Registering and buying a domain name for your business. This guide will provide you with all the information.
How to get a domain name that is suitable for your business.
If you aren’t convinced that your business requires a website on Google, it should. If you believe this already, every business, even the local dry cleaner, needs a website. The foundation of any website is a domain name. It is important to have a quality domain name that you aren’t being scammed. Find out what the differences are between buying a domain and web hosting. Hosting is required to connect to your domain. You can improve your buying experience by doing many things. Hosting refers to the physical space where your website is kept.
Hosting is often purchased together with the domain. You can also buy hosting without the domain. Hosting is not something that I will be discussing. There is very little availability of domain names. One name can be purchased. Even if the website is not yet in place, it’s important to purchase the name as soon as possible. If you decide to buy a domain name, don’t rule out the possibility of buying more than one. Names can be bought at major domain registrars for as low a twenty dollars. This includes a yearly renew.
Where do you start?
Begin by getting the exact name and format of your business. It is important to verify that Rick’s Pizza exists. A WHOIS search can help you verify this. It is unlikely that you’ll be able to afford $8000 for a domain that someone is selling. If they understand how urgently you want the domain, they’ll be extremely demanding. Consider how you can negotiate if you make an offering. We’ll get to that later. You can also try RicksPizza.biz or RicksPizza.net if you’re unable to obtain your dream domain. Dotcom is best, however, so it is recommended that instead, you try adding a word to the.com version, like OrderRicksPizza.com, etc.
Here are some general tips to “domain storm” a domain name:
- Be concise with your name: You can have names up to 63 characters long, but yours shouldn’t be anymore.
- Be descriptive: Use keywords that are meaningful if they’re relevant. For example, “BuyMensPants.com” if you’re a clothesier.
- Make your name memorable: Dotomator.com, a web 2.0 name generator, can help you create a nonsense domain name. This was a great idea for large web startups such as Drupal and Joomla.
- Register trademarks not under your name. You do not have to be held liable.
- Avoid using hyphens if you’re doing business in Germany. They prefer it!
- Your domain should not contain any numerical digits. People who hear the domain name on the radio may be confused and mistakenly assume that “5-0” is “FiveZero.”
- It is important to have a name that people can spell. Flickr.com is an example of a website that has experienced this problem from its inception. Although it was first reported on the radio, no one seems to have any idea that the “e” is missing.
- Misspellings are a problem. Registering multiple spelling variants for your name is possible if you are well-known in your industry or have a common misspelling. Google.com links to googel.com as an example. Google.com has a link to googel.com. This is because they realize the traffic they’d lose if they didn’t give Google.com an affiliate link.
To take advantage of domain forwarding, where one domain points at another, you might want to consider buying more than one domain. So again, if you are “Ricks Pizza”, don’t just get “RicksPizza.com” maybe get “OrderHotPizza.com” as well. These terms could be entered into a search engine or directly into your URL bar. It would be useful to have those names forward to your main website. To register your name, you can use web-registrars. To secure your domain name, it is essential to ensure that it has an automatic renewal. You could lose your domain name to the public auction. Your name will be returned to you, but it could cost you a lot.
While it is not necessary, you may consider adding additional extensions to your domain (or TLDs), as they are commonly known. You should exercise caution when doing this. Multi-national businesses such as Widget co can buy additional Country Code Top Level domains (ccTLDs). There are many available ccTLDs, some of which make little sense, and others with very different rules. There is a good list of them available here: http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db
Understanding Sub-Domains: When to register additional names. If you have major sub-categories in your business, you may be eligible for a subdomain. This is an example of a subdomain. It is worth considering registering the domain name if you are creating new products and/or services for your company. You can then forward the domain name to your main site. This would work in a similar way to McDonald’s(r), which owns McRib.com and forwards it on to their homepage. You can be the owner of e-real property that is not owned by another person.
Domain tools can be used to help you locate a good domain name
- DomainGroovy.com : site is a good place to start, it has the most complete guide I know of for searching for domains such as availability, keyword tools, and brand name generators.
- NameNinja.com: Easily search domains that include popular search terms. Perfect for finding your next keyword-rich domain.
- Dropwatch.com: Search expired domains according to the date.
- DomainsBot.com: Another excellent domain name generator.
When you find the right name, you can actually buy it. You can register your domain name first if you have done a WHOIS search.
You will have to buy it from another person in the secondary market.
For a registered name, I recommend one of these:
These large companies (read: excellent customer service) are well-suited for web hosting to go with your name. It is possible to be confused when registering domain names due to the amount and type of up-selling offered by the registrar (I’m thinking of you GoDaddy). But the good news is that you don’t really need any of it. If you truly feel you need privacy protection, it is something I recommend. Anyone who registers domain name registrations will see their WHOIS information, even if privacy protection isn’t purchased.
Negotiating for a Name in the Aftermarket
Don’t lose heart if your name is not available. You can reach the owner of your name by performing a WHOIS search, or by searching on a domain market site like YumDomains.com and Sedo.com. Ask the domain owner whether their domain name is for sale. Don’t offer any price. The person who offers the lowest price in a negotiation is the one who has the most to offer. Do not reveal your identity to anyone when you’re negotiating for domain names. Sometimes the price of a domain name can be affected by who you are.
Apple(r) won’t email you from their personal addresses if they have to buy a domain name for their new products. Instead, they will send you an email address that is not descriptive to reach out to you pretending to be a regular Joe. Be aware of the domain name value and how to avoid getting scammed. While there are some guidelines for domain names, these can be extremely subjective. Selling domain names is likely to ask for high prices, making it difficult to provide a fair price. This article is too long to provide a detailed explanation of domain valuation.
The key metrics are domain length (the longer, the better), keywords, and traffic, particularly type-in traffic. This is the traffic that a domain receives without SEO or advertising. Branding is important as well. Another good way to get a feel for domain name valuation is simply to literally examine the market for what they go for, this can be done by visiting Dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm where many aftermarket domain sales are published each week.
You need to tie up any loose ends once you purchase your first domain.:
It is highly recommended that your domain be set to auto-renew, whether it is an initial registration or an aftermarket purchase. This is because names can be stolen.
Listing the name after purchase:
Although it may seem counterintuitive, you can put your domain name up for sale immediately on a domain broker site such as YumDomains, or Sedo, at a huge mark-up. Although you don’t necessarily require the domain name to run your business, it is worth listing at a high enough value that it will be worthwhile to sell. You might also be able to get another name for the company. This will make it easier to decide. But you never know who will need your domain name. Therefore, be prepared to pay ten times as much for it.
