The Domain Name Game: The Domain for You! by: Jason

The domain name game is a tricky one, but if you play it right you can make the web-site big-leagues. Think of your domain name as your Internet Identity. Think of it as your web sites passport to fame, to glamour, to popularity, to everything that you, as a webmaster, dream of.

Now, with that said, the domain name game is a hard one to play. Every single day tens of thousands of domain names are snatched up, making it almost impossible to find a dictionary word domain. If you are one of the few lucky ones to own a simple dictionary word domain, you can make thousands selling it. If you are not, you have to be more creative in finding one for your site. You can either choose a longer, less brand-able non-dictionary word domain, a combination domain name with letters, numbers and maybe a dash or two, or you can try one of the new TLD (Top Level Domains) available.

Recently the governing bodies that control Internet TLD's decided that the current standard .COM, .NET and .ORG domains were no longer able to fill the demand, and approved several new TLD's, including .INFO and .NAME. In addition to those new TLD's, we have country codes such as .TV and .CX, and New.Net domains such as .CHAT and .CHURCH.

Picking your domain is vital. Consider the following in your decision:

• Relevancy to your site content. No one wants to visit a site called 'ComputerStore.com' to find that it sells flowers. If you sell computers, and the name you want is taken, try some variations. If FranksComputers.com is taken, try Franks-Computers.com, or FranksComps.com or even FranksComputers.cx!

• Length is everything. If your domain name is 225 letters long, it's to long. A domain name should be short and to the point. Don't name your site Franks-Computer-Company-Of-Chicago-IL.com, name it Franks-Computers.com!

• Brand-ability is also vital. Will your visitors remember your domain name and come back for more? Having a quality site is not enough, having a quality site people will remember is!

Finally, when registering your domain name, pick an ICANN accredited registrar. Many companies out there are interested in nothing more than your hard earned money, some will take it and not even register your domain for you. For the best results use an ICANN accredited registrar. Some of our favorites are as follows:

• GoDaddy.com: GoDaddy has a great control panel. They also have a great price, and best of all we used them for HostingCatalog.com!

• Register.com: While the price is a bit higher, the service is worth it. Register.com offers phone support, tons of extra features and a great control panel.

• Dotster.com: Dotster is a good, cheap registrar.

• Tucows.com: Tucows is another well rounded registrar.