Making sure you have an excellent domain name is very important for all entrepreneurs. It affects many parts of your business and should be considered with care as to what name you choose. Once you choose a name, it won't be easy to change, so you should pick one that can be easily associated with the business you do. The domain name has two particular goals:

? Branding your business

? Help you with search engine positioning

Brand your business: To choose your domain name, you must recognize that this will be how customers see your business and thus the name must be a good one and very professional. Keep the following in mind when picking your domain name:

? Make it memorable: Make sure that people can remember it easily. This means that your visitors will be better able to return to your website and also let others know about it.

? Make it short and easy to spell: Make your domain name simple enough that others can spell it easily and remember it without difficulty.

? It should describe your business and what you do. When people look at your domain name they should know exactly how you can help them and what you are selling.

? Your domain name is your business name: Due to the fact it is not easy to change your domain name, you should get it right the first time.

Optimizing your website: Many aren't aware of the importance of this, but you should have your main keyword or phrase within the domain name so your website will rank higher in the search engines.

Registering your domain name:

? Make a list of domain names: Now that you have your keywords you can now create some domain names. Sometimes you will find that other people may have the same ideas as you and your first choices are taken so have at least 5-10 names on your list and just go down your list until you find one that is not taken.

? Go to a domain register and get your domain name registered. You can use .com or .net or .org as the suffix. And here are some terms you need to know: o Nameserver: this is referring to the host's server. If you insert the host's DNS or server code when you register, you will ensure your website and domain name will be found for registration, and thus your website will be published effectively for the world to see on the World Wide Web. o Whois contact info on your website. You can make it private or you can have it for everyone to see. When Public, this can be seen by anybody so try to put as little personal information as possible.

Some important things to remember:

o You will appear more credible to the search engines like Google if you register your domain name for 2 to 5 years. You have the option of one year or up to five.

o Lock in your domain name so no one else can transfer it or tamper with the name.