Naming Your Website

The right domain name can greatly improve the chances of your business being found on the World Wide Web and remembered in the real world.

What is a “domain” name?

It’s a name that you reserve for your exclusive use in the on-line world — a bit like you would register a company name for off-line business. You can choose to use it as your website address (www.creativeideas.co.nz), your email address (jo@creativeideas.co.nz), register it with search engines and point it to your website, or simply “park it” (so no one else can use it).

Why your Company Name is not the only choice.

Registering your company name as a domain is a good idea — #1 It’s great for advertising and looks good on your business cards and brochures — #2 and most importantly, you don’t want anyone else to get it. BUT how many people searching for your product/service on the Internet already know the name of your company? If you are searching for a particular product, you would most likely use keywords which you associate with that product. For example, if you were searching for the services I offer, you might type “website design”. You would probably not type “creative ideas” unless you have my business card or have been told about me by someone you know.

How the right domain name can get you listed higher on search engines.

It’s true! Try searching for trucks on Google or your favourite search engine and see how many of the sites listed at the top, have the word “truck” as part of their domain name. You need to get inside the heads of your potential customers and work out what keywords they will use to search for your product. How will they describe your product, how will they spell it?… Remember that two or more words spilt by a hyphen (hire-cars.co.nz) are easier for a search engine to understand.

Country specific versus International domains

If yours is a country specific product, will your potential customers use the country name as one of their keywords??? Many people don’t do this and wonder why they get a list of American companies everytime they try to find anything on the Internet. You need to make it easy for them! If you have a New Zealand specific product, register a .co.nz name (aucklandwebsites.co.nz) or use the word “newzealand” or “nz” as part of your domain name. For products accesible to anyone in the world, consider registering a .com domain name (creative-web-ideas.com). This lends an international feel to your business and makes visitors from anywhere in the world feel at ease.

Both .com domains and .co.nz domains now allow up to 63 characters. These must be either letters, numbers or a hyphen (-).

Multiple Names– Multiple Opportunities

So you’ve registered your company name, the .com version, the names of your products and a few more… You don’t have to just leave them sitting there! Try and use just one domain for your print advertising and email. Preferably your company name or another short and memorable alternative. That way you wont confuse your existing customer base and your email address will fit onto your business card without too much trouble. You can then point the remaining names to your website so that with a www in front, they will all take potential customers to your website. Different domains will attract different people, but they will all end up on your website.

Registering Your Name

A .co.nz domain name costs approx $38 per year depending on who you register it with. Do not register it through Xtra as they will charge you every month for every domain name for the rest of your natural life. I would suggest www.freeparking.co.nz (click on the banner below). You can register a .com name at www.register.com for approx US$70 per year.

Checking which names are still available

To check which .co.nz domains are still available and which are taken, click on the Free Parking banner above. You can enter each domain into the box including the .co.nz at the end and hit search. To check .com names or .co.uk names, go to www.register.com, enter the name, choose the correct suffix and hit “Go”.

Linking Your Domain to a Website

This is best done by your website host or website designer. Make sure you keep the UDAI (unique code for each .co.nz domain) and the registration username and password (for international domains) somewhere safe as you will need these to use your domain name at a later date.

For advice on the best domain names for your business or help registering a domain name, please give me a call on 09 5365366 or email jo@creativeideas.co.nz

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