What is a domain name? A domain name is the location of your website on the Internet. Your
domain name will be what you become known by online so it's important to get it right.

Each website on the Internet is labelled with something called an IP address which is the actual
address of the website online. A typical IP address looks like this: 159.134.27.64. Remembering
a string of numbers like that is difficult so a domain name translates all those numbers into
something like www.amazon.com. This is far easier to remember.

#1 Dot what?

Each domain has what's called an extension. The most well known of these extensions is .com.
This, however, is not the only type of domain extension available. There is also:

.net

If you can't find your preferred .com domain name you could always choose the same domain
with a .net extension. It might not have the same ring as a .com but is still as just useful as
a .com.

.org

These domain extensions were orginally designed for educational and more formal websites.
Anybody can register a .org however so you have more options for domain selection.

.info

A more recent introduction to the domain name game are .info domains. Many of the valuable
.info domains were bought up overnight but there's still a huge range of good .info
domains available. With a little creativity you could really make a .info work for you
e.g. www.moviereview.info.

Bear in mind that most web surfers tend to remember .com more easily than anything else.

#2 Branding vs Business Name

There is an age old debate on the whether or not you should establish a brand name online or
use a domain that more actually reflects your real business. Let's look at Amazon as an example.
Amazon sells books online. Most people setting up a business would have chosen say
www.booksonline.com instead of www.amazon.com. Amazon has since established itself as a
brand name of global recognition - proving the value of building a brand name.

You'll need to choose between the two. Brand name or your own business name. Consider
how your domain sounds, how it might look on a business card and how well it relates
to your business.

There's no one right answer to this question. You need to choose what makes most sense
for you, your website and your business in general.

#3 Hyphenated or not

This is another area of debate. Should your domain be one single word or should the words be
separated by hyphens? There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.
Single word domain names can be easier to explain, use on header paper and lend
themselves to brand names very well.

Single word domains are in very, very short supply.

Hyphenated domains names can be slighltly more difficult to explain, may not look as well on
headed paper and possibly harder to establish as a brand name. There's no shortage of
multiple word domains.

The single biggest advantage a hyphenated domain has is that searche engines can "read" the
domain more easily. For example in a domain like www.foreignholidaysonline.com the search
engine can only read the first word "foreign" and that's it. It can't tell anything else about the
website domain name.

If you hyphenated that to www.foreign-holidays-online.com the search engine can read
"foreign", "holidays" and "online" as separate words and therefore knows that this website
is about foreign holidays.

A well chosen hyphenated domain name can be just as effective as a single word domain
name.

#4 Your Domain Registrar

These are the people you pay to register the domain for you. There are dozens if not hundreds
of these companies out there so which one do you choose? This takes some research but things
worth checking are:

• Do you retain sole ownership of the domain or do the registrar keep some level of control
  over it?
  
• Search Google for any horror stories relating to the registrar
  
• Does the registrar allow you to transfer the domain to another registrar?
  
• Is there an online control panel for domain administration?
  
• How easy is it to change the domain Name Servers?
  
• Shop around for domain registrars. What you really want to find is a previously satisfied
  customer to ask questions before you buy.

#5 Cheap Domain Names

You can save a lot of money on the domain names you purchase. A typical .com domain costs
about $15 to register from most registrars. However you can get the same domain for as
little as $7.95 from other, very reliable, companies.

Oddly enough some of the cheaper domain registrars are more reliable, have fewer horror
stories and offer equally good customer service as their more expensive competitors.

Are there any disadvantages in using a discount domain registrar?
Will it affect your website in any way? The answer to both is a definite No.

If you'd like more information on choosing and setting up your domain name then visit
http://www.affiliate-advocate.com for our Domain Guide.