What is your website address?

Your address, or 'domain name' should be relevant to your business, easy to remember and assist with search optimisation.

So, how do you decide what domain name to use for your website?

You can't always get the domain name you want like www.thebestproducts.com (which is gone by the way!), and it's not always the best idea to stick with your business name.

What is a domain name

A domain name is essentially your address on the internet. It tells your browser where to go to find the particular site.

But it also tells people (and the search engines) a bit about who and where you are.

Be memorable

You should register www.yourname.co.xx. But consider registering a domain that includes your keywords/phrases.

You can use this as your domain name or redirect it to one with your business name if you wish. Keywords in your domain name help with search optimisation and can be easier for people to remember.

For example, people struggle to remember (and spell!) www.essentee.co.nz so we also have the domain www.aucklandwebdesigncompany.co.nz which we use in discussions.

But - you don't want to be memorable for the wrong reasons!...

Location and country code

By all means go for a .com address - if your target audience is global.

If they are, you should also think about hosting your site off-shore (Google takes into account the IP address of a site regardless of the country code).

Different countries have different feelings about the country code (in terms of culture).

In a New Zealand business you should have a .co.nz domain name. This says to people that as a local business, you will understand local conditions, customs and needs. 

It also signals to Google that you are targeting NZ businesses.

Tip: If you have a .com domain but want to focus on New Zealand, use Webmaster Tools to tell Google to target NZ.

Top level domain (TLD)

The .com or .co. part of the domain name indicates the type of site to expect. And there are guidelines for the type of site using a top level domain

Many people make assumptions based on your top level domain. While certain top level domains are 'open', try and pick one that makes sense.

A .com or .co means the site (theoretically) is a commercial one. Contrary to popular belief .com does not mean it's a US site, but few American companies (that I can tell) use their ".us" country code.

• .co or .com - commercial
• .biz - open for everyone but typically used for businesses
• .gov or .govt - limited for use by government sites
• .edu - limited for use by educational institutes
• .net - open for everyone but commonly used for networks (of people, of technology)
• .org - open for everyone but typically associated with not-for profit organisations

We don't recommend snapping up yourname.net, yourname.org, yourname.info and every variation you can think of. 

It's just not necessary, and you get no search engine optimisation value from having a lot of different keyword rich domains redirecting to your main one.

Inappropriate or funny domain names

Don't get yourself on the list of examples of misguided domain names:

• www.childrenslaughter.com - The childrens laughter foundation
• www.teachersbs.co.uk - Teachers building society
• www.masterbaitonline.com - Master Bait and Tackle
• www.powergenitalia.com - Powergen Italia
• www.co.ck - Travel.co.ck
• www.penisland.net - Pens Island (custom pens!)
• www.molestationnursery.com.au - Mole StationNursery
• www.speedofart.com - Speed of Art

(See more at PC Memoirs and The Huffington Post)