Choosing a Domain Name
Your domain name should reflect your business. It should also be short and sweet. The name has to be easy to remember and easy to type. A business like "George Nichol's and Sons, Painting Services" should use something like nicholspainting.com
Use "all one word" domain names instead of using dashes between the words. Unless absolutely necessary. Again this helps keep it easier to remember. Internet users are used to the all one word domain names and unless told other wise will always assume your is.
Preferably the domain could include a keyword or two. The above example nicholspainting.com uses the word painting in it. Keyword placement in domain names has a bit of an influence on search engine rankings. It's not an absolute necessity as its effects are not major, but it can help if the keyword-ed name suits your business and is available.
Choose the Right Domain Extension
Domain extensions, also know as Top Level Domains (TLD's) are important and can influence a visitors impressions on your business. The .com extension is the most recognized, most easily remembered, and carries a lot of trust. Don't use extensions like .net, .info, or .biz They look less professional and when your website is mentioned in a word of mouth referral the .com will be remembered, if not assumed, when that visitor goes to your site through direct navigation (typing in the address bar of their browser).
If your preferred domain name is not available in a .com version then try other names till you find a good .com
Canadians and other Non-US Businesses Take Note;
In Canada the .ca domain carries a lot of trust with Canadian web users. We recommend you use the .ca extension. You can also purchase the .com version, if it is available, and redirect it to your .ca one. This way, if someone forgets and assumes your site is a .com, they will be re-routed right to your .ca site.
The .ca extension will also help with your search engine rankings for searches done by Canadians. Google recognizes through users IP addresses that they are Canadian and will serve search results to cater more to a Canadian searcher. Using the .ca domain tells Google your site is Canadian and will give it more weight in those searches.
This is the same for other countries. In the UK use a .co.uk domain, for example. Each country has their own country specific TLD and residents of those counties have a preference for these site when searching for local websites. And the search engines also give them more relevance, thus higher rankings, for searches conducted in that country.
Own Your Domain
When getting a domain name register it through a domain registration company. You want to be able to own the domain and have full control over it. Be careful, some web hosting companies will purchase your domain for you when you sign up for hosting services. They may register it in their name, not yours. This is not good. You have no control over the domain and, if you choose to change hosts, they may refuse to give up the domain in an attempt to force you to stay. Or they may fail to renew the domain at the end of the year and you could loose it.
Register you domain with a third party registration service. We use, and recommend, namecheap.com for most our domain purchases. You can set it on auto-renew to automatically bill your credit card each year, or purchase 2, 5 or 10 years of registration so you don't have to think about it.
From your domain control panel your can set the domain name server (DNS) addresses to point it to wherever it is being hosted. This can easily be changed should you need to move servers. You can also set domain redirects, or transfer the domain to somebody else.
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