tassienet, so a stab at www.tassienet.com.au would be a very good guess.

A guessable domain name is one that you would expect someone to guess with relative ease.

4. Try to avoid hyphens

I don't particular like hyphens in a domain name. Letting a customer know your domain name with hyphens can be awkward. Customers have a habit of forgetting the hyphen and typing in the wrong URL. Worse, some people don't know what a hyphen is!

With a bit of imagination you can avoid hyphens and avoid the confusion. Of course if you just must have that domain name that is unavailable then using a hyphen might be the only way forward, i.e. www.your-own-domain.com

5. Consider other domain codes

If your .com or .com.au domain is taken, try for a .net, .info or .biz domain name. If you qualify you can use a .org.au or asn.au domain name. With the wide variety of domain codes to choose from there shouldn't be any excuses for not picking a great domain name.

You should also consider purchasing domains that are spelled similar to yours and redirect them to your main domain and get the whole package for you domain extension: .com.au, .com, .org, .biz, etc.

6. Make sure you own your domain name!

Just because you buy a domain name doesn't mean you own it. Some less reputable suppliers register domain names in their own name, which means that even though you paid for it you don't own it.

Tassienet will only register your domain name in your name.

Now go out and pick that great domain name. If you need any help the expert staff at Tassienet are only too pleased to assist.

	Got a question? info@tassienet.com.au