Finding and Registering the Perfect Domain

No matter what you do a large number of your customers will find you through the internet. It is important for businesses to maintain a good online presence. Here is how to choose, register, host and renew your domain name in a timely and effective fashion.

This starts with the name you choose for the website. A domain name is any combination of letters and numbers followed by.com,.net,.TV,.cc,.biz or other top-level domain designations. It is the kernel of the URL, or Uniform Resource Locator. Within this URL, about.com is the domain name.

Most companies use.com or.net, but you can try more appropriate names like TV. For furniture for television rooms or.biz for a more casual image. However, some domain names (i.e.edu and.mil) are restricted to specific organizations. Some newer top-level domains (such as.cc) are not widely familiar.

There are millions of active domain names which presents a problem as your ideal name may have already been registered. Fortunately, there are ways that you can make this situation work if you can't get yourcompanyname.com.

1) Conceptualize: The irrigation company Aqua-Tech registered watermylawn.com. If you offer or fulfill a specific experience or need, turn it into an imaginative domain name.

2) Add words. The Spencer Company, an office furniture and accessories business, owns buyspencer.com. Adding "buy" or "try" before your domain name makes it more unique and

A domain name suggestion service such as the one VeriSign offers may be another solution. You feed in service keywords (including your business name and other important business concepts) and it automatically offers domain name suggestions.

Registering a Domain Name

In earlier Web days, individuals and businesses registered domain names with the registry service Network Solutions, and then transferred the hosting rights to a hosting provider. Fortunately, Network Solutions is no longer the only accredited registrar so the process is easier and shorter.

If you go to almost any Web hosting company - like GoDaddy, SiteGround or Yahoo! Web Hosting - you'll notice an embedded search box on the main page that lets you see if the domain name you want is available. If it is, the hosting company can register it for you directly. The hosting company notifies you when the domain name is active, and warns you when you need to renew.

There are also hundreds of other companies that act as registrants and hosts for domain names. You can use them to register a domain name and host the domain on your own server(s). However, most businesses can't afford the costs of hosting their own Web presence, which is usually handled by a hosting specialist on your behalf.

Note that there are unreliable companies among the hundreds of companies legally qualified to register a domain name on your behalf. Be certain to research your registration/hosting company of choice before committing to it.

Renewing Your Domain Name

Renewing your domain name is NOT trivial. Failing to renew your domain name, can result in a takeover by someone. There is nothing as frustrating as watching an Internet squatter hijack your domain name because you were too distracted to renew it.

Thankfully, it's easy to prevent problem by instructing your hosting company to automatically renew your domain name every year. Despite this, know when your domain name registration expires, and remain extra vigilant at this time.

Making your domain name a company trademark or otherwise protected intellectual property, means you'll be less susceptible to domain name hijacking.

My name is Kausar Khan and I run a very successful Internet business out of my home. I have been doing this business full time since 2003. Please do visit my websites work from home and work from home business for more information.