Investigate Before You Register Your Domain

Author: jebner@...

Investigate Before You Register Your Domain
by Joe Ebner

Any Internet startup business knows that registering and owning
your own domain name is imperative to Internet success. But
choosing the right domain name for your business should involve
a bit more than just picking the perfect name. You're also going
to need to do a little detective work before you actually register
your new domain name.

A case in point: a client recently wanted to launch a new, small
business Web site. After settling on a perfect name, he found the
popular dot-com suffix was already taken. He then registered the dot-
net version, which was available.

When his secretary innocently asked who owned the dot-com version,
they were shocked to discover that it was a porno site with some
very interesting images and animations. Needless to say, the adult
site had nothing to do with their business. Surely, people looking
for their site would mistakenly type dot-com instead of dot-net and
land on the porno site. This could be devastating -- especially if
teens or children were involved.

He realized they made a mistake in registering the dot-net version
and immediately contacted Network Solutions, Incorporated, the
registrar they chose to complete the registration process. The
client explained that he didn't want his money back, he only wanted
to change the registration.

When he spoke with the Network Solutions representative, he got
another eye-opener. According to NSI, domain names cannot be
changed once created. Furthermore, there is "no money back"
when you register a domain name. Once the process is done, there
is no recourse. Your only option is to register a new domain name.

There is a lesson here for all small business owners looking to
register a new domain name. Once you settle on a domain name, do
a little checking with similar site names. You may be surprised
at what you find.

It's easy to check ANY domain name in use. Most hosting providers
offer a free domain name checker on their sites. Simply type the
name you want to check in the search box and in less than a
second you'll find out if it's available or not. If it has already
been registered by another party, you'll be able to see who owns
it and how to contact them. At the very least, take a few minutes
to visit the site before you decide to register another version of
the domain name.

Also check versions of your domain that could be frequently
misspelled or easily mistyped. If they are open and available,
register these versions too. It may cost you some extra money,
but these additional domain names can be set up as pointers to
your real site. The misspelled or mistyped names could gather you
some bonus traffic, turning errors into an advantage.

If the dot-com version of the domain name you want is indeed
available, be sure to register at least the dot-net variety too.
You can use it as a pointer and you prevent someone else from
registering it and using it.

If the domain name for your company is indeed already taken,
consider your options. You can register the name of your product
or service. Or, use your imagination and check short, easy to
remember words and phrases. Success stories abound. The word
Yahoo is in no way related to search engines and the word Amazon
tells you nothing about books. Still, these names are associated
with the product they provide. Strong, memorable names and phrases
coupled with smart marketing programs can make you powerful on the
Internet.

In short:
*Check ALL versions of your domain name choice.
*Check misspelled and mistyped possibilities.
*Register these possibilities along with the correct name.
*Point all variations to the real site.

Remember, there is no money back on domain names once you register
them. Your only recourse is to register the desired name and eat
the extra expense.
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Article by J.T. Ebner of WebSmart Hosting. WebSmart provides
affordable Web hosting solutions and low cost domain registration
for small and medium size businesses with particular attention to
beginners and novices. Visit the WebSmart Hosting Web site at
www.websmarthosting.com for valuable resources and advice including
a free e-book.

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com