As the editor of DomainNameWire.com, Im frequently e-mailed by people asking for domain name advice. Specifically, what should they look for when registering a domain name for their company This may be basic for some of you, but I hope some of my readers gain value from this.
Let me start with the 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 the hyphen when typing your name into the browser or sending e-mail to you. This can result in lost business.
2. Avoid digits if possible. Using digits requires you to spell the domain name out to people. For example2.com, you need to tell people its the digit 2 rather than the word two or even to.
Here are the positive things to look for in a domain name.
1. .Com extension. Its imperative that your domain name be available with a .com extension. Ive seen businesses and major web sites try to get away with .net or .org, and perhaps half of their intended visitors land on someone elses web site. Or worse, confidential e-mails are sent to the 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 companys main domain should follow these general guidelines. Good luck!
Andrew Allemann is editor of , a news and opinions site for the domain name industry.
Aero Registrar Secura GmbH proposes to the IT departments of airports to sell aero-domains to companies at the airport. Airports can build a portal of the airport and forming by this a kind of virtual airport.
The advantages:
1. Search engines are today focusing link popularity. If airports would build a portal of the airport with interested companies and ask the companies at the airport as a condition for getting the aero-domain and the link to their websites that the companies link back to the airports website, the airports will get many links back to their own website.
By this they increase the success of their website. Especially Google,the most important search engine of the world, is working with link popularity. If you assume, that the website is important for your marketing, you should try to improve your ranking at Google and other search engines.
2. ICANN accredited Registar Secura will sell to airports the domains for other companies at reseller conditions. The IT departments can sell the domains at the price, which they think is fitting. The IT departments of airports will have an economic advantage at every sold aero-domain.
We also propose to airports they you should realize the shortcut initiative of SITA. One of many examples: If somebody is entering at the PDA parking.youraeroport.aero, there are hints how to go and/or drive to the parking lot. Secura GmbH is also ready to make free subdomains in order to help to realize the shortcut initiative.
Hans-Peter Oswald
The author is the CEO of Aero Registrar Secura GmbH
About The Author
Hans-Peter Oswald
CEO
ICANN accredited Registrar