When I was setting up my business, I agonised about what website domain to go for… I knew my domain name was about reflecting my identity professional identity. But I was still learning my business. My professional identity is pretty broad-based, encompassing a number of services and products, so I took some advice from some of the leaders in the community I was now moving. (If in doubt, talk to your upline or someone who is a master marketer).

So what do you need to consider when choosing a web-site domain name? It is important to choose a thought-through domain name, that much is certain.

Take a look at your competition to see what they are doing to get some ideas… Think about the service or products you offer and then brainstorm some words which you think would get a buyer’s attention. What appealed to you when you bought in?

Next check out what kind of terms are searched for online related to your ideas. Use the free Google Keyword tool. What are people looking for?

Your next step, once you have some good terms to use, you will want to see if your domain name is available. If you already have a domain, but are looking to change, you are probably already aware of GoDaddy. I have to declare an interest here, as not only do I employ them, but I benefit from their affiliate program. That being said…<a href>style=”floatright”><iframe src=”http://affiliate.godaddy.com/ad/DB66D3C015155F746A9DE726FA46EDF080A5ED9B1B96106A69AB356D5A4B78E8″ width=”125″ height=”125″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ hspace=”0″ allowtransparency=”true”></iframe></a>Their logos are kinda cool don’t ya think!  ; )

I chose my own name for my website domain.  My business link domain is DeniseAshurst.info. This was pretty deliberate, albeit I am as we speak securing some other domains, to gain some more digital real estate!

Some people prefer their domain to refer to a central concept around which their products are built.  so for instance Magnetic Sponsoring is like an advertisement for the opportunity to learn how to be ‘a magnet to whom customers are attracted to being sponsored by’ (sorry Mike, if that’s a little crude!). The point is, it’s very descriptive and attractive for people looking to learn how to sponsor more business recruits.

It works really well in, for instance, a Google Ad like…

Magnetic Sponsoring Beats Chasing Customers
Learn How I Generate 100+ Leads/Day
On Autopilot With This POWERFUL System
www.MagneticSponsoringMadeEasyByMe.com
(Don’t try this at home, kids! You’ll fall off a digital cliff!)

The beauty of is that you don’t have to explain, in your ad, that I am going to teach you about this theory and practice and you will learn easily how to attract people to you to build your business. It’s all there in my fake domain name.

Use your imagination. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect because you can change at any time. I am still re-assessing my own domain status regularly. In fact Mike Dillard of Magnetic Sponsoring is an advocate of digital real estate ie make sure you buy up all the names sounding or spelt similar, before others do and piggy back of your kudos and efforts.

TIP: Do not choose names like bigmikesbigbucks.com or stuff like that, which sounds unprofessional. Also, personally, I think names like 6figureguru.com and makemillionsonline.com and names like that are very “last year” and “hypey”. Big turnoff. You can bet your right arm that anyone advertising a site called heybigspender.com or richbeyondyourdreams.com, is actually broke or close to it :-) Not only that there’s a chance that Google and the FTC might scrutinise your activities pretty closely! (Also using numbers is not clever; it creates confusion).

I may be wrong but people “out there” could be thinking “yeah right” reading astronomical claims in a domain name .

Of course one of the best names you can call your website domain is your own name. (But I would say that wouldn’t I!) Seriously, leaders in my community have regularly said that having your name as your website domain is personal, and says that you are not ashamed to let everyone know who you areand what you do; this indeed can brand you as a leader. Very effective. What do you think about this (as a website owner who has made this choice, I’m interested…)

Your next step is ‘masking’; this is particularly useful to tidy up cumbersome long-winded domain names with all the gubbins that can go wiith it. The lovely people at GoDaddy can be a great help here; fortunately my marketing training had very effective videos, else I would have been completely at a loss! You just have to get your head around masking, forwarding, domains, urls etc. It will make sense after a while – trust me; I have gone from emailer and basic functions to evolving geek! If a gal with anyone can do it, ADHD can! Lol

The best thing I found was when I rang GoDaddy.com, after I bought a domain and wanted them to host it (yep another step in the learning process), they were really helpful and NOT patronising, which is always my dread with I.T. types… Just ring them and say you want to mask and forward www.blahblahblahmememe.com /etc. to www(yournewgodaddydomain).com. The guy I spoke to told me what to do and it was fixed in minutes. This was after hours of trying to figure out their system on my own.

GoDaddy are the masters of upselling, mind, so know what you want to spend roughly before you go mad! Your only other concern is security… need I say more? We all know it’s risky out there exposing our digital selves to all mobsters and sundry… Make it difficult for them! When you have got this far, pat yourself on the back if it’s all new to you! You’re doing great and show geek potential – a must to make it with online marketing ; ) Hey, Enjoy the new you!