AVAILABILITY
If it's not available you can't have it - simple!
COPYRIGHT
Ensure that you do not breach copyright or infringe trademarks with your choice of domain.
EXTENSIONS
It's widely acknowledged that the best TLD (top level domain) is .com.
However, in the UK, web users are more than used to .co.uk so this is
equally acceptable for UK websites. If .com isn't available and you use
.net instead (for example), check that .com isn't either a competitor
or that the .com site content is acceptable! Always try to get the
.com first, then your country TLD or finally .net in that order. Web users are still not
used to .biz or .info.
BE GREEDY!
If more than one TLD variant is available, buy as many as you can
afford and set them all to point to your website. This is a form of
brand protection and prevents unscrupulous competitors trying to cash
in on your hard-earned web traffic.
BE MEMORABLE
Make sure that potential web users will remember your domain name and that they can spell it properly.
BE PRONOUNCABLE
Try telling people your web address over the phone - can they
understand what you tell them? Or do they give up and try someone
else's website.
BE DESCRIPTIVE
If you are a new business, very few people will remember or search for
your domain name if it is your company name. Try choosing a domain name
that is descriptive of your products instead e.g. cheap<<your
product here>>.com. Try testing it with a hyphen as well as using
just one word.
OFFLINE MARKETING
Use your domain name in your offline marketing literature and ensure
that it is as visible as possible. However, if your domain name
consists of more than one word, that isn't hyphenated, try using
capital letters e.g. which is easier to read - littlefishwebdesign.com
or LittleFishWebDesign.com? Domain names are not case sensitive so your
clients will find your site whichever version they use.
BUY YOUR DOMAIN FOR LONGER
Search engines are now looking at less obvious information such as how
long you have bought your domain name for. Domain names owned for less
than two years are though to be penalised, so buy your domain for as
long as possible.
OWN YOUR DOMAIN NAME
If you use a web designer or third party for your domain names, ensure
they are registered in your name and that you have a signed agreement
with the company that they will release all the details (including
password) to you, quibble free, if you choose to move to another design
or hosting company.
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