What's in a name? Yes, it's a clichéd question, but it is of paramount importance when it comes to your Website. The seemingly trivial task of "pick a name" takes on a whole new meaning when you must consider the way that the Internet handles domain names.
Here are a few points to ponder when you set out to pick a domain name. This tip is in addition to the advice provided in the book, Website 411: Business Survival in an Internet Economy.
* Search engines have started looking at the length of time that domain names are registered. Since so many scams, "link farms" and other gimmicks typically only use domains with one-year registrations, you have a better chance of being found if you register your name for 3 or more years, ensuring that you renew it before it is within a year of expiring.
* Domain names do not use spaces, and they do not use punctuation beyond underscores ("_") and hyphens ("-"). Your company name might look cute and memorable on a business card when punctuated properly, but it may not represent you so well as a domain name. For example, if you have a shoe repair business called something like "Shoes Heal Sew Fast", will your customers intuitively remember the correct homonym spellings of your name? Was it "Shoes Heel Sew Fast" or was it "Shoes Heal So Fast"? In this case, neither. What if you ran a newsstand called "Your News Exchange"? Take out the spaces, and is it "YourNewsExchange.com" or "YourNewSexChange.com"? Identity crisis! You may find that you are attracting a different audience than you intended.
* It's an unfair practice (and unethical in my opinion), but your Web-savvy competition may register the variations of YOUR domain name and point them to THEIR site... Because of that, it's a good practice (and cheap "insurance") to register the variations yourself at the time you register your main domain name. Protect your identity!
* Domain registrars (the companies that sell domain name registrations) don't like to leave money on the table. Therefore, if someone has shown interest in a domain name by checking its availability, registrar companies collect the information of domains that have been checked-but-not-purchased, and they sell the lists to bidders. Then, if any of the checked domains seem "catchy" or worthwhile, the domains gets purchased and auctioned by the person/company who bought the list. In other words, if you find a domain you like, BUY IT... If you wait, you'll probably lose it and have to potentially pay hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars to get it back!
* Beware of bogus renewal notices. It's a common practice (much like long-distance companies did in the 1980's and 1990's) to solicit customers and try to get them to swap providers. Unless you have registered a private domain and kept your contact information confidential, it is easy for companies to find out who owns a particular domain name. Most domain registrars have a link to the WHOIS database (an acronym created from the words "Who Is") that lists the contact information and expiration details of each public domain name. You will get unsolicited mailings from predatory companies urging you to renew your name before it expires. (In fine print, the paperwork will notify you that the mailing is an advertisement, not a bill... but it will sure look like a bill). If you unwittingly send the "non-bill" back with your payment, the fine print also states that you are agreeing to transfer ownership and registration to THEM... at which point they own your identity, and can charge you whatever they want to let you use it!
It's a shame that we need to share all of these warnings on how to protect your interests... the list goes on. In a perfect world, there wouldn't be a need for it, but then again, we're not in a perfect world.