For every business or individual coming online, choosing the right “domain” is crucial. Your domain is the pin point of your business. Forget your products and services for now. Before you can sell anything online you need a domain that is memorable, brand-able and findable.
Your domain domain can be the exact name of your business if you can register it freely or you can choose a domain that is as we call a web 2.0 name , something brand able like eBay. If your chosen domain is not available you can always try and purchase it from the owner or a auction platform ( see buying a domain from an owner )
So your probably still wondering what exactly a domain is? A domain is the name by which you can be found online. Eg www.google.com.. Google is the name and .com is the extension. we have a choice when registering a domain of hundreds of extensions eg .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .mobi and much more. Each country also has their own extensions eg .ie for Ireland, .us for America and so on.
So now it’s confusing right? What name should I choose your asking? Well .com is the king at the moment and everyone worldwide acknowledges that. Think of yourself online looking for something you will always type .com right? .com stands for community, .net networking, .org organisation, .info information, .mobi mobile and so on , all extensions stand for something. Regardless of this fact, if you are starting a website for an organisation and wish to use .org, you should ALWAYS register the .com version of it also if available as so many people will visit the .com extension. So if you own it you can forward it to your .org website so you don’t lose potential customers. Also as far as brand recognition goes it would not be good to have someone owning your name and benefiting from it!
If you are a local business in for example Ireland and you only sold your goods or services in Ireland then you would be better of applying for a .ie domain. This is easier to Market within your county and the search engines in your local area will rank it higher. Some countries require verification before you can register a name with their extension. Ireland for example Ireland is one of the hardest countries to get a .ie domain. In order to be granted yourname.ie you need to have a registered business in the country and supply the registration association of Ireland with your business details and registration number. This is in place to stop people registering domains of other businesses in the hope to make a profit.
So registering a domain in your countries extension is a great idea if you only do business in your country. As I said before this is because google and other search engines will give you ranking privileges in your local search engines and customers are safe in knowing that you are in fact a registered business within your country.