What Is A Domain and How To Choose One
Those unfamiliar with the internet other than just searching do not know the proper terminology for working on the internet building a business website. Hearing “What is a domain? and “How to choose one?” are normal questions for many.
To explain this simply is the domain is the name of a website, your URL basically with a (dot) com, (dot) net, or (dot) org behind the domain name you have chosen. This is how people find your website when searching for information.
When you purchase a domain this will be the name for your website, but you still need to build the website from the ground up. In order to accomplish this, there is plenty more you must learn.
“How to choose a domain name?” depends on what type of business or website you are creating. Is it going to be a brandable “me” website or a “we” website? We will get into all of this throughout my article.
Should You Purchase A Domain Name?
When asking this question you might think is really buying a domain name worth the money? Buying a domain name is a decision one should never take lightly.
It is one of the main factors of owning a website which is going to attract traffic. Meaning choosing the right domain name is worth the investment.
Major search engines base your traffic to your website on your visitors. That is what makes you valuable to search engines the more value you can offer to an audience, including a memorable domain name the better.
Building a business online is one of the least expensive and most lucrative ways to make a living working at home. What is required equipment-wise you already have a computer/laptop and an internet connection.
All computers are identified using an IP address, this is a series of numbers the internet uses to identify you and your computer. People are not going to remember strings of numbers, this is why domain names were developed.
Selecting a domain name can be difficult considering the number of websites already on the internet today. You need to create one that is going to be brandable to you and the website you are going to be building.
Domain names can be a combination of letters and numbers including dashes (these are not recommended) then adding the various domain extension to the end. (.com, .net, .org, .co, and more)
Having the (dot) com to any domain name is the best one to have, everyone uses it the most when they think of searching the internet for information.
Below I have referenced the most common (dot) endings and what they represent there are over 1000 endings on the internet today:
- COM — commercial websites, though open to everyone
- NET — network websites, though open to everyone
- ORG — non-profit organization websites, though open to everyone
- EDU — restricted to schools and educational organizations
- MIL — restricted to the U.S. military
- GOV — restricted to the U.S. government
- US, UK, RU and other two-letter country codes — each is assigned to a domain name authority in the respective country
Your domain name must be registered with a domain name server prior to you using it. No two websites will ever have the same domain name your domain name is unique to your website.
When someone types in yourdomain.com, it will go directly to your website and no one else’s. Always make sure your website is registered securely visitors do not like an unsecured connection.
Using only the https:// shows you are protected and thinking of the privacy of your visitors. The “www” is no longer needed when you register your domain name it is acceptable today that we all know it is the “World Wide Web”.
What does the “http” stand for? The http of your web address stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol this is the protocol by which the information is sent by the user to the website they are visiting.
Another reason why I suggested previously that you use only the “https” the “s” shows the information is being sent by a secure protocol where the information is encrypted.
Especially important if you are purchasing from the website using a credit card or providing personal information as applying for a loan or registering for something where personal information needs to be protected.
Prices of domain names can range from “FREE” (free -because they are a subdomain meaning someone else basically owns your website) to $25.00 per year.
Almost all the hosting companies offer Professional email addresses at your domain name. Having this connected to your website will help you boost your credibility and build your brand with your audience.
Here I could include tons of technical information about Domain Name Servers, but those of you interested in What Is A Domain and How to Choose One are not really interested in that information.
How To Choose A Domain Name
Choosing a domain name does not need to become a complicated over thought out process. But choosing wisely is of the utmost importance.
Once you purchase a domain name there is no going back to change it, you are stuck with that domain name for a year until it is time to renew. Or you need to purchase another one to build your business/brand.
Most of the hosting companies offer along with their services a way to purchase domain names. One thing to remember is are they secured with privacy and are the prices guaranteed to renew each year at the same price.
Many of them will sell you a domain name that does not have the privacy at a super cheap rate for the first year then when renewal time comes around the price will double or even triple in cost.
Research prior to purchasing any domain name or selecting the one you are considering using for your website.
Next, you want to consider the brand-ability of your domain name. With this you need to consider are you branding the business as an “I” or “We”, the best would be to brand yourself as the “I”.
Why? Branding as you (“I”) only gives you more credibility with the search engines and builds trust with your audience as an authority within your “niche”.
Sidetrack here for a second – “What is a niche?” A “niche” would be what you are building your business around the actual definition is a product or service that interests or appeals to a small specialized group of the population.
An example of this could be you love golfing and can teach people about golf swings or have information concerning the best clubs or balls to use.
Whatever topic or business plan you have set out for yourself is considered your “niche”.
You need to take this into account selecting your domain name as well. People search for specific topics on the internet or look for certain information to help them solve problems.
Having a domain name that represents your “niche” then becomes an important factor so they know you have the information they are searching for to solve their problem.
Selecting a domain name that is easy to remember and catchy is another way to consider what you are looking to purchase making sure it grabs people’s attention.
Search engines at least the major one’s Google, Bing, and Yahoo want your domain name to make sense. Picking a domain name that does not make sense is difficult for ranking purposes.
Always avoid using numbers and hyphens in your domain name, these are not easily memorable when handing out your website to others.
I mentioned earlier in this article you need the (dot) com over any of the other (dot) endings to your domain, the only way you would ever select one of the others would be when the (dot) com is not available and you know the niche is a winner.
Research any domain name prior to purchasing once a domain name may be suspended by Google for breaking the rules, with over 66% of the market you need Google for your business.
Keeping your domain name short, relevant to the niche, easy to remember, catchy, and no with numbers or hyphens then you have the best chance of finding a great brandable domain name.
Starting New In The Online World
Beginners in the online world have so much to learn without knowing where to look for the information. People offer you advice but give no real details about how or why that is what you need.
Above I am hoping that I explained to your satisfaction what a domain name means and how you can choose one without it being too complicated.
This is only one of the steps when you begin an online business. Prior to knowing all the information I have just given you I was clueless when it came to working online owning my online business.
It took years for me to find the right training wasting time and money looking into all the scams. You know the ones I am talking about that promise you are going to get-rich-quick! Best known as “shiny object syndrome” in the online world.
Working online is hard work, dedication, commitment, time-consuming, and takes tons of patience. You will succeed with this in mind NEVER QUIT and NEVER GIVE UP.
Statistics show that 99% of Online Entrepreneurs do exactly that they quit or give up. Some “Three Feet From Gold” if you are not familiar with the story here it is:
“Three Feet From Gold”
by Napoleon Hill
One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another.
An uncle of R. U. Darby was caught by the gold fever in the gold-rush days and went west to DIG AND GROW RICH. He had never heard that more gold has been mined from the brains of men than has ever been taken from the earth. He staked a claim and went to work with pick and shovel. The going was hard, but his lust for gold was definite.
After weeks of labor, he was rewarded by the discovery of the shining ore. He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly, he covered up the mine, retraced his footsteps to his home in Williamsburg, Maryland, told his relatives and a few neighbors of the “strike.” They got together money for the needed machinery, had it shipped. The uncle and Darby went back to work the mine.
The first car of ore was mined and shipped to a smelter. The returns proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars of that ore would clear the debts. Then would come the big killing in profits.
Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle! Then something happened! The vein of gold ore disappeared! They had come to the end of the rainbow, and the pot of gold was no longer there! They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again— all to no avail.
Finally, they decided to QUIT.
They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars and took the train back home. Some “junk” men are dumb, but not this one! He called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer advised that the project had failed because the owners were not familiar with “fault lines.” His calculations showed that the vein would be found just three feet from where the Darbys had stopped drilling! That is exactly where it was found!
The “Junk” man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine because he knew enough to seek expert counsel before giving up.
Most of the money which went into the machinery was procured through the efforts of R. U. Darby, who was then a very young man. The money came from his relatives and neighbors, because of their faith in him. He paid back every dollar of it, although he was years in doing so.
Long afterward, Mr. Darby recouped his loss many times over, when he made the discovery that desire can be transmuted into gold. The discovery came after he went into the business of selling life insurance.
Remembering that he lost a huge fortune, because he stopped three feet from gold, Darby profited by the experience in his chosen work, by the simple method of saying to himself, “I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say ‘no’ when I ask them to buy insurance.”
Darby is one of a small group of fewer than fifty men who sold more than a million dollars in life insurance annually. He owes his stick ability to the lesson he learned from his quit ability in the gold mining business.
In Conclusion
We all should take Darby’s lesson to heart everyone is bound to fail on the first attempt trying to conquer the unknown. I feel that is part of the learning curve we deal with in life.
As humans, we are programmed from birth to expect instant gratification. Think about this really you cried your mother or someone picked you up finding out the problem and fixed it. No problem they would then comfort you and coddle you.
Life continued with us receiving rewards immediately for our good deeds until here we are adults. You can easily see how the instant gratification started but continues even now in your adult life.
When things become too difficult for us we accept the defeat because the easiest and most logical thing we can do is just QUIT! This is what the majority of all of us do.
Think about the most successful people in the country. Did they ever QUIT? NO, because if they had they would not be where they are right now. They refused to let defeat overtake them and kept going until they reached success!
Failure is not an option for those of us who refuse to give up or just quit due to a minor setback. Our first online business did not succeed – QUIT – never – build another and another until success is raining down upon you.
In order for you to accomplish the level of success you want, you are going to need help. Knowing you can receive this help from the experts in the online world would be worth its weight in gold. Would you not agree?
Getting a “Free Starter Membership” into a community that is full of these experts is exactly what you NEED. Not kidding here it is 100% FREE – with No Credit Card Required.
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Click the button below immediately and get your “Free Starter Membership” today. Action right now speaks louder than words of doubt or confusion.
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Thank you for reading I will be waiting for you on the inside,
Susan
