Obtaining A Good Domain Name

There are many places you can go to obtain a domain name, like NameCheap.com (my preference), GoDaddy and many others.  It’s very simple, you just search for the name you would like.  You can also try other variations that include dashes and the registrar may even make suggestions that are available but still include your preferred keywords.

To buy the domain you just follow their cues to enter your information.  You will want them to have a valid email or other way to contact you to renew the domain and for the yearly check to make sure your information is the same that is required now.  There is one thing you will want to look out for, that is WhoIsGuard Protection.  It’s inexpensive but very worth it because it protects your identity from being available to anyone that wants it.  Believe me after the numerous phone calls I received the first couple of times I didn’t do this I forked over the cash just to stop the madness.

The next problem you will face is making a decision on the extensions so I have brought in some help from Scott Casey to explain this:

Let’s shine a little light on what are known as ‘Extensions’ at the end of a domain name. Sometimes they are known as TLD extensions with the TLD just standing for Top Level Domain. (Not sure why, but that is what the TLD stands for.)

Primarily you’ll see a domain name ending in either ‘.com’ / ‘.org’ / ‘.net’ and also ‘.biz’ and ‘.info.’ The ‘.com’ is the most widely known as it was the first and stood for ‘Commercial.’

Now you use to hear to always try for the ‘.com’ because that is what people were familiar with. But now not only are most ‘.com’ domains taken but people are used to seeing the ‘.org’ and the ‘.net.’

My understanding from talking with a few people who really focus on this is that today Google does not penalize a site for having an extension other than the traditional ‘.com.’

Looking for a domain name with ‘.org’ or ‘.net’ gives you more of a chance to get the domain name you really want. I have been told that after the ‘.com’ the next 2 best ones are the ‘.org’ and ‘.net’ but in search results you’ll still see a few ‘.biz’ and ‘.info’ ranking high as well.

Interesting thing is with the ‘.org’ people give it a little more credibility as it stands for ‘Organization’ and I believe it used to be for non-profit organizations only. Now it can be used for a commercial site and is the one I would look to first if the ‘.com’ is not available. Keep in mind when it comes to a domain name ending in ‘.com’ that some of these sites were established early and have been built up over the years with content and a lot of good links.

So don’t be surprised if you see the ‘.com’ fairly often. Keep in mind there is a lot that goes into making a page rank well in the search engines besides a domain name.

Also consider that a well established company can afford to purchase a domain name ending in ‘.com’ from someone who already has the domain they want and normally a large marketing budget to promote that domain.

And remember There Are A Lot Of Other Effective Ways To Get Web Traffic than just trying to rank high in the search engines.

So don’t think you need to have a domain name ending in ‘.com.’ You can use the ‘.org’ and ‘.net’ and then look at the ‘.info’ and ‘.biz.’

Scott Casey has a lot of Internet marketing experience and you can take advantage of this experience by visiting his blog at http://www.internetmarketingscott.com. He writes many blog posts especially for those just starting out who want to learn and understand things such as getting a good domain name, understanding a target market and more