Buying a Domain Name

Part 3: It’s all in the name.

This installment of the Foolproof, No-Nonsense, Kickstart Guide to Making Money Online is more of a show and tell than an article.

Our subject is ‘How to buy a domain’ and rather than write a whole lot of words that won’t mean anything to many people, I’ve made a short video that shows me buying a domain that will ultimately be used as the online home of this course.

Please watch the video at http://www.keywordlsispy.com/imkickstart/video1/ (that’s a temporary address until the course has its own home.)

Selecting and buying the perfect domain name is really important. It is a step that many people rush over, but that can be a big mistake. Take your time and follow the sensible guidelines that are detailed here and you’ll end up with a domain name that will work for you for years to come.

* It is almost always best to buy a .com domain. Sometimes you’ll find that the perfect domain is available only as a .info or a .tv or some other suffix type. Don’t be tempted. The search engines may well rank sites that are .org or .info, but do any Google search and you’ll find that the top ten – even the top 100 listings are massively dominated by .coms.

* Try to get a domain that is as short as possible. Under 25 characters is good – but under 15 is much better.

* Wherever possible incorporate your primary keyword or your brand name into your domain.

* If the domain you are interested in isn’t available, try separating the words in it with hyphens (dashes). So, if internetmarketing.com has gone, check out internet-marketing.com. However, be aware that you could end up violating someone’s trade name if they have already built a site with the non-hyphenated domain. In that case, it is better to find something you can make uniquely your own.

* Avoid using company names like the plague. You MAY be able to find a great-sounding domain that contains the word Google, or Ebay, but don’t be surprised if you hear from their lawyers soon after you buy it.

* When you find the perfect domain, register it for a minimum of two years. The search engines have hinted that they look out for domains that are only bought for one year at a time and downgrade them as a result. Whether that is true, or misinformation I don’t know, but the extra year is a small price to pay.

* Above all – don’t delay! Even if you just register your own name, grab yourself a domain today!

I’ve written a small php script that can help you brainstorm a few domain name ideas – head on over to http://www.keywordlsispy.com/domain/ and enter your keyword.

Hopefully the subject of buying domains is clear now, but if you have any questions at all, please let me know.

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