When selecting your domain name keep it simple and unique so customers can search and find you easily. If you’ve done your keyword research, include your keyword(s) in there too.

A vital ingredient of your website is your domain name.  You need to find the cheapest domain registration and you need to purchase a domain name for your website to be online and accessible to your customers.

Your domain name is like your home address, once you have it people can visit you online.  You can expect to pay $10-$50 for a domain name and they commonly need to be renewed every year or two.

Picking your domain name:

• Brainstorming domain names

The first step to owning a domain is to brainstorm a unique domain name.  Make a list of words and phrases that would capture your target market’s attention.  What name represents your business?  Keep it corporate like ‘Top Golf Swing Inc’ or abstract like ‘Google’ – select a style that fits your business. Have at least one or two of your target targeted keywords in the domain address.

• Conduct domain name keyword research

Keywords are the words or phrases your target market search for in the search engines, so it serves to have those words in your domain name.  Using Wordtracker’s keyword tools for your keyword research makes it easier to find the best words to use in your domain name.  Using this service assists you designing a site that is better suited to achieve high rankings in the search engines and make advertising easier in the future.  Try the tutorials guide from Wordtracker to understand how keywords work, it’s a must for beginners.

• Pick a unique domain name

With your list of possible names select the ones that most fit your target market.  For example, my website has two of my keywords in it, ‘online’ and ‘money’.  People searching for the words ‘online’ and ‘money’ will find my site more relevant to them because my domain looks like ‘www.online-money-tree.com’ in the search engine results. So, what domain name do you want people to see when they search on your subject?

Find the cheapest domain registration

If you already have a business name in mind, simply put in your existing business name or the name you wish to use.  For example, your-business-name.com.  If someone already owns that domain and you want it badly enough you can try to buy it from them.  Expect to pay a lot in some cases!

For example, if you purchased Microsoft’s or Coca Cola’s domain before they did, you could most likely sell it back to them for millions of dollars.  Some people make a living out of domain trading.

Today there are many domain name providers and prices are very competitive, so it costs little to get started.  It is recommended that you purchase all suffixes for your domain name, .com, .biz, .net, and your business name at the same time.  You don’t want some unscrupulous person registering a website similar to yours because potentially they could divert traffic from your site.  I’ve heard stories of website owners having competitors register their domain names and writing something abusive about them.  I highly recommend GoDaddy.  They are one of the cheapest and most reliable domain service providers in the world.  They have won multiple awards for their products and their business model.  Check out the World’s Largest Registrar – GoDaddy.com

Domain Name Alternatives

Free domain sites are a great option, especially if you’re low on money.  However, they often come with banner ad’s, pop ups and certain restrictive conditions attached.  Generally all you need to do is pay a small fee for the ads to be removed.

In fact, you can find domain providers who will provide free domain names.  Yes-Free!  They will want to have their domain address attached to yours, so the domain address may look something like this:

www.theirbusinessname.com/mybusinessname.com. This can often be changed once your business has had some success, it can be transferred to www.yourbusinessaddress.com after a certain time period or if you pay a small fee.  Here are two free domain name registries:

1. http://freedomainsite.com
2. http://namezero.com

However, I would recommend GoDaddy over the free domain name registers.  They are far more reliable and in all honesty if you can’t afford to pay for the registration of a domain name, then it maybe difficult to justify starting an online business.  I’ve heard some disaster stories about free domain addresses falling off the band wagon and complete websites going missing.  I’ve tested domains with all the above and I sleep much better at night knowing that my main domain names are with GoDaddy.

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• Step 6. Online calling
  
• Step 7. Host websites
  
• Step 8. Outsourcing advantages

Remember The Name: Online-Money-Tree.com