Your
prospective visitor
has no way of knowing what your site is all about until she
finds it and reads its contents. Who can ever tell that Amazon.com
sells books? Or that Excite is a search engine? Your domain
name can spell your success on the Internet. A good domain
name is the best asset you can ever have. It can make your
business stand out in the crowd, or just float aimlessly in
space.
The need to provide immediate clues to an online business
led to the prevalence of generic domain names. Generic names
instantly provide the user with an idea of what a business
is all about, what to expect and look for in a site. For instance,
Etoys.com is a toy store.
The temptation of the generic name has been so powerful; that
some companies even paid ridiculously high prices to get the
name they want. The domains Loans.com and Wines.com were both
bought for $3 million each. Telephone.com was acquired for
$1.75 million, while Bingo.com sold for $1.1 million.
However, generic names do not necessarily create the “buzz”
that you’d like surrounding your website. Branding has
always been about proper names: McDonald's did not name their
store Hamburger. Hertz is not called Car Rental. FedEx is
not Mail Carrier. Kodak is not Photographs. Afqam
is not Search Engine. Microsoft is not Computer Software.
For better branding results, your domain name should stand
out and be easy to remember. Consider the following tips when
creating a domain name:
The domain name should be short
The domain name should be simple
It should be suggestive of your business category
It should be unique
It should be easy to interpret and pronounce
It should be personalized
It should not be difficult to spell
It should not be difficult to remember
Domain names can be registered through many different Companies
(known as "registrars")Most website hosting companies,
as Explained later, will handle the registration process for
you, but make Sure that you are properly listed as the owner
of the domain when it is Registered. If you have registered
a domain name for a specific period, Make sure you renew it
in time. You’d be surprised at the number of Cases,
where website owners have lost their domain name to a Competitor
by not renewing it in time.
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