STARTING A BUSINESS? Five Key Things You Need to Know Before You Buy a Domain Name
Determine Your Domain Name Strategy There are some key considerations which you should keep in mind as you prepare to buy domains for your business. What is the enterprise: are you seeking to buy domains for a newly-established business, one which does not necessarily have any brand equity? If so, you will have more flexibility in choosing a domain set on which to build your business. Going to an online thesaurus and typing in some keywords can help you to establish groupings of possible names. You can then visit a domain reseller or registrar to explore the availability of domains relating to your keyword list. Consider names which have strong keyword potential; for example, you may want to buy AndiamoItalianNewYork.com, AndiamoItalianRestaurant.com and AndiamoItalianFood.com because you can key on the phrases "Italian restaurant", "Italian food" and "Italian, New York". These are probably high-traffic terms-so having a multiple domain strategy to draw organic search engine traffic will get more visitors to your site and reading about your restaurant. Keep in mind: many high-performance domains will not be available for primary registration (the $10 sign-ups you see offered on the Web). Many of the best names are already taken and are only for sale in the domain aftermarket. That said, keep in mind that a premium domain that is memorable, has good keyword potential and is highly-targeted can be one of the most cost-effective business investments you can make. You should also know that it is possible to make a play even if a name is registered and you are not sure that it is for sale. Companies like Afternic have an assisted offer service (see www.buydomains.com/links/AssistedOffers) : Afternic will find a domain owner and will place an anonymous bid on your behalf. If the bid is accepted, they can then enlist and escrow service to ensure that you are protected in the transfer. Variations on a Theme: Your Name in Many Forms Once you have settled on a potential name, consider buying several forms of the name and even common misspellings of the name. If you are buying for an established business, you should consider acquiring: the company name in as many forms as possible (.com, .net, .org, .biz, etc.). Then you should look at your product and service offerings and acquire those names. Let's use a theoretical example: imagine that you run a software company called XYZ Analytics, and you have several product lines including XYZ Web Log, XYZ Statistical Modeler and XYZ Your target domains may not all be available. For example: you may want to buy exceptionalhomes.com, but find that exceptionalhomes.net isn't available-so a good proxy would be exceptionalhome.net. Consider common misspellings of your company name or target product also: misspellings as exeptionelhomes.com can generate significant type-in traffic in some cases. Domains As a Capital Investment: Think About Your Domains as Assets Evaluate domain investments as you would any other capital investment; amortize the figure and see what you true spend over the lifetime of the business will be. Shortchanging your domain budget and buying a name which is difficult to remember, has a less commonly used TLD such as .biz, or which is not on-topic could mean thousands in lost sales down the road-far outweighing the cost of purchasing the right domain in the first place. Due Diligence: Don't Let Trademark Issues Cloud Your Target Domains Conduct due diligence before buying a domain name: ensure that the name you select does not infringe on any trademarks (see www.uspto.gov/main/profiles/acadres.htm) . When starting a new business, explore trademark protection for your business and domain name(s)-register it through the US Patent and Trademark Office (see www.usptogov/patft). Plan for Success: Acquire Your Domain with a Plan in Place Have a plan: what will you do once your purchase a name? Will you develop it immediately? Do you need to "park" (see www.activeaudience.com) the name while your site is under development so that you can earn revenues while you polish the site design and functionality in a staging environment? Are you interested in learning more about site development and hiring a designer? Visit http://smallbusiness.buydomains.com to read more about start-up business topics like web design, hiring a designer, and w... [download for more]
