There are several steps involved when creating a website. First and foremost, your domain name. More often than not, your domain may be the name of your organization. However, you might want to consider utilizing keywords that relate to your company. This is a simple search engine optimization tactic. For instance, John Smith Design specializes in designer sunglasses. It might be best for them to purchase the domain designersunglasses.com. In addition, they can purchase JohnSmithDesign.com but designate DesignerSunglasses.com as their main domain.

There are several domain registries to purchase your new domain from. GoDaddy is the most popular due to their Super Bowl ads. However, there are various options to choose from. At Lform, we prefer NameCheap.com. They charge approximately $10 a year per domain. Network Solutions is a premier domain registry company whose customer support is outstanding. However, they charge a premium at $35 year per domain.

Alternatives to .COM

You might be disappointed to find that your domain name is not available, so try to find a happy middle ground. Explore other domain suffixes such as .US, .TV or .BIZ. While .COM is still the most registered top-level domain, with nearly 110 million registrations as of March 2013, .DE and .NET are both growing with upwards of 15 million sites registered.

Columbian extension, .CO, has broken into the top 25 with an increase of 5% in 2013 and many businesses are using it as an abbreviation for the word “company.” 

“Domain Squatting”

It is imperative that you protect your growing company from domain squatters by registering all iterations of your company’s name. These cyber-opportunists will buy domain names they believe to be of value to someone else. They use the domain solely to advertise itself. Domain squatters will attempt to profit from your hard work by selling you the domain for far more than you would normally pay, or even use the site to disparage your business.

The practice of domain squatting is illegal in many countries. If you believe yourself to be a victim of this practice, you should contact:

http://www.auda.org.au (Australia)
http://www.cira.ca (Canada)
http://www.icann.org (United States)