Extreme Newbie asks: ‘What is a domain name?’
Answer: According to Wikipedia – “A domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet, based on the Domain Name System (DNS). Domain names are used in various networking contexts and application-specific naming and addressing purposes.”
Are you still asking “What is a domain name?” That’s understandable. Simply stated, a domain name is the identifying letters and or numbers associated with an internet address. For example, you arrived at this site by either clicking on a link or typing in the name: www.marketing101pro.com In this instance, Marketing101Pro.com is the domain name. Because the domain name is the way to find the website that you are looking for, it is essentially an address that a person or entity owns. A domain name is a placeholder that lets you own and be in charge of a piece of virtual property on the internet. As such, you will want to make sure that your property name is properly representative of what your website or web pages are about.
It does not matter if it’s a flagship blog or a domain for a niche site; make sure you take the time to find the right domain name. Here are some guidelines to assist you in finding a perfect domain name for your website.
1. Purpose.
Decide on the purpose of your website. Are you going to establish yourself as an expert in a niche? That is a great idea and requires you to do some keyword research to decide which phrases would naturally attract traffic. Are you buying a domain to sell a product? If this is the case, then the product name or a variation of it should be the domain name. The perfect domain name in this case should either describe what the website is about or it should contain keywords related to your domain. Deciding on the exact purpose of the website should contribute to the name or phrases used in the domain name.
2. Presence.
What is a domain name worth, without an exact keyword phrase in it? Well, that is a matter of opinion and something you will need to decide. For some websites, it will not be a big deal to use another similar phrase. For others, you may need the exact phrase. In the second case, you should try adding hyphens, prefixes or suffixes to your domain name if the exact phrase is already taken. In this fashion, you will still be able to use the phrase while establishing yourself in the niche. A general rule of thumb is to use no more than two hyphens in a domain name.
3. Potential.
Do you have a clear idea of how big the website might grow in the coming months and years? Is the domain name you are buying intended as a mini-site to feed into your sales page or are you looking to create an authority site in your niche? The domain name selection should be determined by how much growth you are expecting for your website. If it is going to be a niche mini-site, the name should be a lot more specific and exact with a long tail keyword phrase than an authority kind of site. A mini-site name example might be: benninersheirloomtomatotips.com See how that is very niche specific? Where an authority site would do better with: heirloomgrowing.com This is better situated for growth and expanded topics at the site.
4. Price.
Just about any domain name you want is available, if you have the funds to pay for it. However, most of the time you will want to get register a domain name that is not already in use. Domain names can cost anywhere between $7 and $15 depending on the company you are registering them through. I recommend Active Domain (NOT an affiliate link!) due to their pricing and options. Go Daddy has an easy to use interface for researching available names and suggesting others. I do my research at Go Daddy – then head over to Active Domains when I am ready to purchase. If you have a very specific business name and want to get a domain name that has already been registered, check to see if it is in use or not. If it is not being used, think about contacting the domain owner and asking about purchasing it. You can find the domain name owner’s information in the ‘WhoIs’ directory and attempt to make a deal with the current owner.
Now you know the answer to ‘What is a domain name?’ and have some tips for getting started with selecting your own!
To your business,
Glenna Garcia
P.S. Once you have your domain name registered, you can’t go wrong with Host Gator hosting!
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