Start a Home Based Internet Business

Choosing a Domain Name

Choose a domain name as close to the product or service you are providing or promoting. Naming a site after its domain name is important because when people think of your website, they'll think of it by name. For example, when people think of dogandcatshop.com, they don't have to wonder what URL to type into their browser to get to the Dog and Cat Shop, the name of the site is also the URL.

A domain name can be any length up to 67 characters. There is some disagreement on whether a long or short domain name is better. Some individuals feel that shorter domain names are easier to remember and easier to type. While other individuals feel that it is easier for the human memory to remember a long domain name instead of an acryomn for the name. It is also important to try to choose a domain name that has your main keywords. Having your keywords in the domain name will also help with search engine ranking.

There are advantages and disadvantages to choosing a domain name that is hypenated. Hyphenated names are harder to remember and harder to type. People are used to typing domain names without hyphens so it's possible that when you tell someone your domain name and they forget to put in the hyphens, they could wind up on your competitors website. One advantage to a hyphenated domain name is that search engines can distinguish your keywords better and could potentially rank your website higher.

With the sheer volume of websites on the Internet today it might be tough to find your preferred domain name with a .com extension. You can choose a domain name with a .net, .info or a country specific extension such as .de or .uk. If you decide to choose a domain name with an extension other than .com, make sure to promote your entire domain name including the extension when advertising your website. Most people are going to assume that a domain name ends in a .com extension unless you tell them otherwise.