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Keep your domain name as short
as possible and simple - it needs to be memorable, and preferably
not contain hyphens.
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Allowed characters - Domain
names can only contain letters, numbers, and dashes. Spaces and
symbols are not allowed. Domain names are not case sensitive.
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Choose a reputable domain name
supplier. A company which has been around a while and is well known
is a good bet. We'd also recommend choosing a company which provides
a user interface so that you can manually edit your domain name
details (email forwarding, transferring your domain name elsewhere).
Before registering check the costs for taking your domains away
from the company... some charge as much as £50-00 per domain.
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If you intend to buy a
sizeable number of domains, try to 'park' them with one single
domain name company. Domains are far easier to administrate and keep
up-to-date if they are in a single place you trust.
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You should ensure that your
domain name is not a commonly known brand name or trademark.
Although having the Limited Company does NOT entitle you to have
the same name as a domain name, there are infringements with
Trade Marks that need to be avoided.
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If you are buying a .co.uk
domain name (e.g. yourwebsite.co.uk), try to also buy the
other main TLD's (Top Level Domains) for the same prefix (e.g.
yourwebsite.com, yourwebsite.net). This will ensure that no-one else
can come in at a later stage and capitalise on your brand name using
another major domain name type. If you do a domain name search and
find only the .co.uk is available for your chosen prefix, it may be
worth your while choosing another domain name prefix where most or
all of the TLD's are available.
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It is possible that your business may grow into different areas of interest, or even change
direction altogether. For this reason, it may be an idea not to make your
domain name too specific to one area of your expertise. In some
cases, the domain doesn't necessarily have to contain words related
to your industry or brand.
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Make sure you keep your
contact information up-to-date. Although your domain name supplier
is bound to contact you when a domain name comes up for renewal, it
is your responsibility in the end.
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Some business may contact you to ask you to re-register your
domain through them. Often these are scams - if in any doubt
refer back to the company where you registered the domains.
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The name you choose can also assist you with SEO - look
carefully at your market area and see if you gain an advantage
with a 'keyword' in your domain name.
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If you're choosing a domain that's been
used before, check it's history with
wayback machine.
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If you're looking to make money with the domain as a keyword,
check how much the keywords are searched with
Google tools.
