How to Pick the Right Domain Name for Your Business

When you start an online business it is wise to start thinking about getting yourself a domain name. There are a variety of reasons for getting one and even if you are promoting an affiliate program, it is still useful to get one for marketing purposes. Some of the advantages are:

1. More professional image
2. Your own email address e.g. bob@domain.com
3. Flexibility for online marketing
4. Have your own professional looking website

You may already have a domain name in mind and that's great. You may use your own name or you may just have something in mind that you like. On the other hand you may not have an idea, so how do you go about choosing one?

Well, if you have not yet chosen one, then the way would depend on your keyword research! Yes, the keyword research you did in Part 1 of this course. Pick the main keyword that best describes your service. Ideally, it should also conform to the high demand and low competition guideline.

It does not matter if your domain name has a few keywords in it such as www.law-of-attraction-beyond.com. Obviously, the shorter the domain name the better.

Now, if your domain name has several words, you should link them together with a hyphen and not an underscore. It is OK to not separate them the words with a hyphen and just string them into one word. The hyphens makes it easier to read. There is some debate as to whether you should hyphenate a domain name or not, no real conclusions yet so do what you want, I personally prefer to hypenate if the domain is longish.

To .com or not to .com. Well, if your site is International or USA, then a .com domain is usually best. If you site is aimed at a particular country, say you are selling wine to the UK market only, then a country specific .co.uk domain would be better. It helps with search engine optimization and also gives the user an idea of which country audience the site is aimed at. If in any doubt, it is safer and best to go with a .com domain.

Once you have a domain name idea, you need to register it. www.GoDaddy.com is one of the cheapest and most popular domain registrars on the Internet and I would highly recommend them.

They don't register .co.uk domains and if you need one of these I recommend www.123-reg.co.uk. They are quite cheap!

Alternatively, just type in "register domain name" and you will get a list of companies that will register one for you.

TASK

1) Choose a good, approapriate domain name for your online business or website

5) Register your domain name at www.GoDaddy.com

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