Avoid domain names that are similar or copycat to existing ones. Not only do you want to avoid legal issues, but want your brand to be distinct from that of your competitors. Granted it will take time to come up with a domain name that will work and set you apart from others selling same product or services as you.

Use your domain name to position yourself on Web. If your domain name reflects your site’s core benefits and instantly communicates how different you are from others, your URL will be positioned above competition in minds of your market.

Never use a ‘free’ domain name. This will be worst mistake you can make when setting up your business online. Believe it or not, when consumers are researching online and see that your URL is with a free site or sites of lesser quality, will quickly turn away. In other words, if people notice that your site is hosted with ‘freebies’, they will only assume that your product or service is just as cheap, or worse that you don’t actually respect your products and services that you are offering. If you don’t believe in your products, your own target market won’t either.

Don’t make mistake of attempting to retrofit your domain name to your website. You should have your domain name first and then your business name should be same as your domain name. You would think that most people would have their domain name exactly same as their business name. That isn’t case. Many online sites were not able to get domain names same as their business names as they were not available due to others currently using those particular names online. Hence importance of making sure you have your domain first, then you will be able to have same name for your website. There are domain names out on market for sale that you may be able to purchase, but a word to wise, some of these names come with a hefty price tag. Make sure that name you select truly reflects your business goals and philosophy.

In conclusion, your domain name in itself is ultimate marketing brand and is in fact, most important marketing tool you will possess. Always remember that your domain name also gives first impression for your customers and that alone makes an impression before your customers even reach your website. Without further ado, choose your domain name carefully and wisely, add credibility from get-go and you should fare off very well.

Here is where you need to be a good consumer and know a little more about process.

You are owner of your domain name and owner of your website. Although most people grant their website designer or website administrator power to control all of this, and although most people do not understand technicalities of domains and hosting packages, you should still have all details readily available.

If you have a business website and delegated any of work involved in setting it up to another person, you should still maintain complete control over its future.

Whether you or someone else purchases domain name for your website (the www.yourname.com), make certain that you have contact details from company it was purchased from, and corresponding username and password to access control over domain's use. Most importantly, make sure you are listed as registered owner of website, not person or company that is creating your website for you. All registered domains have four contact individuals listed on Internet. Your web administrator can be listed as technical contact or administrative contact but you need to be listed as registered owner. This way, if any changes are made to status of domain, you are informed as well, and you should be notified when domain name is about to expire.

This is how my friends’ website was “stolen”. He was not listed as owner, and design company that was listed as owner went out of business. When domain name expired (remember, you purchase these for a limited time and then have to renew), owner did not know it and that particular domain name became available for anyone else to purchase – legally. Thus, my friends website was not really stolen. He was victim of ignorance.