Domain name registration is an important part of your online business. In fact, it can be one of the most vital aspects of branding your business. A good domain name will make your site look professional before people even click on it whilst a bad domain name can drastically lessen the traffic you receive.

Because you must choose a domain before your site goes online, domain name registration needs to be carefully planned so that you do not regret your choice later. There are some important factors to consider when registering a domain including:

- The TLD or domain extension (.com, .net)

- The purpose of your website

- Any particular major keywords you are focusing on

- How long you will register the domain for

- Where you will register the domain

- If you will buy domain privacy

Let's take a look at the above factors in depth.

TLD

Ideally you will want to register a .com domain as your main domain. It can take many attempts to find an available .com domain so keep trying until you do. You may choose to add a dash into your domain. These are acceptable but it is not advisable to use more than one dash. If your site is going to be an authority site then consider also buying the .net, .org and .info domains too so competitors don't take them.

Website Purpose

If the purpose of your website is to act as a guide then using a word like "guide" in the domain is relevant. It is important to determine what your site is trying to achieve before the domain name registration. If you want your site to be brandable, then a made up word that is pronounceable is a good idea - that is what Google did!

Keywords

Most websites have one or two main keywords they wish to target. Incorporating these into your domain, where possible, may assist with search engine rankings.

Registration Length

It is a good idea to register a new domain for as long as possible. It is thought that Google looks favorably upon this and it eliminates the worry every year regarding paying for your registration.

Where To Register

There are many domain registrars, but there are only a few that you should consider registering at. You should ignore price when buying a .com domain because the difference between registrars is minimal.

What you should be looking for is a secure, reputable registrar. Some of the top domain registrars are Moniker, Name.com, Dynadot, Namecheap and GoDaddy. These registrars sell .com domains from $7.50 up to $10 per year.

Domain Privacy

Domain privacy prevents anyone accessing your data when they search for the owner of your domain name. People may search for domain owners through a WHOIS service. Depending on the purpose of your website, you may or may not want this data visible. Most registrars charge a yearly fee for WHOIS domain privacy.

Domain name registration is an exciting process, but also a very important time so make sure you choose the very best available domain name for your website.