Choosing The Right Web Address For Your Business
Choosing the right Web address can be a daunting task for many business owners. Consequently, many companies often rush this process and end up selecting the wrong domain name.
In fact, a recent survey of 1,074 American businesses revealed that 42 percent of businesses surveyed spent the same time selecting their domain as they did sourcing minor equipment such as their coffee maker or paper shredder (less than 1 hour).
Conducted in November 2007, 1&1 Internet’s ‘SMB Domain Choices Study’ showed that 1 in 4 of these businesses (23 percent) said they were unwilling to attempt a change in domain name because they believed it would involve a lot of work. Approximately 60 percent of business owners sought no second opinion before making a selection and over half (57 percent) did not consider options such as .biz or .net at all.
Evidently, many companies do not realize that the selection of a business’ web address is a crucial decision, and they should consider all available options before purchasing their primary domain name. As the number of registered domains increases, it’s often the case that the best available domains belong to less obvious suffixes, so it is very important to choose addresses carefully.
5 Tips for Choosing the Right Web Address:
A number of businesses continue to use an undesirable domain name while recognizing it could be having a negative impact on their business. Following are five tips for improving the way companies choose their web addresses:
- Spend at least a few days thinking about your domain name wording and weighing up the pros and cons of the various suffixes available to them
- Seek external opinion on what a domain could suggest about your business
- Look at less obvious suffixes such as .info, .net, .us, .biz or .tv., instead of being pre-occupied with .com or .org options
- Choose a web address that’s easy to remember. Some 7 percent of business owners surveyed in 1&1’s ‘SMB Domain Choices Study’ admit to having forgotten their own domain name
- Do not delay making changes if the domain isn’t the right fit for your business or use multiple domains
The Secondary Domain Market Factor
Finding unique unregistered domain names on the general market can be very challenging, so companies often turn to the secondary market or aftermarket for names that have already been registered, like on www.sedo.com. In 2007, it is estimated that sales from domain names in the secondary market increased by 60 percent. The popular .com and .net TLDs, while increasing by 24 percent in registrations in 2007, grew by an estimated 53 percent in purchases on the secondary domain market. Web hosts, such as 1&1 Internet will work with brokerage services such as Sedo to help companies find an already registered domain name.
Conclusion
Although purchasing a web address should be one of the first steps in launching a business, it is often bought in haste. Every American business must recognize the lasting impact that a domain name can have on sales and image. An experienced domain name registration partner, such as 1&1 Internet, can also help companies choose the right address. From domain registration to web hosting, site creation, technical support and cutting edge technology, 1&1 offers users every available resource to easily and affordably create and maintain an optimal web presence.
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About The Author: Andreas Gauger is the Chairman of the Board of 1&1 Internet, the world’s largest web host by known servers. The 24-year veteran formed his first company at the age of 16. He co-founded 1&1 Internet in 2000, and pioneered the ‘one-stop-shop approach to Web hosting. Today Andreas is responsible for the products and strategic direction of the company.
