What to know when buying a domain name

Navigating the world of domain names can be a complex task if you're not up to speed on from where and how to get one. With a huge number of admonition and hosting companies out there, this is simple to be overwhelmed or worse to make a mistake that could ultimately harm your business.

Domain Name providers

The popular domain name providers are Arvixe, the Gold Award winner; InMotion Hosting, the Silver Award winner; and Just Host, the Bronze Award winner. Following is the list of top ranked domain name providers.

Domain Name Provider Arvixe           Domain Name Provider InMotionHosting             Domain Name Provider Just Host            

  

Arvixe       InMotion Hosting   Just Host

Domain Name Provider Blue Host             Domain Name Provider Host Gator

 

Bluehost          HostGator

Domain Name Provider WebHostingPad            Domain Name Provider Green Geek             Domain Name Provider Go Daddy        

 

WebHostingPad  GreenGeeks            GoDaddy

Domain Name Provider Dream Host         Domain Name Provider iPage   

 

DreamHost         iPage           

You can't own a website without at least one domain name. And particularly if you're a web-based business then a domain name can make or break the popularity or success of your site. More often if you own any business, domain names in this digital age are a necessary and vital piece to every website and ultimately your marketing industry.

We found that all domain hosting services that provide web hosting service plans offer some sequence of unlimited features, usually bandwidth and disk space. Whenever you see this term listed as part of a combination, be sure to pay keen attention to the terms of use for the service or to ask a representative about what the service terms as "unlimited" when you sign up. Most of the services actually do have limits for their unlimited features; you may be asked to enhance to a higher-level plan if you use more than what the company feel as "excessive" amounts of the unlimited feature. Each company states excessive limits differently and usually bases them on an average of what personal or small-business website significantly uses in a month.

Features are included with each and every hosting plan varying from service to service. Some features may include for free in some hosting plans, like automatic regular backups on your site, these are a small additional monthly fee with other services.

Below are some key points you should know when buying a domain name:

1. Taking the domain/business name decision lightly

Don’t just buy the first domain that is looking good at first glance. Many people do this only to seriously change it later. Every time make sure you treat the domain/business name as a long term and serious decision.

2. Thinking small instead of big

Starting from small doesn’t mean you will remain small. Keeping yourself into a niche or locale can limit your power or potential. Thinking big from the start can improve and expand your world of opportunity.

3. Thinking “good enough” instead of best

You have the power to lead your industry with your domain. A one-time cost provides ongoing marketing benefit for your business.

4. Not pursuing your ideal name if it is taken

Did you come up with an idea of a domain name only to find out someone registered for it before you? Even if the domain is in use, the owner may still be interested in selling it for an affordable cost. You can try to begin contact with the owner yourself or use a service like ours to help you gain it.

5. Not considering alternative options if your desired ideal name is taken

Don’t feel depressed if your ideal domain is in use. There are plenty of fish in the sea to select from. You may try at other domains out there for you. Surely you will find a better domain than your original choice!

6. Not researching potential trademark conflicts before buying the domain

Getting a domain name showing a trademark can cause major issues. That domain can be taken away from a legal process called UDRP. Additionally, you can also be sued and face massive damages!

7. Buying something other than a .com for your primary business domain

In most cases, this will cheapen your brand and make it second-rate. One exception is .org, which non-profit organizations should use. Also, if your industry only does business within one country, it can make important for you to get a domain in the ccTLD for your country. Examples are .co.uk, .de and .ca. In addition to this, certain trends may sometimes indicate viable options in particular areas. Short .ly domains for instance have been trendy recently for social media usage. Exceptions aside, a tiny percentage get succeed in non-.com extensions as compared to those that fail.

8. Getting a domain that doesn’t match your business name, company, product or service

There is an underlying mistake that can cause this mistake to happen: Naming your company before you checks the domain for it. To avoid this it is best to get the domain name BEFORE naming your business. You business name and domain not matching up can cause confusion for visitors.

9. Targeting weak keywords for SEO due to lack of keyword research

It can be nice to make it to #1 in the search engines. If it’s for a condition no one looks up however, it’s worthless! Always perform keywords research to find valuable terms before planning your SEO.

10. Using a domain/business name that would not be well-received by your market

This can be especially bad if your competition is long-established brands. Startup search engine Cuil was a good example of this. Self-described as the “Google killer”, they never gained attraction of users. Their awkward-sounding name clearly seemed subpar to Yahoo and Google. To avoid this, get solid unbiased opinions of the name before using it.

11. Using a domain/business name that is hard to spell, type, or say aloud

Doing this can really hamper your ability to get word-of-mouth. A “difficult” name makes it hard to tell a friend about the site. A difficult-to-spell domain allows traffic to be lost to typos and errors like misspelling. Always make sure to secure common typos and misspellings of any such difficult name. For example, before selecting Domainate.com for our company name, we always made sure to secure both DomainEight.com and Domain8.com as well.

12. Not checking alternate/foreign meanings of your newfound domain/business name

Your brand name should convey a certain image of your business. Most of the times, alternate or foreign meanings of your name can conflict with that image. A simple and innocent-looking made-up brand may mean “idiot” in another language. It may definitely change your opinion of it as a brand!

13. Not getting catchy/memorable domains to use for special promotions

The mindset behind domains for promotions is different than for business domain names. The domains should be common or catchy phrases that stick in people’s minds and thinking. Getting something boring and/or without meaning can hurt an improvements. Getting unbiased opinions of the domain first can help you avoid this mistake.

14. Not getting a domain name or establishing an online presence at all

The internet has created massive successes for many offline businesses. If you have a website on a quality domain, it will showcases your business to the world. The largest mistake you can make is ignoring the internet in today’s business realm.

Avoiding these mistakes is the key to getting a strong business domain name. You’ll seem more professional, elite and exciting to your potential audience. It is worth the time, effort and money to make the right domain decisions. It increases the life of your business and you would never regret it.