What is a domain name? A domain name in simple terms is your address of your website.

Domain names are essential as they enable people to be able to find you. Having a domain name is a much easier to remember than if you had some type of code or numerals. We do however have a series of numbers and these numbers are known as your IP address (Internet Protocol address).

The IP address series of numbers is not always easy to remember while your domain name usually reflects your business in some way. Now as you are investing a lot of time in your business you want people to be able to find you very easily. Your domain name is the entrance door to your online business.

When you choose a domain you must register it and the last word or letters after the domain name is the domain extension. The most common extension is dot com (.com). Some people only want to be a local business so they may use the extension of .com followed by the letters that stand for their country. The extension is also preceded by a dot – for example you may register s name similar to this – http://beachrestaurant.com.fr. Fr are the letters for France.

Having your own domain name does not come free because when you register you must pay a fee. By registering your domain name, you get the exclusive right to use that domain name but only for a certain number of years depending on the policy of the company where you bought your domain name. When that period expires and you want to continue using the domain name then you can renew your contract.

When choosing your domain name, you can use a maximum of 67 characters made up of letters from A to Z or number from zero to nine or a mixture of both numbers and letters as well the hyphen. The maximum of 67 characters already includes both the sub domain name and the domain name extension. So if you want to have an easy-recall website then you better start thinking about your business and check that the name is available. The key is to make your domain name easy to remember.

However, you can already register a domain name even if you do not have a website. On the other hand, registration of a domain name does not carry with it a website. While some domain registering companies offer web hosting, you can register your domain name with them and choose from the various web hosting companies.

Never attempt to register a domain name which contains a trademark because that could cause you some legal problems.

Incoming search terms:

• importance of a domain name

Now if you are just starting out and exploring the possibilities of getting your own Domain and creating your own web site, there are always questions that you need to know the answers to so that you get it right from the start. Well you want to give yourself the greatest possible chance of success don’t you?

These are a few questions I have been asked over and over again.

1. What is the difference between a Domain Name and a URL?

2. Do I have to do keyword research before I buy a domain?

3. How do you choose a Domain Name?

4. Can I get my Domain name and my hosting from the same company?

Let’s look at each of these questions and give you an in depth answer for each.

1. The difference between your Domain Name and your URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is that the URL will contain the domain name. An example of this is the URL http://suemcdonald-online.com/hosting. As you can see the registered domain name here is suemcdonald-online.com. Many marketers treat Domain Name and URL as the same thing but as you can see there is a difference. You domain is your address on the web, the place where people find you. It is really like owning a small piece of real estate on the web.

2. Keyword research will help let you know what keywords are being searched in your niche. Look for words that have approximately 20,000 to 30,000 searches per month. There is no point buying a domain name and creating a website where you will never get traffic. That is the reason your keyword research will help.

3. Choosing a Domain Name can be difficult for some people who are just starting out. If you already have a registered company, you can see if that name is available to you. When choosing a domain name, you are actually advertising your business or product. What you are trying to do is establish this name as YOUR brand. Always choose a domain name with the .com extension. If, for example, you wanted to buy your own name .com and it is not available to you, you can us a hyphen or  think of another word you can add (eg online, secrets, sells). It is advisable to write down ten domain names, check availability and pick the one you feel most suits your business and you feel that people will visit also.

4. I would never advise that where you purchase your domain that is hosted there as well. The reason for this is because if something goes wrong with the hosting you could find yourself at a loss. Sometimes if you do this you can lose control of your domain and a company who is not reputable many not allow you to transfer your own domain. I use Namecheap to buy my domains and HostGator to host them.

Tip: If you are using Namecheap go to Google and type in Namecheap coupon. This will give you a code word to type into Namecheap that enables you to get a discount.

So if you haven’t registered a domain name yet, this post may help you. I have noticed there are some people who have not got a domain up and going yet, there is no better time to start.

To YOUR Success

Sue McDonald