Hyphenated Domain Names And Similar Issues

Due to the explosive demand for domain names it is becoming increasingly difficult to get short meaningful web addresses. Chances are you are going to have to make some compromises when registering your domain name. If you manage to get a short domain name that is meaningful, easy to remember, sounds good, and simple to spell consider yourself very fortunate.

An additional advantage of longer domain names is that they are more room for your keywords. Long domain names that have your site keywords in them also have an advantage in that they fare better in a number of search engines. The latter give preference to keywords that are also found in your domain names. So, for example, if you have a site on San Diego Weddings with a domain name like sandiegoweddingadvicedotcom, it might fare better in a search for "San Diego Wedding Advice" than another site, gethitchedinthesundotcom.

For the most part, I would discourage the use of hyphenated domain names. Most importantly, it's easy to forget the hyphens when typing a name. Many users are used to typing things like partyandweddingfavors.com but not party-and-wedding-favorsdotcom. Chances are people typing in your domain name will leave out the hyphens giving their business to your competitor.

When people refer your site to others verbally, having hyphens in your domain name leads to more potential errors than when the name does not contain hyphens. For example, how do you think your visitors will refer to your site if it is named "party-and-wedding-favorsdotcom"? They might say, "I visited Party and Wedding Favors dot com yesterday. It is such a great site, you should check it out”. The referred person, remembering that comment later, might type into their browsers "partyandweddingfavors.com". Oops.

Hyphenated domain names are difficult to type. Who wants to insert a hyphen between each word just to get the proper domain name? It is simply too much work.

On the plus side, search engines may reward your site with better results due to the hyphen-separated words. Thus positioning your site more favorably in search results for those keywords occurring in your domain name. If the non-hyphenated form is no longer available at least you can get the next best thing.

About The Author

George Meszaros with Webene http://www.webene.com

Domain Name Complications

Some of the tell tale sites of domain name that may be easier to obtain are a home to low quality Web sites. If you find yourself in this situation, contact the registered owner and ask if they would consider selling it to you. If the price is right, you may be able to make a deal. To maintain a cool head during the process, don’t act desperate to own the domain.

If the registered owner is willing to sell you the domain name be sure to use an escrow company. There are reputable escrow companies that will guide you through the buying process while minimizing your risks. It is worth spending a modest amount to ensure that you don’t get burned in cyberspace.

Your Web address is part of your brand strategy, and you have to make sure it is easy to remember. Try to pick a name that is easy to remember. I once worked for a company called ZZYZX. The domain name was www.zzyzxdotcom. Even though it is a short name it is a terrible name, because nobody knew how to spell it or pronounce it. You want your customers to be able to remember and refer your brand to others, so make it as easy for them as you can.

Domain names can be of any length up to 67 characters, but I don’t know why would anyone want a domain name 67 characters long. Your domain name can include 26 letters of the English alphabet, numbers 0-9, and hyphens (-).The domain name cannot begin or end with a hyphen but, it can contain one or more hyphens. Don’t settle for a short domain name that doesn’t compliment your business just to avoid a longer one. As a general rule, shorter domain names are easier to remember, easier to type and far less susceptible to mistakes. For example, "hellodotcom" is easier to remember and less prone to typos than "saygoodmorninginthemorningandgoodeveningintheeveningdotcom".

Others argue that a longer domain name is usually easier on people because it is easier to attach meaning. A short but cryptic name such as zzyzxdotcom is not at all better name than a longer meaningful domain name such as raidsforlessdotcom.

About The Author

George Meszaros with Webene http://www.webene.com

How To Register A Domain Name

You may be wondering if you should get a .com, .net, .info, or .whatever kind of domain. So many different kinds of domain extensions to choose from, and so little time. If you are registering a domain name for a for profit business, you should always register a .com domain. From a brand perspective, there is no better domain than a .com domain. Most people associate business domains with the .com extension just like they associate school domains with the .edu extension.

It may not make any difference in the beginning, but the more successful you become the more it could hurt you. Let’s say you develop a new product idea and the .com domain name you want to call it is not available, so you register the .net domain instead. Sounds harmless enough. Now, let’s fast-forward a couple of years. You have spent time and money to develop your brand and people are searching for your product online with the .com extension simply because they expect you to own the domain with the .com extension.

Another reason to shy away from other than .com domain names is that someone may already have copyright protection for the domain name you want to register. Look further if the .com domain you desire is not available. Even if you don’t find the exact domain you initially searched for, you may find one that is better than your original idea.

Whenever the domain you desire is not available through the registrar, you can try purchasing it from the registered owner. Unfortunately, many people register domain names to take advantage of others. The common name for such a person is domain squatter. I only recommend buying domain names from domain squatters if you have money to burn. The more they know you want it, the worse your chances of getting a good deal.

In other situations, someone may have good reason to own your desired domain name. It is unlikely that you’ll be able to buy the domain name from a thriving online business. It is possible that you run across a Web site with the perfect domain name for your business.

About The Author

George Meszaros with Webene http://www.webene.com