What's in the name?
What's in a name?| Search and Register one or many Domain Names. |
|
||||||||||
Don't set your heart on any one name, but make a list of possibilities. It's
a good idea to be online at the time and to access a WHOIS application to
determine whether a name has been taken.
Typing an address into your browser will not be an accurate way of
ascertaining ownership as approximately 86% of all domain names currently
registered are not in use. A WHOIS query is the most accurate way to tell.
To access a WHOIS application and check on the availability of a domain
name:
http://www.registerengine.com/partners/whois.php?aid=173797
Generic, Business names
and Trademarks
Most people choose to register their business name as a domain name, but
it's well worthwhile considering selecting a generic name, something that is
related to your subject area or industry. Not only will it be easier for
people to remember, but it will also have greater resale value if you should
choose to sell your site in the future.
It is also worthwhile to check whether the name you are registering
encroaches on any other trademark. Many people have registered celebrity or
company names hoping to make a quick buck by selling them back to their
"owners". This usually backfires as it is an illegal practice called "cybersquatting".
It's definitely not worth the court case, even registering a mispelling of a
popular brand name can land you in hot water. Generic terms cannot be
trademarked to the point of the exclusion of others using the word
combinations. Since generic one word domain names are virtually impossible
to locate now, try two word combinations that inspire and promote your
products or services; e.g. solidbargain.com.
Keep it
short and simple
Ok, so you have found your name and decided that you wish to build a world
wide empire. You have chosen
www.zack-saysevry1has2visitmywonderfulsite.com....what's wrong with this?
Sure, it's descriptive, it challenges and it's generic. But it's also a
mixture of numbers, letters, abbreviations, hyphens and horribly long. A
domain name should be easy to remember, easy to relay to someone over the
telephone and where possible, the first letter should be as close to the
letter "a" as possible. A number of search engines and indices categorize
alphabetically. Domain names should also be as brief as possible. As far as
I am aware, all 3 and 4 letter names for .com and .net are taken at this
time. Unfortunately, when I began "Taming the Beast" in the mid-90's I
didn't consider some of these issues.
Choosing
a domain extension
Many countries now lease out the rights to use their extensions globally.
The best example of this is the .tv domain which actually belongs to Tuvalu.
There are now over 250 TLD's globally, to review a comprehensive listing of
these, view:
http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles2/countrycode.htm
A number of new Top Level Domain (TLD) extensions including .biz and .info
were also recently released amid a great deal of fanfare. These are usually
more expensive to register.
There is the temptation that if your first choice of names isn't available
as a .com, to register the name as a .net, .biz or .tv etc. Think carefully
before making this decision. Not only might it cost you more, but these
extensions do not have the recognition of .com - which is the "Beverly
Hills" of domain extensions. One of my biggest mistakes in selecting my
domain name was to wait for too long - the .com version was already taken by
the time I had gotten around to domain name registration and I had to settle
for Taming the Beast.net. Many people now go to the wrong address!
Nationalistic pride is great, but remember that the Internet has broken down
international barriers. Think of your target audience. If it is only the
people within your own country, a country specific domain is fine; but
remember that we are still in the growing stages of the real global economy
and it's best to go for .com - why limit yourself? Also, some countries such
as Australia have very complex requirements for registering a local domain
name.
Investing
in domain names.
Many people, including ourselves are involved in domain name speculation.
While the great domain rush was happening, investors made huge profits in
reselling domain names. This boom has now become a bust, never to recover. I
would advise not to spend your hard earned money in this area unless you can
afford to lose it. The only names with real value are one-word generic
English names. To learn more about domain name trading, read this article:
http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles/dotcomdilemma.htm
Beware of
the sharks.
To register a domain name, you need to locate a Registrar. Domain name
registrars are commonplace on the Internet, but you need to be very careful
who you register your domain through. Bigger is not necessarily better. For
example, an very well known International company currently offers domain
name registration for US $35 a year. For that price you get lousy customer
service, delays and very few "freebies" thrown in. But on the other end of
the scale, you can pay as little as $9.95 a year and receive quite the
opposite - but anything for under that price, be extremely wary of and read
the fine print. For further information on some of the pitfalls to avoid
when choosing a registrar, view:
http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles/caveatemptor.htm
Domain
Registration and Hosting - 2 Separate services
Many people are under the impression that registering a domain name also
includes space for hosting your web site. While this can be the case with some
package deals, it is important to understand that they are two separate
services.
Summarizing.
If all this seems pretty confusing, it may be wise to engage the services of
a consultant. It will cost you anything from US$25 upwards for the service,
but the fee of a good consultant is money well spent. Your domain name is a
very important part of your online business, and there are many traps set
for the unwary.
In
summary,
here are the basic guidelines for choosing a good domain name:
1) As short as possible
2) As generic as possible, but related (resale value, trademarks etc.)
3) No hyphens, numbers or misspellings
4) First letter as close to "a" as possible
5) Easy to remember (would you remember
it accurately if you heard it on the radio)
6) Easy to spell (especially for international clients)
7) .com is universally recognized and remembered - the "Beverly Hills" of
extensions. The new extensions such as .biz etc will take a few years to be
accepted.
8) No doubling up of letters - e.g. developmenttools.