Let me start with things to avoid when registering a domain name that will be used for your main company web site.

1. Never use a hyphen. If your domain is some-name.com, many people will forget hyphen when typing your name into browser or sending e-mail to you. This can result in lost business. 2. Avoid digits if possible. Using digits requires you to spell domain name out to people. For example2.com, you need to tell people it’s digit “2” rather than word “two” or even “to”.

Just like any business, your identity is very important. On World Wide Web, your domain name is your identity. Of course, you can opt for a subdomain name that comes with many free web hosting like http://yourdomain.netfirms.com. But if you are serious about being successful on Internet, you have to get your own domain name, like http://www.yourdomain.com.

Top 10 reasons to have your own domain name

1. It is cheap and easy to get your own domain name (less than $15/year in most cases)
2. You own name (as long as you pay annual fee)
3. You are not dependent on one web hosting company to let you use a subdomain, or worse, a subdirectory
4. Your web site promotion effort does not go to waste if you change your web hosting company (because domain name remains same regardless of what host you use)
5. The domain name can be optimized to your business, like www.best-used-cars.com
6. Your web site is more professional
7. The domain name is easier to remember. For instance, www.best-used-cars.com rather than www.geocities.com/web/public/business/auto/best-used-cars/
8. It is much easier to sell a web site with its own domain name
9. A good domain name can be an asset
10. It is cheap and easy to get your own domain name (this one is worth repeating)

How to register for a domain name