When choosing a name for domain name registration, you’ll have many of choices to make. What keywords would you like to include in the name? Will you buy domain name rights to several similar domains and direct all of them to your primary domain? Do you prefer cheap domain names registration, or will you spring for a more expensive domain that will benefit your business in the long run?

If your “dream domain” is already registered, you’ll be faced with the question of whether to register an alternate version of it that includes special characters. Including special characters in domain name registration is something that some people recommend against, but others advocate. Here are the basics of what you need to know about this strategy:

• The only characters allowed in domain name registration are letters, numbers, and the “-“ character. Nothing else (such as  _ ‘ ? : or an empty space) is allowed.
• Advantages of including “-“ between words is that it lets you register variations of successful domains, including popular keywords that are already taken.
• Advantages are that customers may forget the characters and end up visiting a competitor’s site instead of yours when they attempt to return.

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There are many different ways to become profitable online. When you run your own company, you can find a good business web hosting provider, set up a good site, and then sell your product. But what if you want to go into UK web hosting as your primary business? A good web hosting UK company can run a successful business by providing affordable web hosting, cheap domain names, and a high level of customer service. The best web hosting companies are those that provide a good product and service, paired with quality tech support, at a price that is competitive but still profitable enough for the company to succeed as a business.

To do this, you need to first buy web hosting servers, or space on another server that will allow you to re-sell. Then, you can market business web hosting or even unlimited web hosting to your potential customers. Start small and then grow as you learn what works best for your company. The most important thing is to provide people something they want at a price that is good for both you and for them. With so many possible UK business web hosting companies out there, you’ll have plenty of competition, but if you market yourself well, success is certainly possible.

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Before you buy a domain name, make sure it meets a few basic criteria for what a domain name should do. Yes, it’s important that you like the name, that it feels like a good fit for your website. And for many people, cheap domain names are also a priority (don’t worry: they don’t have to be expensive if you register in the right places). But there are a few things people can overlook.

Here are the top two ways that choosing to buy domain name rights to a poor domain could end up hurting your business:

• It’s not SEO friendly. Search engine optimisation is essential to any business that wants people to be able to find them through Google. Search engines assess not just what your site contains, but the name you’ve chosen when you set out to buy a domain for the site. If there are good keywords in your URL, that will help. If there aren’t, it won’t.

• It’s hard to remember. Once people find you in a search engine, they’ll probably try to come back for repeat business. Or maybe you advertise on local television or billboards. If people can’t remember your website, they won’t come back.

Choosing to buy domain name privileges takes time to do right (you may want to buy a few cheap domain names to keep your options open), but it’s worth it. Remember, if it’s not helping your business, it’s hurting it by missed opportunities, so do your homework and choose intelligently.

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I am set to launch my company online, but the domain name I want, which is a “.com” is already taken. I am a UK business, and although I have already secured the “.co.uk” name I really want my main website to be on the .com as this is the most popular domain extension. What can I do?

There is no doubt that the .com extension is the most popular and recognised domain extension on the World Wide Web. But more often than not, the domain name you desire will have already been registered by someone else. Why is this though? Well, it’s a combination of reasons. Essentially, cheap domain names or even free domain names are regularly offered by a lot  of registration companies. Every single day, literally thousands of people are looking to buy domains, and consequently, hundreds of thousands of domain names are registered every day. Together with the fact that the .com extension is the original extension which has no geographical boundaries or other restrictions, making it the most desirable extension for someone looking to buy domain names.

The first thing to do is to find out who has registered the domain name you want. If there is no website linked to the domain name, you can perform a simple ‘whois’ domain name search. The whois search will list the contact’s (registrant) name and email address.

It’s easier to negotiate directly with the registrant of the domain name if the name doesn’t link to a website or email address. When negotiating, don’t sound too desperate or pushy, it’ll only raise the asking price!

If the domain name is not being used and is close to expiry, it may be prudent not to contact the current registrant, as this may arouse the registrant’s interest in an otherwise dormant domain name. In this case, you can do one of two things.

1. Let the domain name expire and wait for about 45 days after the expiry, which is when the domain should become available to register again.
2. Place a back order with the domain name’s registrar (the domain name registration company).

Option 1 is risky as you don’t know who else is interested in the domain name and may register it before you. Option 2, at least lets you bid for the domain name, even if others have placed back orders on the same domain name.

If you are successful in obtaining the domain name, it’ll be a good idea to register it for multiple years, up to 5 or even 10 years. This way, you won’t be at risk in losing the name because you forgot to renew. Domain names are pretty cheap to register, so it’s always a good idea to buy a domain name for multiple years.

If for whatever reason you’re not successful in obtaining your desired domain name, all is not lost. You could try variations of your company name with either the name of a main product or service you offer, or include the name of the industry you are in. In fact, doing this will improve your search rankings on the search engines because your domain name is more specific. You could also try hyphenating a domain name to give it more clarity and at the same time get a domain name close to the one you originally wanted.

Finally, if you are a UK business, it may be better if you hosted your main site on the .co.uk extension, as this shows your visitors/customers that you are a UK based company.

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