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How Do I Choose a Domain Name?
People who do not know your domain name may try to guess what it is based on your company name (e.g.
www.yourcompanyname.com), so it is in your interest to choose a domain that is as close to your
company name as possible. If your web site is based around a specific brand or subset of your products,
you may prefer to choose a domain name based on that brand or product.
Try to register the .com version of your name first. When people look for your site on the web, they are likely
to first try your company name with the .com suffix. If .com is taken then consider using .net, .org (for
noncommercial), .us, info, or .biz.
Keep your domain name short, but not too short. Shorter names can be easier to remember, but only up to
a point. Be careful not to abbreviate your name so much that it becomes unrecognizable. If you must use
abbreviations, focus on the one or two words in your company name that have the most impact, and work
your abbreviations around those words. For example, Carlton's Sporting Goods might choose
www.carltons-sports.com or www.carltons.com.
Choose a domain that is easy to say, understand, remember, and spell. For example, you may not want to
select www.scents.com because that could be confused with www.cents.com or www.sense.com when
said over the phone or radio. Also, be careful with the use of hyphens and numbers, as they can make
domain names harder to type and recall. You don't want to lose potential customers because your domain
name is difficult to use. Test out potential names with friends before making your final selection.
Consider registering other similar names. If you're registering a .com address for your business, consider
registering the .net and .biz extensions as well to keep them out of the hands of competitors. You may also
want to consider securing similar-looking addresses that contain alternate spellings of your name or
common typos. For example, Carlton's Sporting Goods, might register additional domains like
www.carltonsportinggood.com, www.carlton-sport.com, and so on. You can register additional domain
names at Yahoo! Domains. With the Yahoo! Domains service, you can use web forwarding to redirect
traffic from these other urls to your main site.
People who do not know your domain name may try to guess what it is based on your company name (e.g.
www.yourcompanyname.com), so it is in your interest to choose a domain that is as close to your
company name as possible. If your web site is based around a specific brand or subset of your products,
you may prefer to choose a domain name based on that brand or product.
Try to register the .com version of your name first. When people look for your site on the web, they are likely
to first try your company name with the .com suffix. If .com is taken then consider using .net, .org (for
noncommercial), .us, info, or .biz.
Keep your domain name short, but not too short. Shorter names can be easier to remember, but only up to
a point. Be careful not to abbreviate your name so much that it becomes unrecognizable. If you must use
abbreviations, focus on the one or two words in your company name that have the most impact, and work
your abbreviations around those words. For example, Carlton's Sporting Goods might choose
www.carltons-sports.com or www.carltons.com.
Choose a domain that is easy to say, understand, remember, and spell. For example, you may not want to
select www.scents.com because that could be confused with www.cents.com or www.sense.com when
said over the phone or radio. Also, be careful with the use of hyphens and numbers, as they can make
domain names harder to type and recall. You don't want to lose potential customers because your domain
name is difficult to use. Test out potential names with friends before making your final selection.
Consider registering other similar names. If you're registering a .com address for your business, consider
registering the .net and .biz extensions as well to keep them out of the hands of competitors. You may also
want to consider securing similar-looking addresses that contain alternate spellings of your name or
common typos. For example, Carlton's Sporting Goods, might register additional domains like
www.carltonsportinggood.com, www.carlton-sport.com, and so on. You can register additional domain
names at Yahoo! Domains. With the Yahoo! Domains service, you can use web forwarding to redirect
traffic from these other urls to your main site.
