Selecting best domain name for your business website

Creating a website is not just about designing your pages and including all the important information, it is also about creating a good domain name that relates to your products & services. Visitors are likelier to come back if they remember your domain name. Choosing a domain name is one of the most important tasks when building a high-traffic website. Your domain name defines your internet identity and it is a door to your website, and if you choose your domain name wisely you'll get a running start to online success.

Choosing a good domain name may take a little time, but isn't too difficult. The best domain name you can choose is always one that follows the theme of your business. Here are some suggestions & techniques to choose a best domain name:

a) Short & Search Engine Friendly Domain Name:
You will want a domain name that is short and sweet. The name you choose should not exceed 5 words or 20 characters and it should be easy to spell. Try making use of keywords or popular search terms whenever possible and try not to have it more than 3 – 4 words long. Keywords in the domain name is one of the main factors that Google uses to rank the pages in its index. You want a name that is easy to remember and for those whose typing skills are not the greatest you want them to be able to type it easily. Try to think of a name that describes your site and allows visitors to associate it with your site in the shortest name possible. Also, if your domain name is short, other websites linking to your site will not have to worry about broken URLs and invalid web pages. For example webhosting99.com

b) Make a List of general types of domain names
There are plenty of websites that will allow you to search and register different domain names. Make a list of general types of domain names you are interested in and start searching. The reason for this is there are so many domain names on the internet that finding an easy one is not so easy.

c) Domain Suffixes (extension) (.com/, .net/, .biz/ etc)
There are many kinds of extensions or suffixes available for URLs from .com to .net and .biz to .info. If at all possible, use the .com top level domain, especially if you have an e-commerce site. Online shoppers are more likely to type .COM as domain name extension while shopping online. Hence, while choosing your domain name, look for dot COM extension. The reason for this is everyone knows about .com and if they are thinking of your website they will probably search for it as .com first. So, having a .com will keep people from getting confused. Also, if your keyword URL exists as a .com and you choose .net, you will probably lose customers and traffic to the other site because people know to go to .com.

d) Domain Name & Location
Don't include a specific location, unless you serve only that location. Even if you do ship nationwide, you may never get the chance to let the consumer know that; consumers from other areas are not likely to click through from search engines if your domain includes a location.

e) Suggestion from Forums
Make a visit to a webmaster or web hosting forums and ask for suggestions related to selection of domain. Because two minds are better than one. You may get great suggestions from these types of forums.

f) Register Your Domain Today only!!!
The last step here is to register a domain name. Write down 5 to 7 good names that you can choose from. Finally, choose a domain name you like best, register it at a domain name ICANN Accredited registrar immediately. Otherwise somebody else will register the domain name that you have thought for registration. Several months ago, I thought to register a domain marathimanus.com, I found the domain was free but after a week it was booked by somebody else. Domain names registration go even faster these days and with the lower costs involved you can't afford to wait.

Domain name is your online identity so choosing the right domain name is key to the success of your online business. So always keep in mind while choosing best domain names:
As short as possible
No hyphens, numbers or misspellings
Easy to remember (would you remember it if you heard it on the radio)
Easy to spell (especially for international clients)
.com is universally recognized and remembered - the new extensions such as .biz etc will take a few years to be accepted.
No doubling up of letters - e.g. doomain.com