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Although people recognise websites by their names, and a website is therefore uniquely identifiable by it’s name, (URL stands for Unique Location Reference) its “real location” is an IP (Internet Protocol) address.
How Domain Names Came into being
Because the average person finds a series of numbers difficult to remember, the system of cataloguing websited by domain names attached to a single IP address came into being. Each domain name is a physical “place” on the internet which is associated with your IP address.
Visitors find domain names vectored onto your IP address and many do not even know that such a thing as an IP address exists. Much the same thing happens with personalised number plates. The purpose of a number plate is to uniquely identify a specific car, so if someone wants to attach a “vanity” plate like BMW 555, for example, the car registration authority still knows which car it is. Similarly many domain names publicise products, or business names.
8 More Tips to help you pick a good domain name
1) Choosing a domain is a lot like choosing a name for your company. Ideally the name should be consistent with your branding. Determine whether you are branding the name of your company, product or service. Your domain should be good for branding – short, easy to remember, and has a ring to it or creates an image in the mind of the consumer.
2) Trademark. Before registering your domain, be sure to check the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to make sure that the name has not been trademarked. Search pending Trademarks. Assuming that your choice has not been trademarked, once you have now registered the name, you may want to protect your domain name by filing a Trademark or Service mark application.
3) Ownership. When you catalog a website name, make sure that you, the owner, are the registrant of your web name. Some web site firms offering fre or low cost domain names will catalog your domain name with their own name as the registrant. This will give them ownership of your domain name. Of course you can get them to re-register the name to you oif you want to change webhosts, but it’s costly. Save $5 now, pay hundreds later…
4) Hyphens. Many people are confused about whether to use hyphens in a web name. First of all, the domain name you give out to the public is better without hyphens. The web name without hyphens is the web name that people are most likely to type in the address bar of their Internet browser.
There is a slight search engine advantage to having a web name with hyphens. The search engines see keywords in your web name more easily so that your web site does go higher in search engine results. Most large search engines can now see individual calligraphy without hyphens, however, lesser search engines may not and even the augmented ones may see a word differently than you want.
5) Extensions. Domain names are available with various extensions. If it’s really important to you, you can catalog domain names in every or any extensions, however, for most firms only the .com extension gives full marketing benefit. If you feel that you need to actually use .org, you should also try catalog your name in the .com extension.
The com extension is similar to 1-800 for call numbers. Most people automatically dial 1-800 even when they see 1-888. Additionally, many people type a keyword + .com into their browser, that may bring you some extr customers.
6) Top Level Domain vs. Sub-Level Domains. You must have your own domain name. Do not fall for the pitch and use a free hosting service, free hosting services will only give you a sub- domain. No one will ever remember it and it’s sort of like script your own letterhead.
7) Your domain name should not imply that you are you can accomplish impressive things that may not actually occur. Use of calligraphy such as ‘BEST’, ‘TOP’, ‘FOREMOST, ‘LEADING’, ‘WIN’ and similar calligraphy in a web site domain name could create a false impression.
Advertising Your Domain Name. Be sure to include your domain name on your business cards, letterhead, and all advertising. When publicity in off-line media, When publicity in off-line media, always market the domain name without hyphens, assuming that you bought both the hyphenated and unhyphenated versions.
Protecting Your Name
Regardless of whether you already have a registered trademark or are now beginning the process of applying for one, it’s smart thinking to protect your Name from the start.
Although the court have uniformly ruled against cybersquatters, who wants the trouble and expense of a court case? And who knows either, what a court might rule tomorrow? As the law presently stands, it helps to “advertise” your Name in a variety of commercial ways.
If you do not already hold the exact domain name match for your Name in the .com .org and .net TLDs (TLD is the acronym for Top Level Domain) together with the extension for your main country of operation — for example, .uk or .tv etc — then we highly reccommend that you secure those Names at once, before some cybersquatter beats you to it!
Moniker are a highly reputable domain register, and are at time of publishing offering the lowest available TLD registration fees, which can be under $7.
