If you have aspirations of creating a successful online business, then you’ll need to understand the art of branding. If you’ve ever paid exuberant prices for an article of clothing simply because of the name on the tag, then you have been a victim of branding. A brand can hold power over a market because consumer’s grow to trust and remember them.

Your brand is your identity, your reputation, your name, your business! The best way to establish your brand online is with a solid and memorable domain name. In the ever expanding world of Internet e-commerce, domain names are being sucked up by the thousands daily. Authoritative domain names go for millions of dollars in some cases, and it is becoming increasingly harder to find a successful domain name. The key is to think long and hard before you make your decision, because just when you think all of the catchy domain names have been taken, you may find a “domain in the rough!”

Don’t be discouraged by countless failed attempts. You may spend days trying to find the right domain name for your website. Just when you think you have come up with a name that no one could have possibly used yet, you find out it has been taken. This is all part of the process, and only when you understand that will you realize that the perfect domain name is right around the corner.

Good Domains Still Exist

You may have been told that all the good domain names have been taken, however this is simply not true. If it were true then the domain game would be dying, and judging by the statistics, the opposite is true! In fact, there are people that make their living just by coming up with good domain names and then turning around and selling them! If these people can sit back and do it all day long to make money, then I think you’re capable of coming up with just one. There really are a plethora of good domain names left, it will just take a little bit of critical thinking to find one that is suitable for your business.

Be Original

If your business name is something generic like “ John’s Auto repair shop,” then you have probably come to terms with the fact that it is going to be nearly impossible to find a domain that includes your business name. Well, there is a solution. Why not come up with an online business name that is completely different from your actual business name, in an attempt to establish an online branch of your business? Come up with a combination of words that is catchy and original, this will be the beginning of a successful brand.

Use Different TLD’s (Extensions)

If you’re unable to find a domain that ends with .com extension, you should try buying a domain with  another extension. Just because you are using a region specific domain extension or an extension like .biz, doesn’t mean your site isn’t going to get any traffic. In fact, many sites with these alternate extensions are at the top of the search engines. Make sure you try every possible extension before you move on to the next idea.

.Tel domains are here and just a few short months after the launch, hundreds of thousands of them have already been registered by ambitious individuals and business owners.  It is important to know that this particular TLD differs greatly from other extensions in the way it is utilized and managed.   This is mainly because unlike .com and .net, it does not permit pointing to an A record.  What this essentially means is that you cannot integrate it with a website.  A major disadvantage perhaps?  Not exactly.  The TLD registry and ICANN want this one to function more like a digital directory wherein the objective of the DNS zone is to store contact information that may or may not be made available to the public.  Therefore, the .tel domain is more like your internet-based address book.

Although it might seem as if the .tel extension leaves you restricted, this TLD offers a number of advantages and many things can be done with.  Below are just a few of many noteworthy benefits:

.Tel for Your BlackBerry

The .tel TLD has been optimized for a wide range of mobile devices and this includes the popular BlackBerry.  This extension allows you to seek out other .tel domains to send notifications and updates to associates or save their profiles in your own directory.  You can also manage the domain via your BlackBerry and use it to integrate your synchronized data with the registry.

.Tel for Your iPhone

It is no surprise that mobile technology giant Apple has already found a way to leverage the .tel domain for is global community of apps users.  From the AppleStore, you can now download My .tel, an open-source application by Telnic that lets you manage your domain so it can find you using the GPS feature built into your iPhone.  You can also use the device to select keywords for your domain and publish or hide information you do or do not want to be available to your contacts.  With the My .tel app, you can manage virtually all of the privacy settings and options associated with your domain.

.Tel for Outlook

If Microsoft Outlook happens to be your preferred mail client, you can utilize the Telnic plugin that allows you to search through your .tel contact data, manage those records, add them to the registry and select the level of privacy you desire.  This feature has grown popular very quickly and you can now find many guides on the web explaining how to integrate your .tel domain with the Outlook client.

.Tel for Your Website

Although .tel can’t exactly be used as your web address, you can integrate with your website in other ways.  For example, you can add it to your existing site in the form of a contact page, which will be automatically updated whenever you change information form your BlackBerry or iPhone for example.  You can also customize your navigation in order to compliment the look and feel of your website.  This extension is certainly different, but such distinct benefits may pique the interests of many.

Many people have the belief that a .com TLD is the only extension worth purchasing because it is the one most internet users assume when entering URLs into their browsers.  It is true that .com is very popular and makes the best first choice, but there are many individuals and businesses using other TLDs with great success.  What you have to do is think about how potential visitors and customers are going to access your website.  If you believe that most of them will type the nane of your company into their browser bar, obtaining a .com extension is a must.  On the other hand, if you can brand your website with .us or .net domain, it really will not matter how users go about finding you.  To prove that .com isn’t necessarily the holy grail, we will introduce you to some of the other options you have for TLDs.

.Org and .Net TLDs

When your preferred domain name is not available in .com, .org and .net make the next best options.  At one point in time, .org extensions where limited to non-profit organizations while .net was intended for internet and IT companies.  However, because there is no regulation, those intentions flew out of the window very quickly.  These days, anyone can obtain a .org or .net domain name to use for virtually any purpose.  The only real downside to these extensions is that some domain registrars charge a bit extra for them.

Country-Specific TLDs

Country-specific domains are supposedly designed for a website that markets products or services available in a particular country.  Examples of these extensions are .us (United States) .ca (Canada) and .de (Germany).  Some of these domains can only be registered by companies that operate in those specific countries.  Others are freely available to anyone who wants to pay the cost of registration.  For instance, most people don’t really that .tv is actually a country-specific extension because several television networks use it for their domains.  You should keep in mind that using such an extension may not be a good idea depending on where you are located.  Some might assume that your business is only available in that particular area, when it is in fact a global outlet.

Niche TLDs

There have been numerous TLDs introduced and proposed for various reasons.  Two examples are .biz and .info.  The .biz extension was designed for business purposes while .info is intended for sites that provide information on a varying topics.  Just like the TLDs mentioned above, there is really no regulation on how these are to be used.  Domains with these extensions can be quite tempting as they are often available when the more popular options are no longer around.  Even though they can still be used effectively, you may want to consider these extensions as a last resort.

Conclusion

Slowly but surely, other TLDs are making a name for themselves and serving great purpose to the fast growing community of internet users.  While .com remains the most desirable, these alternatives could become far more prevalent over the next few years.

After weeks of brainstorming, you have finally come up with the perfect domain name for your website.  Unfortunately, unless you have decided on a TLD (Top Level Domain), which simply refers to the extension that comes after the base name, the selection process still is not complete.

The Cream of the Crop

.com is by far the most popular and highly sought after domain name extension.  Though originally intended for commercial use, this TLD can now be used for a wide variety of purposes be it personal or business matters.  This extension makes the best choice because it is more recognizable and considerably more valuable than others.  If at all possible, try to get yourself a .com extension.

Second Tier Options

.net and .org are currently the second best options for domain extensions.  Often used by IT professionals, .net was originally intended for networks.  org. was intended for organizations in general and is now a preference of charitable entities.  These extensions make great second choices and can look good in your portfolio of websites, but will likely never achieve the popularity of .com.

Relative Newcomers

.biz and .info represent the up and coming domain name extensions that are designed to make life easier for the fast growing internet community.  These TLDs are meant to be more topic specific.  .biz is a nice second option for businesses and their corporate sites while .info goes well with informational sites.  There are a number of new extensions flooding the market but many experts believe that only .biz and .org will survive as mainstream options.

Regional Options

Depending on the nature of your business or website, you may be interested in a regional or country specific TLD.  These are extensions such as .us, .uk and .co.  One of these would make a great choice if you have a website targeting visitors in a certain region or only plan on doing business in a specific country.  The biggest downside to regional domain name extensions is that they lack global appeal and will likely limit your general brandability across the World Wide Web.  There are however, a handful of companies that have made the best of these options so if the shoe fits, where it.

All in all, it is fair to state the internet users now have a vast selection of domain name extensions to choose from.  Here is a bit of advice:  if a .com is available, go for it because this always makes the best first choice.  .net is ideal for technology and social media sites.  .org is best suited for charities and other types of non-profit organizations.  If you are not able to find your desired name with a com extension, then .net or .org would be your best bet.  If you choose to be country specific in regard to your business reach, the options like those mentioned in the section above may be suitable.  While there are several more extensions out there, most of them will do nothing but limit your potential and leave you lighter in the pockets.

One of the first things you must accomplish in your mission for online success is pick and register a domain name. Though it all sounds like a simple process, this is one step you can’t afford to take lightly.  You would be surprised at the number of registrants who got it all wrong and ended up regretting their decision.  In order to keep from landing in this unfortunate category, you need to make it a priority to avoid the following mistakes when registering your domain name.

Difficult to Remember – The worst thing you can do is choose a domain name that is difficult for potential visitors to remember.  “CKPFK” might be the initials of your business and “The Web’s Most Comprehensive API’s” could be your slogan.  However, trying to implement either into your domain will likely make it impossible to remember for most of your visitors.  For this reason, you want to pick something that is very memorable and easy for visitors to enter into their browsers.

Too Long – Technically, your domain name can be up to 67 characters in length.  Still, it should be nowhere near this long.  A good domain name is no longer than about 10 characters.  Shorter is better in this case as it makes your name easier to remember and less susceptible to mistakes when visitors go to type it in.

Irrelevant – Sure, your ideal domain name sounds cool, but how relevant is it?  The name should be relevant to what you intend to do online and somehow coincide with the content on your website. “ToyKing” may be a catchy and memorable domain name, but if your business involves selling computer hardware, it definitely isn’t relative.

Double Meanings – Combing words in your domain name may seem like a clever move on your part, but it could also lead to some confusion.  This is why you just might want to think twice so you don’t create double meanings that have visitors wondering what you’re really into.

Wrong TLD - If your business is located in the United States or you plan to target a global audience with your website, it is best to pick a .com for your Top Level Domain or TLD.  While they make viable alternatives, .net, .biz and .org are often perceived as less professional than their .com counterpart.  On the other hand, if you plan to target an audience in a country such as Australia or the United Kingdom, you may want to consider using a extension such as .au or .uk opposed to .com.  This will make it easier for visitors to recognize that your website is local.

Trademark Conflicts – When choosing a domain name, it is imperative that you make sure it is free of legal conflicts and isn’t tied to trademarks of other businesses.  The best way to avoid this is to do your research steer clear of anyone else’s name and trademark.

Choosing a domain name can be a lengthy process, but the pitfalls can be easily avoided when you’re aware.  Following these tips will go a long way in making sure you choose a name that holds its weight in gold.