In addition you should also consider registering an .info domain — a TDL that has been available since 2002 as an alternative to a .com or .net domain. Especially when you want to build a website whose major purpose is to provide information rather than interactivity an «info» - domain can be the right choice.
Apart from the three most popular international top level domains (com, net, info) there is also «biz», a rather new TDL. As of now «biz» doesn''t play any significant role in the world wide domain market which means you should consider this domain an option only if you have set your heart upon a specific name, word or phrase which is no longer available with «com» or «net».
Choosing and registering the right internet domain is an important step that determines the success of your further marketing campaign for two major reasons:
- Your domain can dramatically increase your website''s ranking at Google (you''ll read details in the SEO chapter)
- Your domain will be both — the address as well as the name of your internet business. (at least that''s the ideal situation)
Therefore, we have put together the following checklist for your optimal domain name (you can go to this address to see whether your domain is still available: www.domaincheck.com
- Is your domain a «com» or «net» (or even both)?
- If «com» or «net» are already taken it might be an idea to register an «info» domain.
- Does your domain explain the topic of your website (For example, it''s pretty obvious what «www.english-test.net» is about, isn''t it?)
- Call some of your friends or acquaintances on the phone and have them write down your new domain name. If your friends have no trouble getting the URL (webaddress) right without asking back and forth, you have chosen a good domain name.
- Ideally your domain consists only of one short word or abbreviation or acronym. For example: «www.icq.com» This acronym reads as «I seek you» and is made up of only three letters.
- Instead of an acronym you can use a generic term. However, you will have to search to see if such a term still available.
- When you use word combinations, you ideally should register both versions — with and without the dash («www.bookreviewing.net» and «www.book-reviewing.net»)
- Try variations of your chosen word/word combination. For example, instead of « www.book-reviews.net» you can register «www.book-reviewing.net» and «www.book-reviewing.com» (as we mentioned before, both domains are still available as of now).
- An alternative to one short word can be a word combination or even a phrase such as «www.mybookreview.net» or «www.reviewmybook.net« (as mentioned before you should also try to register «www.my-book-review.net» and «www.my-book-review.com» etc.)
- Do you remember our definition of «creativity»? Yes, this principle applies to your domain name too. Let''s assume you want to start a website providing interactive book reviews. As we''ve established, many domains made up of the two keywords «book» and «review» and «reviews» have already been registered. So, why not use «savvybooks» and «savvy-books» instead?
- You can check the popularity of the keywords you want to use in your domain with Google: Simply type in the words or word combinations and see how many results Google will return. (for example, when you type in «english test», Google lists more than 7 million entries, so the popularity of this term is very high.)
- In addition to the number of entries returned on a Google search there are other criteria determining the value of your domain. For example, when you search for «books», Google lists more than 100 million pages. A person who is looking for «savvy books» is much more likely to be interested in your book review site than someone who is looking just for «books» in general.
As you can see, there are quite a number of aspects to selecting your domains and the more information you collect the better the results. If you have a specific domain name question you can contact us on our
Forum and choose the appropriate category.
You can download the e-book here:
Free Internet Marketing e-Book
If you have any English grammar or vocabulary questions,
please post them on this English Grammar Forum.Author: Torsten Daerr & Alan Townend
