Do’s and Don’ts of Securing a Domain Name

If you don’t have the faintest idea about securing a domain name, the situation can be overwhelming and lead you to making the wrong choice. You obviously do not want to make this mistake and regret your actions in the future. Even though you will be faced by these challenges, here are do’s and don’ts to consider when securing a domain name.

 

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Do’s

1. Use keywords or a location in your domain name where possible

Include a location or a keyword in your domain name to help in online searchES for your company once your site is live. Use a location especially if your business is focused on a geographic location. You obviously want to rank first in the online site searches. Therefore, this is a useful thing to do. Again, a keyword is very useful. Based on the type of work you do, include a keyword that would make your site easily identifiable in that sector.

 

2. Register as the owner of the domain name

Once you have used a domain name registration tool to find a domain name, register yourself as the user. Some people make a mistake of not ensuring that whoever does their domain registration indicates their name as the owner of the domain.  Therefore, it is vital to ensure that you are the administrative contact and owner of your domain. This is a property that you own and therefore should be registered under your name. Ownership is guaranteed through proper registration and that includes your name. Otherwise, you won’t be able to transact any business.

Business owners tend to make this mistake that has cost them dearly. There are a lot of dynamics in business including differences among the key personalities. You wouldn’t want your website to be affected should you part ways with the people who registered your domain on your behalf. Therefore, make sure that you own your website from the start by doing proper registration.

 

3. Renew your domain name as required

Domain name registration should be renewed after the lapse of a certain period of time, usually on a yearly basis. If you should fail to do so, your domain will be deactivated and can be sold to someone else. If such a thing happens, you can easily lose touch with your clients, particularly if you didn’t provide other contact details. Your company could fail due to this one simple mistake. If you think you may forget to renew your domain name, consider buying a domain registration for 5 or 10 years upfront. You can also set up a yearly auto-renewal payments. If you do, make sure that funds are available with a valid credit card to facilitate timely payment.

 

Don’ts

1. Buy a domain without checking the history behind it

Finding an available domain is never enough. You can land yourself in legal issues if the name is very close to a trademark owned by another company. Should this happen, you could be forced to shut down your site. Stay safe and avoid unnecessary fees by making adjustments to your site. Get both legal and technical support prior to settling for any domain name and stay away from probable legal landmines.

 

2. Choose extensions other than .com

There is a reason why you need a .com domain name extension. You will get a lot of offers out there with domain name extensions like .co and .net. If you are just getting started, you don’t need to waste money on that. These other extensions are only useful when you are patenting something or are protecting your trademark. For example, should you think that your competitor might want to have the .co version of your domain name, secure it first. If not, stick to .com because that is where the real value is.

 

3. Use abbreviations, numbers or dashes in your domain name

The most important thing is to have an appealing name that anyone can remember with ease. Make sure that it captures the concept of your business. Abbreviations and numbers are not good enough to tell what you do or the location of your business. Let your domain name be easy to say without the need to spell it. Using numbers, dashes and abbreviations could keep traffic from coming to your site.

 

 

A Final Word

These are simple guidelines that you can use when you’re choosing and securing your domain name. Additionally, make sure you own your domain name through proper search and registration.

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