In my previous article, “Take your Business to the Next Level – Create your Online Presence” I went over the many reasons why your business should have a website. Once you have decided to create an online presence the first step is to choose your domain name. A domain name is your address on the Internet and the right domain name will help to establish your online credibility and can become a key part of your organizations branding strategy.





Domain names can be categorized into Top Level Domain (TLD) and country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD). Top Level Domain and country code Top Level Domain are the suffixes of your domain. Domain names ending with .com, .org, .net, .info, .biz, .name, .mobi, .asia , or .tel are examples of TLDs whereas domains ending with .ca, .us, .de, .fr, .gh, .in, .it, .es are examples of ccTLDs.





You can choose from different TLDs or ccTLDs when buying your domain. Most organizations buy their domain in different TLDs and ccTLDs (e.g yourcompany.com, yourcompany.biz, yourcompany.us, yourcompany.ca) to protect their brand identity or to identify with countries that they operate in.

Here are some tips for choosing the right domain name for your company or organization.



Keep it Simple and Easy to Remember:



A domain name is your address on the Internet so keep it simple and easy to remember! If a domain requires a lot of attention to type correctly then you have lost part of its marketing value. Avoid long names and try to pick a name that is easy to remember.



Avoid Hyphens and Numbers



Hyphens and numbers make it hard to verbally promote your website. This is especially important if you advertise through radio or over the phone. You do not want your customers to be unable to find your website simply because they have spelled it incorrectly!



Use your Company or Brand Name



For a business, you want your customers to easily associate your domain name to your business or brand name. When you are registering your domain, choose a name based on your company or brand name to create the connection for your business or brand. It is advisable to lock in as many domains related to your business or brand name so as to expand on your accessibility on the Internet.





Register your domain name for more than 1 year



When registering for your domain name, you have an option to choose from 1 to 10 years. I recommend locking in your domain name for more than 1 year during the registration. This gives you the security of knowing you will own it for a long time, and always remember to renew before the expiration date to reduce the risk of losing it. If you allow your domain name to expire, it becomes available to the general public and anybody can purchase it.



Choose Automatic Renewal for your domain



When registering your domain, there is an option to auto-renew (Automatically renew) your domain or to do so manually at the end of its expiration. I recommend using auto-renewing option to avoid situations where you forget about the expiration and therefore allowed the domain to expire which can cause you to lose it.



In conclusion, incorporating your business name into the domain name and keeping it simple and easy to remember are extremely important factors when choosing a domain name. It is also advisable to purchase your domain name even if you are not ready to start designing your website as you need to protect the availability of your unique name.



Stay tuned for my next article where I will discuss the key steps involved in designing a website.



About the Author



Patrick Aboagye is the President & CEO of Danipa Business Systems Inc. He is dedicated to helping companies successfully develop their on-line presence while increasing their brand recognition and market share in a competitive economy.

For information about Danipa visit http://www.danipa.com.

Follow Patrick on Twitter @paboagye

Email Patrick: patrick@danipa.com