Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Five Mistake People Make When They Choose a Domain Name

By Jan Shimano

So you have made the big decision to start your own business. Congratulations!! That's one big decision down but now the next one is also a very important one, and that is the choosing of your domain name. You want it to be a perfect fit for you and your business.

Too many people rush through this process not understanding how difficult it might be for them later on, if they choose incorrectly now.

Here are five of the biggest mistakes people make when choosing their domain name:-

* THE DOMAIN NAME HAS VERY LITTLE RELEVANCE TO YOUR BUSINESS. When prospects come to your website they are expecting something in particular. If you are not providing the information that they were expecting, they will immediately leave your site, never to return again. Your domain name has to make it very clear to the prospect what type of information he is going to find when he visits your site.

* THEY DO NOT CHOOSE THEIR OWN PERSONAL NAME. It is a very good idea to purchase your own name for your domain. You might not be in a position to use it immediately, but I would suggest you go ahead and get it now. If you become very successful, someone could try to capitalize on your success by purchasing your name. There is nothing to stop them from doing this. I know of one very well known guru that cannot use his own personal name without adding dashes to it, for this very reason.

* THEY CHOOSE DOMAINS THAT ARE CONFUSING. You want your domain to be easily understood. On occasion you are going to have to recite your website address to people over the phone. Say for instance your site was "helpforyou.com". People might try to type in "help4you.com". You don't want to have to spend time trying to explain how to enter the address. It is my recommendation that you stay away from using numbers that could also be words.

* THEY PUT DASHES IN BETWEEN THE WORDS IN THEIR DOMAIN NAME. Choose a name that is quite easy to type. If you are like me, you find it awkward to type dashes in between words. So avoid anything that doesn't flow easily, such as dashes.

* THEY DON'T CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME WITH LASTING POWER. This is the name that is identifying your business. You want to choose one that is good for the long haul. You don't want to choose a name that is trendy right now. Trends come and go. Make sure it is a name that you will feel comfortable with for many years to come.

If you take these five things into consideration when you are choosing your domain name, then you should end up with something that you are going to be happy with and that represents you in the way you want it to.

Dont forget that your domain name is just like a snapshot of you...make sure it depicts you in the most favourable light.

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