The domain name is the building block, or starting point of your online based career. A carefully chosen domain name can bring you more success, as search engine traffic will grow, which will increase your company traffic as well. The decision of what domain name should be used, should be made before creation of the site. The name you choose will reflect the overall "theme" or "mood" of your website, and the website's intentions. Some suggestions can be found below:
--Choose keywords/themes within your domain name that represent who you are (personal), or what your company is about (business). "New to the industry" companies generally jump quickly to a domain name that is simply their corporate identity. However, this could be a disadvantage as new customers do not yet know who you are! Therefore, you may wish to purchase your company's name for a domain, but purchase additional as domain aliases to point to your company's primary website. Try finding domain aliases that represent the products/facts/information you wish to represent in your website.
*Example: Your company name could be John Doe's Magic and Joke Shop. Of course you can go ahead and purchase (if available) johndoesmagic&jokeshop.com as your primary domain name. However, this domain would seem quite long and exhausted. But, since you sell magic products, try finding/purchasing domain names such as "getmagic.ext, allaboutmagic.ext, jokesandmagic.ext, etc..." This provides your site with different entries that will be beneficial to your business in the long run.
--Choose the extension (.tld) carefully. As extensions like (.biz/.info) are growing in popularity, you will still want to attain the .com extension for your domain, as this extension is more common/known, and makes your site seem more genuine. If you are unsure of the variety of extensions, and what they represent, please read the following:
*.com - It is the most well-known extension and preferred by all commercial enterprises. Typical to find this extension with a site that tends to sell an item/product.
*.net - Used by providers that relate to network(ing) or internet services.
*.org - Traditionally used by non-commercial websites. More for organizations and social networking websites.
*.biz - Used for business or corporate websites.
*.info - Informative websites.
When starting a new company, it may be best to purchase a bundle of extensions for your domain name. The more popular are .com/.net/.org; however, .biz and .info are rising in popularity. For example, you do not want the domain of mysite.com, and someone else registers the domain of mysite.org.
--Short and sweet. When you tell someone your domain name, the goal is for the listener to remember your domain without having to write it down. If someone has to write down your domain name, then, they are basically telling you that they will not remember it (a.k.a. too long). If your company name is rather large, try purchasing a domain alias that is a summation, or abbreviation of your primary.
*Example: Your Company’s name is John Doe's Magic and Joke Shop. You can purchase a domain such as jdmagicshop.ext or jdjokeshop.ext to also represent your company/online business.