Choosing a domain name is an important part of the overall marketing process and should not be taken lightly. Your domain name should reflect what your website is all about. You would want to select a domain name that tells the world what your web site is all about and it should relate to the business you do.

A good domain name can play a major part in the success of your web site. Another consideration which is very important is that your domain name should contain at least one primary keyword or key phrase which describes your webpage as some Search Engines place relevancy on them.

Try to keep your domain name between 5-20 characters, this will allow your name to be easily remembered and bring more visitors to your website. With millions of web sites accessible on the Internet it is also very important to have a domain name which contains the most relevant keyword phrase and describes the web site in explicit detail.

Another consideration of importance is the domain name extension. Although there are many new domain extensions available, .com or .net is still the best choice. Think of your target audience. If it is only the people within your own country, country specific domains is fine; but remember that we are still in the growing stages of the real global economy and it's best to go for .com. Moreover internet users automatically want to type in a .com or .net extension when they search, as this is the extension that has been embedded into our brains from the start.

It is always great if you have a domain name, same as your organization's name. Avoid using mixed case or numbers within your domain name. Including a number within your domain name can cause problems, as when you tell someone your web address, you will continually have to tell them it's a number and not the word.

Avoid using dashes, underscores or any other characters within your domain name that may cause confusion.

Although well-known companies, such as IBM, can get away with using abbreviations within their domain name, most companies can't. As a rule, try to avoid using abbreviations or anything that will be difficult for your visitors to remember. Not only will this cause confusion, but it can also cause your potential visitors to make spelling mistakes when trying to type in your web address.

Try to keep your domain name as short as possible. A long domain name may be descriptive of your business, but it will be harder to remember and type into a Web browser.

Prior to registering a domain name; you may want to consider searching the Trademark Electronic Search System, to ensure your potential domain name isn't conflicting on any trademarks.

Please don't take this point lightly, as trademark conflict could cost you your entire business. Any company that registers a trademark has the right to protect their trademark and has the right to notify you that your domain name is conflicting upon their trademark.

When you're ready to begin, create a list of a dozen or more potential domain names, as chances are, your first choice will already be taken. With any luck, one of the domain names on your list will be available.

Take your time and select a quality domain name that will grow with your business. It will be well-worth your time and effort in the long run.