Choosing a domain name for your blog is an important part of blogging. It's the real name of your virtual place in the Internet world that will be recognized by Google and other search engines like yahoo or MSN by your visitors and other bloggers. You start building relationships with other people on the net when you choose a good, catchy, and easy-to-remember domain name for your blog.

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is a set of characters that an Internet hosting service allocates to each website it stores. The domain name you choose will be the unique web address where people can find your blog or business site on the internet.

What are the things to consider for choosing my Domain Name?

There are many things that you must consider when choosing your domain name. Your domain is the "name" or part of the address of your website, so it is very important for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes. Here are some of the things that you should consider when choosing a domain name:

1. Keywords:

This is the most important factor you need to consider when choosing a domain name for your blog or business site. It's all about keywords and SEO. When searching for something on the internet, people would key in relevant search terms related to what they are looking for, and the search engine will try to match this term with relevant websites registered in their database. Having a domain name that contains popular search terms relevant to your blog or business will make it easier for people to find you when they key in certain keywords related to your niche.

2. Length:

Short and easy-to-remember domain names are good, but a bit lengthier is better. Short domain names have more chance of being typed incorrectly and can be difficult to remember. If your visitors have a hard time finding you, then they may not visit again.

3. Special Characters:

It's best to stay away from using special characters like $, &,! #, etc., because some search engines may not properly read the code, and your site will be difficult for visitors to find online even if you use the right search terms.

4. Capital Letters:

Some web hosting companies require that all your website URLs and domain names be in lower case letters while others do not mind upper and lower case letters, but it is best to avoid using capital letters because some search engines may not be able to read them properly and your site will also be difficult for visitors to find online.

5. Hyphens and underscores:

Some search engines may not read hyphens and underscore in domain names, so avoid using these special characters in your site URL.

6. Availability of your Domain Name:

A good idea is to check if the domain name you want is available before registering it because domain names are not always available, especially those containing popular keywords.

7. Other Extensions:

Some people choose to use .com as their primary domain extension, but there are other extensions that you can choose from depending on what niche or topic your blog or business is about. These alternative extensions usually contain a specific keyword, and it will be easier for people to find you online when they key in these keyword-specific extensions.

One of the most popular alternative domain name extensions are .net, .org, .biz, etc. People choose these domains because they are easier to remember and type. For example, if your blog is about fashion, you can register a fashion blog using .net, .org, or .biz.

8. Trademark Protection:

You can register your domain name with your trademark registered for protection against domain name theft. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing your trademark to someone else who owns that domain name because people usually find a site through its URL, and if they have their own brand attached to it, then it is more likely that they will get traffic to their site even if you already own the domain name.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a domain name?

A domain name is the address of a specific website. It is the unique address by which a user can get to your site. A domain name usually consists of two or more random words without spaces and may consist of numbers mixed with letters.

2. Why should you have one?

Having a domain name for your blog helps people find you online when they key in certain keywords related to your niche.

3. Can you change your domain name later on?

You can change your blog's domain name anytime you want, but it is not advisable because if people have already bookmarked your website and start typing in this old URL, they will land on a 404 page not found error because of the new destination has a different URL address.

4. What types of domain names are there?

You can register a dot com, dot net, or a country code TLD (top-level domain). Other types of alternative extensions are also available, depending on your niche and topic.

5. Who registers domains on behalf of people?

Domain name registration is usually the responsibility of domain name registrars like GoDaddy, Namecheap, Network Solutions, etc., so you have to pay them a fee if you want to own a URL with your chosen keyword or blend of words.

6. How much does it cost to register a domain name?

Registration fees vary depending on the type of domain you want to register and the company. However, you can easily find a good domain name for free by using a free domain provider like 000webhost, etc.

7. How can you check the availability of a domain name?

A domain name can be checked online, and it is important that you check this first before registering because some domain names are taken or unavailable for registration. There are many websites that offer a way to check the availability of a specific URL, one of which is Namecheap.com.

8. How Can You Register a Dot Com Domain Name?

You register a dot com by searching for the domain name you want, checking if it is available, and choosing the subscription plan that suits your budget.