1. .Com extension. It’s imperative that your domain name be available with a .com extension. I’ve seen businesses and major web sites try to get away with .net or .org, and perhaps half of their intended visitors land on someone else’s web site. Or worse, confidential e-mails are sent to wrong domain. 2. Easy to spell. Keep in mind that your spelling might be better than most people! 3. Short. Try to keep it to 2 words, 3 maximum and 20 characters or fewer.

These are general guidelines applicable to your main company domain name. There are instances where hyphens, numbers, and non-.com domain extensions are fine for secondary sites and search engine-optimized sites. But your company’s main domain should follow these general guidelines. Good luck!

1. Think of appropriate name for that suit theme of your web site. For instance, an online dating service may find domain name like www.loveconnection.com, more desirable than say www.best-used-cars.com
2. Search for domain name availability. Every domain name registrar will provide you with a search tool; although some search tools are better than other. You will have to do a lot of searches because a lot of domain name that you wish to have is probably already owned by someone else (very common).
3. As you come across available domain names that you like, jot them down. Keep searching until you have about 3-5 different domain names to choose from.
4. Choose a domain name and register it at a domain name ICANN Accredited registrar.

Other factors to consider

• Initially, you will want .com version of your domain name. If your internet business takes off, you may want to consider registering other first-level domains (i.e., .net) of your domain name and perhaps even similar domain names to prevent mistaken identity
• Use domain name registrar that will register domain under your name under all contacts information (perhaps with exception of technical contact). It should be clear that you own domain name.
• Use domain name registrar that provide good online account support.
• Use automatic domain name renewal if you are planning to own domain name long-term