The Internet domain industry is a Web technology sector that relies largely upon language and the use of words. After all, a Web domain is an address that is linked directly with the name of a company or of the company's services. As such, the domain industry relies upon the clever use of language in order to purchase and operate the most strategic domains.
If you are entirely unfamiliar with how the domain industry works, then keep in mind that the Internet is very similar to real estate. Just as you can purchase plots of land within a city, the Internet allows you to purchase plots of cyberspace. In cyberspace, the territory is organized by elements of language similarly to the way that physical land is organized into coordinates and addresses. As such, an Internet domain is an address for your Web site that is based on a combination of letters and numbers.
Thanks to online businesses and to the increasing popularity of the Internet around the world. It is difficult these days to purchase prime real estate, which is considered to be those Web domains with limited letters and numbers and those domains with common language uses. For example, a 3-letter Web domain will be very expensive and lucrative to purchase simply because the short domain is a hot commodity that is useful to many organization that use a 3-letter acronym for their business.
Here are a few helpful tips to guide you when purchasing domains for your business or personal investments:
- Keep it short. While a longer domain may represent your business better than a short one, a short domain name is generally easier to remember and easier to type without error. For example, if you are operating a business related to personal development, a good Web domain will be short, such as personal development.com. A bad Web domain will be long, such as, “www.onlinepersonaldevelopmentcenter.com.” Remember: make it easy for your clients to type in your Web address.
- Relate it to your business. There are a host of Web domains available on the Internet for businesses of all types. However, it is essential that your Web domain relates to your business or purposefully is a memorable name. For example, if you are selling insurance, then you may want a Web domain that has the word “insurance” or “safety” in the domain. However, you may also want to use another word to help with the branding. The other word should be memorable, such as the Geico Gecko and should be related to your branding scheme across the board.
- Purchase alternatives. Because there are so many individuals that will mistype your domain name when searching for you online, it would be strategic to purchase multiple domains with similar spelling. Of course, you will want to purchase the .com and .net version of your preferred domain as well. In order to purchase the right domains, you may also consider doing a small focus group to determine how people misspell your domain name when they misspell it. You will then feel confident when you buy those misspelled domain names. For example, if you own insurance.com” you may also want to buy insurence.com” (note the “a” versus the “e”)
The domain industry provides an opportunity for you to be a virtual real estate tycoon. By purchasing those Web domains that are either applicable to your business, or applicable to objects and ideas in general, you will be making an investment into a technological territory that is developing at a rapid pace. You never know when the domain you purchase will be worth millions. Therefore, it would be good to invest wisely and hang onto that domain for the long haul.
