"What's in a name?" Shakespeare asks in Romeo and Juliet. When it comes to your site the answer is: quite a lot.
A domain name is the English (or other) language designator for your site. Because of how the Internet operates, that name is associated with an IP address, a numeric identifier that computers and network components use to connect a browser to a site.
It's not mandatory that a site has a name. But directing people by IP address can quickly cause problems. Having an IP address IS mandatory, since it's ultimately the way a web site is located by other computers and network software.
In the early days of the Internet the name was chosen carefully in order to help a person remember the domain. That made it easier to type, too. With hotspots on a page, great search engines, social networking and other contemporary tools, that's not as critical now.
But from a marketing point of view, it still helps to have a good domain name. It's still powerful to have a site called 'CheapTVs.com' if what you sell are inexpensive television sets. Calling your site, 'InexpensiveElectronicVisualDisplayDevices.com' may describe your business in some way, but it's a {lot more difficult to send prospects to your site.
Which name you choose can, therefore, affect how many visitors your site gets, how soon. Eventually, if you have content and/or products/services that people need, word will get around. But having a good name can certainly help. Love them or hate them, the Google company chose well.
Of course, the fact is that there are billions of web sites around the world. That means, you usually {{don't necessarily get the name of your first choice.
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is the internationally recognized authority for managing IP addresses throughout the Internet, along with the top-level domain name-extensions (.com, .net, .org, .edu, and so forth). But registering a domain name is done by simply contacting any registrars that work as intermediaries to establish and track the names.
GoDaddy, Register.com, Network Solutions and a great many others offer the service for anywhere from free to a few dollars per month or year. You contact them by navigating to their site. Then, using a feature they all provide, you can select a possible name. They use something called whois and other software to determine if the name is already claimed. Or, you can check yourself at www.whois.com. Registration is for a {{limited time, but is renewable as long as you like provided you pay the annual fee.
You will probably have to try several choices to find a domain name that isn't already in use. With so many billions of websites, the odds of you finding your first choice are slim, unless you have a highly creative imagination. But, it's also true that domains tend to die or expire. When they do, the name becomes available for use by someone new.
A method for getting on a 'waiting list' is available. You register the domain name you want and if and when the name becomes available, you are offered the chance to claim it. Of course, there's heavy competition even on the waiting list for unique names. There are many different methods of establishing priority that vary by company. At any given time there are thousands of so-called auctions going on to bid on these domain names.
Give some thought to your new domain name and research its availability, but don't stress too much over it. The name isn't everything. After all, if Google had developed a search engine that delivered quality results only 10% of the time, their name would be mud.
Once you have your new domain, it's time to select the right web hosting company, so drop by Ace Web Host Reviews to see how others rated the top hosting companies, and if you need a newweb design to go along with your new domain, be sure to visit Wildfire Marketing Group!
