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A domain name is essentially
a signpost on the Internet. Every web site you've ever been to,
and every e-mail you've ever composed, has used a domain name in
its address.
People register domain names in order to 'stake a claim' to a particular
name -- whether for business or personal reasons. Once a domain
name is registered to a person or company, it is that person's to
use exclusively as long as they continue to pay the yearly renewal
fee.
Most Internet Service Providers (ISP's) offer you a directory on
their own domain.
Most of the time, they look like this: http://www.internetserviceprovider.com/~yourname
In addition to having to explain the little squiggle mark (~ which
is called a tilde) to your less net savvy customers, this can prove
cumbersome on business cards and letterhead, and it does not reflect
the unique nature of your business or homepage.
Registering a domain name for your business or organization is essential
to your marketing efforts.
A domain name gives your business
its own unique identity on the World-Wide Web. Choose a name that
reflects the intent and purpose of your web site or business. Try
to keep it short and snappy, and say it out loud, as if you were
telling someone at a party to visit your web page.
Some domain names look good on paper, but
are confusing when you try to send someone to them over the phone.
Keep in mind the image that it conjures... your domain name will
be one of the ways people recognize or evaluate their sites for
their interests when they are searching via Yahoo or the other search
engines.
When facing a large number of choices, the snappiest domain sometimes
grabs the most attention.
Domain names can now be up to 67 characters long (including the
.com, .net or .org). While this opens up a whole new world for domain
names, it can also lead to some confusion if you are not careful.
Extremely long domain names can be difficult to read. Take a look
at these two domain names:
thislongdomainnameishardtoread.com
this-long-name-is-easier-to-read.com
Putting hyphens between each word can make the domain name easier
for your visitors to read and remember. |
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