The value of a domain name

For an online entrepreneur, the value of a domain name is about a number of factors - factors which a lot of people may not consider (or even understand in the context of a commercial investment). But to most, the value of a domain is measured simply buy the amount of traffic t may produce for the website that uses it.

If you want to make money working on the web, a big part of the secret to success usually lies in selection of an appropriate domain name. While there are many aspects and tools that can help drive up the marketability of a website, the key is to first choose a domain name that will easily allow potential consumers to find you.

In essence, a domain name is the equivalent of a shop name in the real world, which means it has to be something that is memorable and easy to associate with the content of the site.

Businesses in the real world develop names and logos that people instantly recognize, you need to create a domain name that is distinctly yours and will draw a consumer's eye. For example, although they may have sounded odd years ago, today eBay, Google, and Yahoo are instantly recognizable domain names. Therefore, there is a lot of room for creativity and not using a name that actually describes what you do, as long as the domain name you have in mind is something that is catchy, and will stay in your target audience's minds.

You also need to take a look at what else is out there in your market, before choosing a domain name, if you want it to be truly profitable, because you want to stand out from the crowd. Many businesses lose potential customers because they choose a name that is too close to competitors and consumers get confused.

For example, if you want a domain name such as customdogs.co.uk but find it is taken and settle for custom-dogs.co.uk there is a high chance that you will be giving away a lot of your consumers to your competition as many people will forget to add that hyphen.

When domain names are too close to similar but competing websites, many people may forget to type in the hyphen, add the s for the plural or even not be able to spell or type the domains name in question (often called typosquatting). So, while you want a domain name that is recognizable and easy to remember, you have to be creative and fresh when it comes down to the construction of your name, if you want to have a truly valuable domain name for your website.

In the real world you would not create a business name that was too close to your competitors, so be sure to avoid the practice online, for a website that will truly bring in profits.