How to choose a domain name

The first step in creating a website is to decide on an appropriate domain name. A domain name is a unique address that your customers will use to visit your site. As such it is important to choose a name that is easy to spell and remember.

Domain names have extensions such as .COM and .COM.AU. We recommend most businesses choose a .COM or .COM.AU domain name extension.

Many of the .COM domain names are no longer available. As such, it is often more productive to search for a .COM.AU domain name.

The requirements for registering a .COM.AU are stricter than those for a .COM. During registration an Australian business number (ABN) must be provided. The selected domain name must match your business name or a registered trademark. If your business name does not match the selected .COM.AU domain, evidence must be presented explaining how the domain is to be used for commercial purposes (for example, is the domain name the same as that of a new product or promotion).

For non-profit organisations, consider a .ORG, .NET, .ORG.AU or .NET.AU domain name extension.

MelbourneIT provide a free service to check if a domain name is available.

To find out the cost of a domain name registration through IdeaBank, click on Our Rates.

When developing your website, we do not require you to register your domain name through IdeaBank. However to connect your website to your domain name, access to your domain service provider will be needed to set-up the domain name server (dns) details.

We also provide website forwarding services. For example, if you register www.mydomain.com and www.mydomain.com.au, we can redirect all visitors to www.mydomain.com onto www.mydomain.com.au.

Below are a few tips on choosing a suitable domain name:

• It is now difficult to choose a domain name that is a keyword, such as cars.com or radio.com. The alternative is to look for a domain name that matches your branding or business name (for example, google.com).
• Try to avoid the use of acronyms unless they are very easy to remember.
• Attempt to keep the domain name length short.
• Avoid well-known and trademarked names.
• Ideally, choose a name that is easily remembered and spelt by your users. Many large companies use obscure or made-up words (e.g., Nike, Google). However they have a large advertising budget to market these brands. For most businesses, a name that is made up of one or two easily-spelt, common English words is best.
• If the domain name is not available, consider as a last-resort adding words to your name such as "online", "store", "shop", "express" or "global".

Please contact us for additional advice on selecting a domain name for your business.

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About the Author

Since 2006, Nick Jerrat has been blazing a trail across the Internet, working with hundreds of clients to build and market their websites online. Nick is the Creative Director of Publish My Web, an integrated website design and marketing firm. Click here to view more of his articles.