What's In The Domain Name?

What's in a Name? Finding the Best Domain Names for Your Business If you are just starting out, you'll know that a having a good business name is a great way to get you out of relative obscurity. Your business name should be able to aptly represent what your company is all about and something that people will easily remember since establishing recall is your next most important step and the most crucial factor you have to deal with. This is basically the same premise practiced with online businesses as well. While they have the added advantage of a wider audience and bigger chances of being seen and checked out because people are logged onto cyberspace all the time, they still need to be able to brand themselves and make their mark for their customers to keep coming back for more. After all, they only have three seconds to grab and keep their customers attention before they move on to the next site. Their domain names need to be exactly that - dominating and strong over a vast customer base. So what exactly are domain names and how important are they for online businesses? Domain names are identification strings used in various networking contexts, specifically for application naming and addressing purposes. They represent an Internet Protocol resource like a personal computer used to access the internet, a server used to host a website or any other service communicated via the internet. Domain names affect your brand, whatever you are all about - whether you're selling paper clips or designing web pages. So the first rule of finding domain names is that it should be something you are comfortable with and should preferably be your company name since your company name with a.com after it is how customers will search for you online. Keeping it short and easy to remember allows customers to remember you better than some creatively contrived that may sound good but doesn't make for easy recall. In the same light, remember to keep your domain name short and sweet. Even if domain names can be as long as 67 characters, keeping it no longer than 20 characters long will help customers remember you better. Your customers will need to type in your domain name and it really won't go over well if they have to type in kilometric names. They might just end up chucking you for your competition that has a shorter domain name. Adding special characters like hyphens, camel case or dashes is OK but you must try checking the domain name with the dashes removed as it may turn out to be a competitor's domain name. Adding a location to your domain name doesn't only help you find an available name, it also helps your customers find you easily via local searches. Local searches are done when potential customers want to check if there are specific businesses operating within their town or city. Also, in an attempt to stand out from the competition, some companies will resort to using jargon or words closely associated with the nature of their business. This is OK if you have the budget to make your name a household word, but if not then it's still recommended you go with a name that is already familiar. Having a good domain name is like playing a good game of mnemonics with customers. The more they are able to associate your domain name with your brand, the more traffic is driven to your site, the more sales it will turn out for you. While unique can win you points for originality, it is still familiarity that will win the race at the end of the day. Choose the best domain names for your business when you find domain names search tools on http://www.optimalhosting.com. Strengthen your brand and keep your customers coming back for more. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glenn_A_Rice