Your domain name

Do you have a website now?   How much traffic are you getting?  Is your site bringing you the kinds of visitors and new business that you want?  It may have a lot to do with your domain name.

Your domain name (www.example.com) is your address on the web.  You can get to it by typing it directly into the address bar of your browser or you could click on a link through a search engine.  That being said, how would you rather have visitors find you?

If you build it, will they come?

For visitors to type in your domain name directly, they would have to know who you are already.  They would know your domain name and key it into their browser. 

The problem is, most people don't know your name already and even if they did, they would rarely key it into a search engine.  Consider this:

What that means is that even when people know your name already, they still use search engines to find you.  Think of the many millions of dollars in marketing and brand recognition advertising eBay has spent over the last 10 years.  They are a household name. You probably aren't. 

So the reality is that you should choose a domain name that describes what you do or what you know rather than who you are.  Consider Joe Smith - a home inspector.  He could choose joesmith.com or he could choose charlotte-home-inspector.com. 

Of those two names, the second describes what he does and has a lot more weight with the search engines. 

BEFORE YOU BUY ONE there are a few more considerations

Below these paragraphs are links to the major domain name houses where you can purchase your domain, but I want to let you in on a couple of things prior to purchasing your new domain name.  Considering the following, you might want to use  Register Compass first to search out your domain name. 

The problems with new domains with regard to Search Engines

	New domain names can take 3-4 months for Google to index. This is known as the Google Sandbox.
	New domains should be listed in DMOZ to help with their search engine rankings, however DMOZ is incredibly difficult to get listed in.
	New domains should be listed in the Yahoo! directory because it helps with search optimization. There is a payment of $299 and a waiting period.
	New domains don't have a Google PR (page rank).
	New domains don't have any traffic.
	New domains don't have any links pointing to them, a time consuming task to be sure.

With a service like Register Compass, you can search expiring domains that might already be listed in Yahoo!, DMOZ, have a Google Page Rank or traffic.  Expiring domains won't have to wait in the sandbox to be indexed in Google. 

With Register Compass, you can search the entire database of expiring domains and possibly find one that is perfect for you.

If you are still ready to purchase a domain, then click one of the links below:

When you are ready to pick a domain name, you should head to www.GoDaddy.com , Network Solutions, or Dotster.com.  All offer very reasonable prices for your domain name.