Your website name (domain name) might actually be the singular most crucial part of your identity as a business on the web. If you don't have a domain name presently, you should certainly look into getting one. Here are a few tips on the subject:

Domain Names are the thing that inform a person surfing the web what the brand name of your Organization is, or what you are selling or supplying. Therefore, while you are purchasing a domain name it is NOT the time to be clever or funny, unless 'clever' or 'funny' is what you might be selling or what will assist people finding you. In the majority of the cases, a domain name needs to serve a higher purpose, it needs to GET YOU FOUND.

First and foremost, buy a domain name that consists of the search terms people will use when working to find you. With that in mind, here are some tips:

1. If your company name is what you plan

to brand on the internet, buy a domain that has your company name within it. To provide an example, if your company is named Oliver Twist Dance Academy, a variation of that name would be a good domain. Maybe, "olivertwistdance.com". I took off the "Academy" because it's a lot to type in. You have to contemplate that. Don't make your domain too long, the shorter the better. Caution, if people don't know your company name, they won't be searching for it! You'll have to do some serious networking or SEO before the name gets out there.

2. If your offerings are how you'd wish to be found, you should name your domain whatever people are searching for to find that service. For example, the Oliver Twist Dance Academy teaches people how to do the "twist". So they might buy a domain like, "learntotwist.com". Caution, do a little research and be sure people are really looking for that term "learn to twist". Because if no one is searching the web for it, well... then no one will find it. You might find something similar that is getting searched for and opt for that instead. Use a keyword research tool like Google's Keyword Tool to do some research on what is and what isn't getting searched for. If that just sounds to mind boggling to do, call an SEO company to counsel you or even do the research on your behalf. If you know someone in the business, call them! Talking to somebody you can trust is important when you are making big decisions like this that will have a long lasting impact on your business.

3. If you want to cast a bigger net, you might try buying a domain that consists of general words that you just KNOW are getting searched, like ".citydance.com", replacing the word "city" with your city's name. This is a smart way to go with, but there are two challenges that could come up. One, the domain name might be taken because it has such popular words in it. Two, if the words are popular they will probably have a lot of competition on the Internet, so rising in the search engine rankings might be tough or require the assistance of an SEO company.

Yep. A website name can make or break you. So choose your domain name with care and consult a professional before you do it because it may be that they have some enlightenment you can benefit from. I have personally seen enterprises fail because of a bad domain name (really, really long) and then SEO work done to push the name of the internet site, not the services. All of that hard Search Engine Optimization work went to waste because no one was typing in the name of that company as a search term. A little good counsel could have gone a really long way with them.

Have some fun looking up domain names and if you have any questions, don't leave anything to chance... just ask a pro!

About the Author:
By The SEO Scout. If you need help with your website name (domain name) selection or purchasing process, hosting, website building or more, please visit EverDream Sites and we will be happy to assist you in every way possible. EverDream Sites is a full service provider of secure Domain Names, Hosting, Email, etc...