Every time you need a website, you need a domain name. Even though domain names are quite cheap, they’re not that simple to manage. I get a lot of questions and concerns about domain names: Is it difficult to find a good one? should I localize it? What is DNS management? How do I control a domain? How do I avoid losing it? Do I search for it on the web from a domain registrar? Below are some do’s and don’ts on the topic.
Is it difficult to find a GOOD one?
In short, the answer to this is clearly “yes”. A good .com domain is hard to find. There are a lot of arguments if you should have some keywords in the domain. A ‘good to have’ practice for sure, but not a ‘must have’.
You can be creative with your domain name. It doesn’t have to mean anything, but avoid using the same letter that separates your words. This makes it difficult to remember. Avoid using a domain name that extends further than 2 words if possible. This is not a good practice. Always remember that the domain has to be easy to remember and should be optimized both for humans as well as search engines.
You want someone to remember the domain name so they can visit again without having to find your email or business card. This also answers the question “should it be a .com”? if your domain name is not available in that extension you can purchase another extension but always check to see if the .com is taken. This should be your first priority.
Should I LOCALIZE it?
A personal opinion and a general rule I follow is buy as many as you feel reasonable to avoid missing traffic opportunities. Some questions to ask yourself if you are contemplating if you should buy the localized extension of your domain name. i.e. a .com.cy, or a .co.uk etc.
Who is my target group? Are they locals or are they both locals and international. If you have nothing to do with an international market and no future plans to expand internationally then maybe go with a local extension. You may have a local window cleaning company so you may not need a .com. Advertising in your local domain could have further benefits for you on the local search engines of Google.
Do I have an overseas office presence? This is important as you may need to buy more than one localized domain. You can always point the localized domains to your default one which again you can decide on wisely.
If you have the .com then why not also get the local extension so that someone else doesn’t snatch it up, even though in some cases it may help and you may benefit from their traffic.
What is DNS MANAGEMENT and How do I control a domain?
I receive many phone calls on a weekly basis asking me – “why is my website down?”, “I can’t access my emails” etc. Controlling a domain name and its DNS is not something average. You have to be familiar with the details of DNS management. Registering a domain name is simple but not enough if you’re not careful. For a small yearly fee, ideaseven can make sure your downtime is zero. Our DNS uptime is guaranteed. We can register your domain name on your company and we can manage it throughout the year so that you don’t have to worry about emails not working properly and the hassle of expiration dates. At any time, if you want your domain, we will gladly transfer it to you.
Do I search for it on the web from a domain registrar?
I have searched many times on a domain registrar for a domain name that was available at the time, and to my surprise, when returning a couple of days later, it was taken, but available for sale at an inflated price.
Try to avoid this type of long delay patches between your ‘search and purchase’ of the domain. Even though there is no proof of “domain squatting” from registrars, and even though I’m not accusing all of them of this, it just makes business sense to inflate the price of a highly demanded domain name. Something that occurs regularly is doubtful that it was a coincidence the first-time round.
In January 2008, Network Solutions was publicly accused of this practice when the company began reserving all domain names searched on their website for five days, a practice known as domain name front running.
Alex Constanti
MD Ideaseven