Choosing Your Domain Name
When picking out your domain name today you must consider several things to get it right. Your domain name is a reflection of you, your business and what you want to amplify to the world. It isn't something you should do without a little research. It is the foundation of your website or blog.
1. Choose A Domain Name That Reflects You
Your domain name should reflect you and or your business. The name should resonate with your readers. It should be simple and easy to remember. A long name with any hyphens or numbers will be hard to remember today. Keep it simple and catchy.
2. Pick A Domain Name Provider That Will Offer You Great Services and More
You want to be sure your domain name provider will offer you 24/7 support and other services too. I cannot stress enough how important this is! Imagine your domain expires and you received no warning? You want a company that will be around and that communicates with you.
When you do set up your domain name most companies will ask how you want to be reminded. Pick an email address you will not dissolve in the coming years.
Reminders are extremely important as you could lose your domain name if you don't set up a reminder to renew it. Of course if you pick a good hosting company they should be sending you plenty of emails to reminder you and keeps your site up and running!
3. Find A Domain Name That Had Great SEO Juice
4. Keep Your Domain Name Short
People do not want to remember a long name today. Keep it short and simple. That makes it easy for them to remember your site and easily get back to anytime and from any device. A longer name is harder to remember and harder to find online if one does a search.
5. Register A New Domain For Several Years - Google Will Love You For It
This step in getting a domain name is often overlooked. The longer you register your domain name the more Google will love you for it. They will know you are here to stay online. You will be considered a fly by night website or blog if you only register for one year.
6. Get The .Com First and Add Other Web Extensions
You can also registerer .net and .org if applicable. Dot com is not the only game in town online today. I've recently read advice to get more domain names depending on which countries you want to target for your audience. A lot of research will help you with this one. Your web extension is an important decision as well as your domain name.
7. Purchase The Best Hosting For Your Money
You get what you pay for is so true with purchasing a hosting company for a domain name. Cheap is not always best. When I first started out I used a cheap reseller on the other side of the country. I need help but this person was not available 24/7. My site was down for days. No more, use a reputable hosting company that is available 24/7.
8. Consider Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is a great way to ensure you site is never down. You may need the extra space. You never know if your blog may become the most popular blog overnight and you will need that extra space for the servers to keep up with your increase web traffic.
Some cloud hosting companies include your choice of industry leading control panels like VestaCP and cPanel. Most cloud hosting services offer 99.9 uptime. In today's fast paced world you don't want your site down period. A 99.9% guarantee is awesome to have from a cloud hosting company.
9. Have A Service To Check Your Server Downtime
I've used Pingdom Service for years (for free) and they email me if my server ever goes down. Since I've been with a reputable company I've rarely had my site go down. Again you can set it up that they send you reports daily or hourly. If you are selling products you may want the hourly report.
Domain Name Conclusion
One you have a domain name with a great hosting service you'll be on your way to being found online today in the competitive marketplace. That is the foundation on which you are ready to build your successful blog or website.
There are many domain names out there that are not active websites. Some people like to park them until they are ready to use. A bonus tip is to secure your full name if it is not already taken. Some people purchase their kids names for a domain name when they are born. It's really something to consider today!
I'd love to know in the comments how you picked your domain name and if you would pick another one today. Have you reserved your full name as a domain name? Are You Happy With Your Hosting Services and Domain Registration?*This post is partially sponsored but all opinions and research are my own.
