How do I Get a Domain Name?

I get this question A LOT from my new clients "How do I or my business get a domain name?". First understand this is NOT a dumb question. Many people hear www.this.com, www.that.com every day and many simply have NO CLUE how to go about this process. There are many different ways in which you can do this process, below are two ways:

• Do it yourself - (instructions)
• Have a person or company do it - (instructions)

First I will explain how it works

To the right is a pyramid to aide in this discussion. Many might complain that the first two items (ICANN¹ and InterNIC) should be on the same line, however InterNIC is operated by ICANN so that is why it is underneath. ICANN was created in 1998 to oversee the worlds Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses and responsible for overseeing the Internet's Top Level Domains (TLDs). Sort of like what the Post Office does for keeping track of every one's home or business address.

ICANN does NOT own the Internet, instead they are governing body for address translations. Their responsibility is to keep track of all IP addresses and assign them in blocks to various accredited registrars as well as provide the accreditation process for each registrar to meet.

InterNIC being operated by ICANN knows all the information assigned to any IP address or Domain Name and is responsible for providing that information to ANYONE wishing to use a WHOIS service. All registrars are required to provide domain name registration information to InterNIC for the WHOIS service. (example of a registrar can be seen on the 3rd level of the hierarchy. When you buy a domain name you are really "LEASING" the right to use that name from InterNIC.

This means if you wanted a domain name, you could use the WHOIS service to see if someone owns it and if they do how to best contact them, the accredited registrar that leased the domain name and the hosting company that hosts the site.

A web hosting service (aka Hosting Company) is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to provide their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own, for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.

On the hierarchy to the right you will notice that the far left box containing the name HOSTMONSTER has both colors, that is because many Hosting Companies are BOTH an accredited registrar for domain names and a Hosting Company in one. This is a very popular way of making more money as the competition for just registering a domain name is very high.

Register your own Domain name

Since each company has it's own way of processing or registering a domain name, this will be a simple guide to help you along.

1. Research your desired Domain name
• Use WHOIS service to find out if the name is taken, if not taken go to step 2
• Not sure what domain name you should use, well you can Google the name ro use my favorite tool DomainsBot. This tool helps you choose an available name by telling you if it has been used yet or not.
2. Use an Accredited Top Domain Level Company
• Here is a link for a list of approved ICANN accredited companies
• Sign on with different admin or hosting forums to find out other peoples opinions
3. Sign up with Registrar company
• It is required to provide information such as a user name, a desired password, a valid email, your address, your phone number, payment method (usually a credit card) and other items to secure an account. Remember just about any information you place here will be in the public WHOIS record.
• REMEMBER many Registrar companies also do Hosting services and they may or may not give you the domain name for free if you sign up with their paid hosting service, so shop around.

Screw that mess, that's a lot of effort. Yes it is... if this is a one time purchase, it is hard to decide on a domain name and even harder to choose the correct hosting services (a later article). If you do this a few times a year, you will start to know through you experiences just how to shop for a domain name and hosting services.

Register through a site management company

Doing the correct research to find a good deal on a domain name is only part of the issue. In researching your DomainName either for a personal site or a profession or business site is a whole different matter.

Do Want	Don't Want
• easy to remember name	• a long complicated name
• a name that is related to your content	• a name that is not related at all to your content
• correct association (.com/.net/.org/etc.)	• a .com when you are a non profit org.
• Does a trade mark apply	• common name
• include site keywords	• stay away from numbers
• easy to type
• should it create and fill an expectation

Should it be hyphenated or not, should it include words like "THEsitename.com" or "MYsitename.com", when your desired name is taken?

As you can see there is a lot to think about if you wish to "Brand" yourself, your service or your product. That's where a service such as our own comes in. Choose your service wisely to help answer the following 12 steps.

1. Brainstorm 5 Top Keywords
   When you first begin your domain name search, it helps to have 5 terms or phrases in mind that best describe the domain you're seeking. Once you have this list, you can start to pair them or add prefixes & suffixes to create good domain ideas. For example, if you're launching a mortgage related domain, you might start with words like "mortgage, finance, home equity, interest rate, house payment" then play around until you can find a good match.
2. Make the Domain Unique
   Having your website confused with a popular site already owned by someone else is a recipe for disaster. Thus, I never choose domains that are simply the plural, hyphenated or misspelled version of an already established domain. I still believe that Flickr desperately needs to buy Flicker.com - I hear kids in their 20's tell parents in their 40's and 50's to see photos on Flickr and always envision that traffic going straight to the wrong domain.
3. Only Choose Dot-Com Available Domains
   If you're not concerned with type-in traffic, branding or name recognition, you don't need to worry about this one. However, if you're at all serious about building a successful website over the long-term, you should be worried about all of these elements, and while directing traffic to a .net or .org is fine, owning and 301'ing the .com is critical. With the exception of the very tech-savvy, most people who use the web still make the automatic assumption that .com is all that's out there - don't make the mistake of locking out or losing traffic to these folks.
4. Make it Easy to Type
   If a domain name requires considerable attention to type correctly, due to spelling, length or the use of un-memorable words or sounds, you've lost a good portion of your branding and marketing value. I've even heard usability folks toute the value of having the letters include easy-to-type letters (which I interpret as avoiding "q," "z," "x," "c," and "p").
5. Make it Easy to Remember
   Remember that word-of-mouth and SERPs dominance marketing (where your domain consistently comes up for industry-related searches) both rely on the ease with which the domain can be called to mind. You don't want to be the company with the terrific website that no one can ever remember to tell their friends about because they can't remember the domain name.
6. Keep the Name as Short as Possible
   Short names are easy to type and easy to remember (the previous two rules). They also allow for more characters in the URL in the SERPs and a better fit on business cards and other offline media.
7. Create and Fulfill Expectations
   When someone hears about your domain name for the first time, they should be able to instantly and accurately guess at the type of content that might be found there. That's why I love domain names like Hotmail.com, CareerBuilder.com, AutoTrader.com and WebMD.com. Domains like Monster.com, Amazon.com and Zillow.com (whom I usually praise) required far more branding because of their un-intuitive names.
8. Avoid Copyright Infringement
   This is a mistake that isn't made too often, but can kill a great domain and a great company when it does. To be sure you're not infringing on anyone's copyright with your site's name, visit copyright.gov and search before you buy.
9. Set Yourself Apart with a Brand
   Using a unique moniker is a great way to build additional value with your domain name. A "brand" is more than just a combination of words, which is why names like mortgageforyourhome.com or shoesandboots.com aren't as compelling as branded names like bankrate.com or lendingtree.com. SEOmoz itself is a good example - "SEO" does a good job of explaining the industry we're in and creating expectations, while "moz" gives a web association, and an association with being free, open, and community-driven.
10. Reject Hyphens and Numbers
    Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type. I'd suggest not using spelled-out or roman numerals in domains, as both can be confusing and mistaken for the other.
11. Don't Follow the Latest Trends
    Website names that rely on odd mis-spellings (like many Web 2.0 style sites), multiple hyphens (like the SEO-optimized domains of the early 2000's), or uninspiring short adjectives (like "top...x," "best...x," "hot...x") aren't always the best choice. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but in the world of naming conventions in general, if everyone else is doing it, that doesn't mean it's a surefire strategy. Just look at all the people who named their businesses "AAA... x" over the last 50 years to be first in the phone book; how many Fortune 2000's are named "AAA company?"
12. Use an Ajax Domain Selection Tool
    Websites like AJAXWhois, DomainsBot and Domjax make it exceptionally easy to determine availability of a domain name - just remember that you don't have to buy through these services. You can find a name you like that's available, then go to your registrar of choice.

I certainly hope this helped clear up just how to get a domain name. As you can see there is quite a bit of information here and more left out, which you may have questions about. If you do wish to know more, please contact us on our CONTACT US PAGE.

¹Formed in 1998 after a call from the US government to establish a not for profit organization to oversee the Internet's functionality (the Internet began as a research used by the US government), the company operates on a budget of approximately six to eight million dollars (USD) per year.