TOP TIPS TO CHOOSE A PERFECT DOMAIN NAME FOR YOUR BLOGS

This blog on domains will contain:

1. Rules on domain names
2. Where do you buy a domain name, do you buy one or more?
3. How to choose good domain names
4. Common extensions like .com, .info, .net, .org etc.
5. Come back to our website often

1. RULES on domain names
Before you decide on a domain name, understand the rules and regulations on domain names.

Here are the basic rules on domain names:

Use only
1) characters a-z,
2) numbers 0-9, and
3) the short dash “-“.
That is, only letters, numbers and hyphens are allowed. You can duplicate the letters, like mmmybestblog.com, and numbers, like blog111.com. But you cannot duplicate dashes.

Domain names are not case-sensitive
You can advertise or display your domain names in upper or lower cases. Anything after the domain names is case-sensitive.

The hierarchy of domain names runs from right to left. For example, the website: en.wikipedia.org, the first-level or top-level domain (TLD) name is the “.org” part, the “wikipedia” is the second-level and the “en” part is the third-level domain name. Each label after the second-level domain name is a subdomain.

Rules on the characters and number
The minimum number of characters is 3. The maximum domain name character limit is 63.

The domain names less than 3 are already taken. It would cost a lot of money to acquire.

You cannot begin or end domain names with dashes
Your domain names cannot begin and end with dashes. You cannot duplicate dashes either.

No symbols except “-” are allowed
Symbols like “*, $, #, %, _ underscore…” are NOT allowed.

Knowing the basic rules of domain names, where can you buy them?

2. Where do you buy a domain name, do you buy one or more?
You can buy them from domain name registrars or their sellers. The best place to get a domain name is right here at blog4wah.com!
That is correct, you don’t need to search on Bing, Yahoo, Google – we call the BYG 3 search engines, with Google being the largest and most popular search engine.

Just head over to our website and click on the Namecheap image to
-search, to check the availability, and
-purchase the domain name.
Unless you choose a premium domain name, most domain names are usually in $1 to $50 per year range.

If you want to save some money on this blogging journey, you might like to purchase your domain name and hosting service all with the same vendor.

Then you head over to our article on hosting site where you can kill two birds with one stone, getting both the domain name and hosting service with the same vendor, Bluehost.

You can purchase the domain name and hosting service with Namecheap as well. We create websites for clients. That is one of the reasons why we keep two separate vendors, for domain names, with Namecheap and web hosting, with Bluehost or other vendors.

Be aware the links at our websites are affiliate links. Should you make a purchase, we will receive a small commission but at NO EXTRA cost to you.

Always purchase domain names from domain name registrars or their resellers.

Yes, you can get FREE domain names. But you need to know the terms and conditions of the vendor. Bluehost wants you to purchase their hosting service for a year or longer to get that one-year free domain name.

Other vendors will want you to lock your domain name with them for a few years, giving you the first year for free and/or charging you a premium fee after the first year.

For now, stick with Namecheap and Bluehost. They are ICAAN-accredited domain name registrars.

ICAAN is The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of domain names.

3. How to choose good domain names
Here are some basic tips.

Keep the name short and simple. Long names are hard to type and remember. Short but not too short, any domain name shorter than 3 characters could be difficult to get now.

Avoid domain names that could result in trademark infringement and confusion. Domain name registrars will tell you they had been registered or available at premium prices.

Include keywords sensibly on your domain names.
Though search engines are getting smarter and smarter. Including the keywords in your domain names will help with your ranking, the keywords which your visitors use to locate your blogs.

4. Use domain name extensions like .com, .net or .org.
You probably have a few domain names in mind. First, try to register a domain name with a .com extension. That will immediately alert people it is for online and internet related.

If yourdomain.com is not available, try adding an action, descriptive, brand and another term to the name and try again.
–goyourdomain.com
–meetyourdomain.com
–bestyourdomain.com
-yourdomaintoday.com
–japanyourdomain.com…
-yourdomainblogs.com
By appending or amending your domain names will work wonders sometimes.

Otherwise, try other common extensions like .net, .org, .co, .info or extensions relating to your industry.

There are now over 1600 domain name extensions available and approved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
Professions:
-.accountant,
-.lawyer
-.realtor…
or use just:
-.pro < professional

Business and industry:
-.associates
-.biz
-.consulting
-.gmbh
-.restaurant
-.saloon
and hundreds more.

5. Come back to our website often
Do not spend too long deciding on a domain name. You can always purchase new domains or add sub-domains later.

The key is to decide on a domain name that you are content with, secure it for two or more years and publish your blogs out there.

More ideas on domain names and blogging in our future articles are coming soon.

Visit us often.