BUYING DOMAINS (HELP GUIDE)

There is a dizzying array of domain name extensions (and more will be added this year and every year for the foreseeable future). When you are purchasing your domain names, it's hard to know which ones to buy - all of them? Just .com? This article shares some ideas for you to consider when you are investing in the domain names related to your business.

While the .com extension is certainly the most well recognized and the one that is the "best" to have for most businesses, it's not the only one. However, always try to get that one when it is available - whether for your business name, your individual name, a product name, or other intellectual property you want to have represented by a domain name.

The next most popular extension for businesses (and the one that was supposed to take the load off the .com extension) is .biz. If you own ONLY this extension (or any of the others besides .com) you have to take special care to ensure that others KNOW your website ends with .biz because by default, essentially everyone assumes when you tell them your website that .com is the extension.

The third one to consider is .info - and in some cases, fits quite well with particular domain names and certain products or features of your business. Again, remember to stress the extension if you are telling someone your URL.

The .name extension is one that you can get if you are using your own name but it's not very recognizable to most people as an extension.

An extension that is gaining in popularity for some businesses is .tv. Generally, it is limited to people who are broadcasting in some way. Look into this if you plan to use extensive video and other visual media.

.org is limited to groups who can demonstrate that they are an organization and not a business, so for most people reading this article, you have no need to even consider this extension.

The last two I'll mention here are .gov & .lib, which are limited to government agencies and libraries, respectively. Again, no need to worry about those extensions.

So, given all of this information, here are some suggestions for you when you are purchasing domain names (especially if some seems to have the one you REALLY wanted):


Find out if the person who owns it will sell it (and they might if they aren't using it). Many people buy domain names 'just in case,' and may be willing to sell it to you. All you can do is ask. If you don't ask, you'll never know.
Play with the domain name you want and try it in different formats; see if one of the others is available. It's one thing I love about 1and1.com (and most other companies that sell domains; they give you other suggestions if the name you want isn't available.
Try the domain name with hyphens (and when you get a really good one, consider getting it with hyphens, too anyway. Know that if you ONLY have a domain name with hyphens you will always be telling people where the hyphens go, so try some other alternatives instead unless you are prepared to repeat OVER AND OVER "There's a hyphen between every word."
When you find a domain name you truly love - and have a sense that it is "the one," then buy it in as many iterations as possible. Domains are cheap. You can always keep them for a year and let them go...but once they are gone, it's much more expensive and maybe impossible to secure the one(s) you want. Better safe than sorry!