Do you know where you domain name is registered? What if you need to modify it? What is you changed hosts and needed to change your dns? For those that don’t know, dns stands for “Domain Name Server”, this information tells the internet where to find your website, the exact computer on the internet where your webpages are located.

The bad news is many people do not register their own domain name. You can’t blame them as many people new to the internet have no clue how to properly register a domain name, I sure did’nt when I was new.

Even more bad news is, what if you have a dispute with your current web host and decided to part ways? What if they registered your domain for you when you signed up? Often hosting companies will register a name for a customer and often the contact information is the hosts contact information. After all they are taking care of all the details for you.

So the scenario comes down to you needing to move your website. The first step is to move or upload all your files on the new hosting service. Next step is to change your domain names dns record, you do need to tell the internet that your site now has a new home, located on a different computer on the internet.

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Choosing the right domain name can be a daunting chore for many, myself included. Although it’s not a science, there are a few things I’ve learned over the years.

First off you want to try and pick a name that is easy to remember and just as important, easy to spell. You’d be surprised how many people who have a hard time with spelling, spell check is one of my indispensable tools. Try not to use odd spellings such as toyz instead of toys. How many people will remember it?

I also only look for domain names in the .com version. Most surfers know there are many other extensions such as .net or .org, but .com was the first and the one that usually comes to mind first. If you gave some one your domain name such as dogsworld, it’s most likely they would try dogsworld.com. Not to mention if a .com is taken and you choose the .net version, you could be branding for the competition and helping them get more traffic. Don’t think you want to send traffic elsewhere.

Many people will argue that you must have keywords in your domain name, keywords related to the type of website you are building. While I don’t disagree, it raises a few problems. For one, if your in a competitive market, you might have a tough time getting a domain with keywords in it. Even if you do, the domain might end up being so long, surfers might not remember it all. Internetmarketingebooksandvideostudygudies.com, who’s going to remember all that? I personally have ranked domains well without keywords in them and have witnessed many others doing the same. It’s not the end all be all.

I also try to stay away from getting domains with a “-” in them. Again it comes back to making it easy for surfers to remember your url. If you have my-site.com v.s. mysite.com, which do you think surfers will remember easier? Will they remember to tell their friends there is a “-” in your url? Many times not.

Although it should be a no-brainer, don’t register a domain name with a trademark or famous name. I doubt you have deep enough pockets to fight off a ebay or a walmart, and they will go after you.

Take you time picking the right name, it can be that important.

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