Tips to Choose a Great Business/Domain Name

These days, every business is an online business. Whether you plan to utilize the web for
web retail, online marketing or both, the first step to establishing an online presence is securing a memorable domain name for your business. (For the internet new-comers: An example of a domain name is upstartsolutions.net) See if your Domain Name is Available

Here are some tips for snagging a great domain name:

1. Consider domain name availability as well as registered business name availability while still naming the business. This will keep thing simple and avoid unexpected disappointments. Example: We had already designed the logo for a new accounting business with the name The Bottom Line. Clever, right? So clever that it was already registered in almost every state as a corporation and as a ficticious business name in their county over 50 times in variation. Every variation of domain name was also already registered. Check availability first...
   
   
2. Consider if the name you are seeking will lead to competing markets, or negative associations (both are bad) Will the common mis-type of your url lead to a competitor? You may consider a different domain name. Will the common mis-type lead to offensive content? Definitely reconsider. Example: We were designing a website for an online Mom's group who had chosen the name "Hot Mamas". Totally innocent on thier part. However, this domain name and innumerable variations are common URLs and search terms for, you guessed it, porn. Not a great choice...they went with Mama Mafia instead!


3. Creativity does not trump Clarity! Avoid repeating letters between words (like mossservices.com), or anything you are going to have to spell over and over to clients (your email address will most likely use your domain name, so try to keep it simple). If using initials for your business, try to avoid similarly sounding letters, since these are easily confused and clients may not have a reference for what the acronym stands for. Example: When we were still new, we had an angry call back from a client who demanded to know why we let him choose the domain name tps.com for his "Total Protection Services". He explained that all day long he spent listening to confused customers calling to clarify: "ctf? ebx?", instead of using those calls to sell his actual product!


4. If you have a unique name for your company or product, be sure to immediately register it. It is not always malicious, people have a way of getting the same idea at the same time. Also, when you are excited about a new idea you have the tendancy to share, but think twice. Buy the name, then tell everyone about the new idea. We've seen proud business owners surprised to see that they now need to buy a recently registered domain back from someone whom they "shared their idea" with. Don't be held hostage, don't share your idea until you own it.
   

If you discover someone else has already claimed the name you want, don’t be discouraged. If you are just starting out and have just selected your business name in the planning step, consider searching potential new names for domain availability before committing a name. If you are dead set on the name you have, you may have some hope yet: Often entrepreneurs allow their domain name registration to expire or are willing to sell their name to you at a reasonable price. Most domain name registration services provide contact information for domain name owners or offer a way to bid on domain names that are up for sale. You might also consider your domain to be a memorable tagline rather than the business name. For example: Upstart Solution's tagline is "You've got a great, idea. Now run with it!" so another possible domain name might be "runwithit.com"

Upstart Solutions offers a number of low-cost web services to not only register your domain name, but also set up email and websites for you, complete with e-commerce capabilities. You can See if your Domain Name is Available here!