3 Tips on How to Obtain Your Domain Name

While having a Myspace and Facebook page is a great technique for marketing your products or services, nothing screams professionalism like your own .com (or .net, .org, .us, etc). 

From an eager 15-year-old-who-posts-every-picture-she has-ever-taken to a 27-year-old scouting for his next date, just about anyone can get a page on these social networking sites. Your goal is to set yourself apart from these individuals. You don’t want to be just another person on the web. Instead, you want to show people that you have something real to offer. Having your own domain will do that and honestly, it will barely cost you anything. Some steps to keep in mind.

1. Choose your domain name wisely. This is very important and harder than you may think. Pick something that you will like in the long run because you might be “stuck” with it for awhile.

2. Research. Once you have picked the “perfect name”, the difficult task of making sure it has not be taken will proceed. If so, make sure you have a few alternatives or you can check when the domain is up for expiration.

3. Register the name. Do this as soon as you are 100% sure that this is what you want even if no content will be there for the first few weeks or months. You won’t believe how many people out there are registering domain names and chances are that some people think like you and came up with the same name. I remember last year I had chosen a name for a separate website I was working on and it was available. A week later, it was taken. I kick myself for not grabbing the name sooner. The best part of registering a domain name is that it is practically free. Some sites cost about $10 or less. I recommend Godaddy.com or Register.com. These sites can also tell you which names are taken and for how long. If you really want a site name that is unavailable, there is an option of making an offer to the owner (though this can become costly).

After you register your domain, don’t rush into getting web pages up for the heck of it. Remember, you want to be professional and not look like a random internet user messing around with html. Take your time with finding the right web host and provider. Most websites that offer domain registeration also have these services. In the meantime, have fun on Myspace or Facebook as you can incorporate these pages to your new site!