So, what is a domain name, or simply a domain? Well, the answer is also very simple: it`s your website`s name.

Let`s get straight to the point: you can`t name your website however you like. Actually, you can, but you won`t have any profits from it.

Search engines simply love when you have some of your main keywords in your website URL (Uniform Resource Locator), and you will get a higher ranking just for having some of them in your domain.

Not to mention the impact this will have on your visitors. For example, lets say someone searches for "truck accessories" . How would they react to find your website there, in the search engine results, named www.truck-accessories.com? Just look at the address and ask yourself: does it realy have an impact on me ? You bet it does. You can get a lot of customers just by the first impression.

Also, be sure not to fall on the trick of creating brand names such as "Whipssy", "Gecko" or similar. You`re the "small fish" remember? You don`t have enough money to boost your brand and make it strong. Start realisticly, it`ll pay off later.

Well, now that we`ve settled this, it`s time to pick some of the domain name providers.

This is how it works: you choose your registration service and register your desired domain name. Then you can choose (in most companies) 2 plans : a half year, and a full year registration. If you`re sure you`ll stay in businees for quite a time ( remember the rule: Never Quit! ) take the one-year registration. In some cases, it even saves you some money. Otherwise, e.g experimenting, take the half-year one.

Prices vary from 6,7 to about 10, 14 dollars per year. Not to mention that domain reselling has become one hell of a job. Recently, some guy bought a domain for $10, and sold it for $17000. There are thousands of such examples. So, if you`re smart, figure out a name, buy it (pray it`s not already taken) and sell it. You can sell your domains on some of these sites: www.thedomainnameaftermarket.com, www.domainmart.com, www.dnforum.com

When buying a domain name, make sure that the service you buy from offers great support. You don`t want any complications. It could cost your business. The service has to have 24/7 support, and has to provide you with Domain forwarding (..its when you register another domain e.g .net, .org, forwarding automatically forwards those addresses to your original site..)

Well that`s about it about domain names. If you liked the article, feel free to distribute it on your website as long as you provide this site a link-back and leave all the links intact. Next article will be about web hosting, another very important factor when starting a new website.

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