Choosing the right domain name

The first thing to consider in planning your website is your domain name. Your domain name is the address to your website, and it's a very important factor in marketing your website. You will use it in all email communications and it will be one of the things visitors look at in a search result.

If you’re just starting a business then you might want to hold off on your domain name until you have done some research, which is part 3 of this series. After your research then you should come back to your domain name.

Things to consider when choosing a domain name:

• Try and keep it as short, simple and memorable as you can
• Do not use hyphens, dashes or other marks when choosing your name. ie: sacramento-auto-body
• Use a mixture of keywords, geographic regions and your business name. ie: A Sacramento web design studio named onedesign, might use “sacramentowebdesign.com” instead of “onedesign.com” for the domain name, or a Roseville auto mechanics shop named A&L Auto Mechanics, might use “sacramentoautomechanic.com” instead of “alautomechanics.com”
• Purchase multiple versions of your domain name including .com, .org, .net, .biz, any common misspellings and alternative ways of spelling, also specific keywords or product names could  help also.
• Make sure if you purchase more than one domain name that you use a 301 redirect that redirects to your main domain name. ie: sacramentoautomechanic.com is your primary domain name but you also purchased automechanics.com, automechaniccalifornia.com, etc…

Tips on naming your pages:

• When you create your pages make sure not to use an underscore or other symbols. Instead use a dash between words. Correct way: auto-mechanic-services.html
• Use some keywords in your page names and directories wherever is appropriate. ie: chevycamaroparts/comaro68hoods.html

Stay tuned for part 3: Research so you can have a more effective website