How To Choose The Best Domain Name

Choosing a domain name (web address) could be an easy task, but before you jump into it, you need to consider a few things. You will have to ponder what is going to be the best choice for your domain name, decide which web extension is best for your domain name, and finally, determine how will you get it.

WEB EXTENSIONS

Web extensions help distinguish the nature of your site.  Some common web extensions are, .com, net, biz, org, tv, info, mobi, and us?  There are many more web extensions out there, but we will only look at a few of the most common ones here:

  • .com – this extension represents, “commercial” and is preferred by most businesses because it’s so commonly recognized as the extension for those doing business on the web.
  • .net – this extension represents, “network”.  It is commonly used by internet service providers, web-hosting companies, and other businesses involved in the infrastructure of the internet.  The .net extension is also chosen by some businesses for their intranet sites.
  • .biz – this is an extension for small business sites.
  • .org – this extension represents, “organization”.  It is mainly used by non-profit organizations or trade associations.
  • .tv – this extension is for multimedia sites that carry rich content.  It is normally used in the entertainment industry.
  • .info – this extension is used for sites that hold credible resources/information.
  • .mobi – this extensions is used for mobile sites.  Mobile sites are viewed on cell phones, iPads, tablets, etc.
  • .us – this extension is for American sites — sites that are exclusively in the United States.  Other countries also have their own exclusive extensions.

For more extensions and their uses, visit this link: More Web Extensions

CHOOSING YOUR DOMAIN NAME
When choosing a domain name, you want your domain name to be as relevant to your business as possible. For example, if the name of your business is Joe’s Barbecue Shack, you may want your domain name to be, joesbarbecueshack.com or .biz. Your next choice may be joesbarbecue.com or .biz. For SEO purposes though, the smarter and most strategic approach would be, joesbarbecueshack.com or .biz because it has the company name and service offered in it.

Think about this; if you decide on the domain name, let’s say, eveythingbarbecue.com, for example, and people who know that your company is Joe’s Barbecue does a search for Joe’s Barbecue, there’s a great chance that your website will not show in search results. Of course there are ways to manipulate that scenario to make the site come up, but from an organic search ranking point of view, it is wise to just choose a domain name closely related to your company name.

HOW TO GET YOUR DOMAIN NAME
Now that you have decided upon a domain name, you have to check its availability. You will have to do a “domain name search”. I recommend doing the search via a hosting company’s site because if the name is available, your next step will be to purchase the domain and get hosting.

What the hosting company does is allow your website to be seen across the web. In a nutshell, after your website is created and ready to go live, it has to be uploaded to the host’s server, where it will then be accessible on the internet. Without the host, your site cannot be seen. I recommend using a company called Bluehost. Their hosting fees are cheap and you can have as many domains hosted as you like, at no extra cost.

So now, on to getting your domain name — click on the link below to check your domain’s availability.

recommend using a company called Bluehost. Their hosting fees are cheap and you can have as many domains hosted as you like, at no extra cost.

So now, on to getting your domain name — click on the link below to check your domain’s availability.

When you get to the page:

1) click on the button that says, “Get Started”.

Figure 1

2) select your plan.

Figure 2

3) key in your desired domain name.

Figure 3

4) click next, and it will tell you if the domain name is available or not.

Note: If for some reason the domain you’re trying to get is not available, you will be given a list of suggestions, or the option to simply search for something different. You’ll have a domain name in minutes, so go ahead and get started.

Here’s the link to get started: