A great domain supports your brand and in some cases is the brand! Domains are also actively used for targeted promotional campaigns, both short and longer term.

Domains can be put to work for small entrepreneurial start-ups just as readily as International Mega-Corps.

Learn about what makes a great domain name...

In the beginning domain names had a rather simple role to play. They made it easier for people to navigate the massive archives of the World Wide Web.

However it didn’t take long before their true value was realized and soon every business in the Fortune 10,000 had a .com. Today practically every business and organization owns a domain and in many cases more than one. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a domain name:

Extension
There are now hundreds of domains extensions available but it is still unknown how well these new extensions will perform against the traditional .com, .net, .org, and Country code level domains. While search may treat them the same, many people still prefer the .com extension or their Country's extension.

If your business is limited to a particular country, then the Country code extension (i.e. the .ca for Canada) can be an excellent choice because it will help to geotarget the website. Telling Google that the website is probably more relevant to an audience in a particular country.

Descriptive Power
A good domain clearly indicates its purpose to the intended audience. If you visited AppleTreeSeeds.com you would probably expect to find just that. However, as we have all witnessed, even made-up words can be entrenched in the public mind with sufficient branding and high user adoption.

Length
Shorter is generally better given that it is usually easier to spell, type, recall, and say.

Spelling
The ‘spoken test’ refers to whether a domain name, once heard, can be easily spelled. Abbreviated words or misspelled words (Kool for Cool) are more challenging to communicate. Value is also decreased when substitutions are used in a domain name i.e. the number '4' to indicate 'for', 'u' for 'you', ‘0’ zero as a replacement for a capital ‘O’, etc.

Hyphens
A hyphen will typically devalue a domain as it can cause confusion when communicated through radio, word-of-mouth and other forms of advertising. People are in the habit of spelling multi-word domain names without hyphens.

Geography
Using a geographic or regional reference in a domain name limits the potential and therefore can impact value. AustralianCamera.com for example might be ideal for a single market but potentially becomes a limiting factor on the global stage.

Recognition
How memorable the name is and how easily it can be recalled is of utmost importance. The more arcane the word or word combinations the more difficult it may to remember and thereby require a larger marketing expenditure to build name familiarity and recall.