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It's All in the Name

The name game! You've got to play it if you want the name of your business to match its image. Finding the right name for your business is crucial, but with some time, thought, and creativity, the right name will most certainly come to mind.

But, when it comes to choosing your domain name or URL, things get a little trickier. You many find the perfect name, only to find that it is not available. As more and more people start to do business on the web, .com names are becoming increasingly more difficult to acquire. In the best case scenario your business name and domain name will match.

If you operate a commercial business, especially in North America, the .com designation is by far the best. Let's say you own a company called Bling Bling Pet Jewelry. You would first try to acquire the URL www.blingblingpetjewelry.com. If that was not available you might try other designations like .net, .biz, or .org. If you are running your business in countries other than in the United States, make sure you register your domain name under individual country designations-.ca for Canada, .au for Australia, are just two examples.

There are a few other rules of thumb. Try to keep your domain name to less than 15 letters, and make sure it is easy to spell. It goes without saying that your domain name should reflect your business in terms of the products you sell and the services you offer!

There are a couple of different ways to register your domain name. There are several different extension services offered on the web, or you can register your domain in your business name. What should you do? Definitely the latter! Your domain name is a precious thing, and you want to know that it is yours or under your control.

When should you register your domain name? Well, you don't need to wait until your web site is ready to go up. Instead, do it once you've decided to create a web site. Start choosing domain names right away and register the ones you like that are still available. Remember, good domain names are very hard to come by. Be safe by reserving a few. You'll pay anywhere from $10 to $75 per year to register your domain name, but once you pay the fee the name is yours until your site is built and ready to be published.

Here are a few of the most popular domain registration services.

- Domain Direct, www.domaindirect.com
- Dotster, www.dotster.com
- Network Solutions, www.networksolutions.com
- Register, www.register.com
- Unclaimed Domains, www.unclaimeddomains.com