Your domain name is how people find you and essentially access your website.

But its not just a matter of picking a name and putting a .com or .com.au on the end. There are a number of considerations such as:

DOMAIN NAME FOCUS

1. Branding by business name - the domain reflects the existing name of your business, either in full or an abbreviation or acronym eg Just X-Cart Australia - www.justxcart.com.au or www.jxc.com.au

Most businesses at the very least secure their domain name-equivalent to their business name.

2. Branding by product or industry type - this domain instead advertises a product type, or essentially keywords related to your product or industry eg an X-Cart hosting provider might register www.xcarthosting.com.au, or something more generic that promotes both a product and geographical location such as www.xcartaustralia.com.au

DOMAIN NAME TYPE

Is your business focused nationally, internationally or both? this may mean the difference between registering a .com.au (Australian domain name), .com (global) or both? There are also additional country-specific domains that are popular such as New Zealand and the UK.

And for those with a global-focus, but your desired .com is gone, additional options such as .net, .biz or .info are available.

Country-specific domain names

1. .com.au / .net.au / .org.au / .asn.au
2. .asn.au / .au.com / .id.au
3. .co.uk / .org.uk / .co.nz
4. .cn / .us

Global domain names

1. .com / .net / .org
2. .cc / .ws / .bz
3. and Category-specific domain names:
4. .coop / .aero / .pro / .name / .info / .biz / .tv

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Underlines and dashes

Domain names do not allow any spaces between names. However, you can use underlines ( _ ) or dashes (-). It is important to note however that although underlines or spaces will:

(a) ensure people can easily read what you domain actual is
(b) it can assist your search engine optimisation prospects because your actual domain holds some of your keywords

you need to consider the negative impact such as:

- explaining over a phone how to type it into an address bar given not all people know different between underlines and spaces
- if someone just hears your business name and decides to look you up on the internet, people generally are inclined to type the name of a business directly into a browser and plonk .com.au on the end so if you use dashes they won't even get to your site

Spelling

They say its 'all in a name', but on the internet, that name needs to be easily spelt. Typos can cost business thousands simply because what is easy to spell for them, may be difficult for their customers. And sadly it takes only one incorrect letter to leave a client viewing a 'page not found' instead of your website.

What may seem funky to do to a word, might not be so beneficial on the internet. Take the word 'kids'. You see many a business use the word 'kidz' instead of the correct spelling which can land them in heaps of grief on the internet if this word is incorporated as part of their domain.

In such instances, we strongly recommend that you register your main domain of choice, but also register any other possible domains that your customers are likely to mistype for yours and have those domains parked and pointed to your main domain (note: ensure to set up additional domains under 301 permanent redirect conditions to keep Google happy)

Make it memorable

Although you can register a domain up to 63 characters in length, it is advisable to think of one that is short and memorable. A business called Integrated Web Solutions Australia, although being able to fit their entire business name into a domain name, would be better opting for an acronym if it were available such www.iwsa.com.au.

If you keep in mind the above guidelines, you will ensure that no only will your domain server you well, but it will also server your visitors well and enable them to easily get to your website.

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