Remember that your domain name will probably be used for several purposes, including your web site, email address, and possibly an ftp or other server. It will be an integral part of your marketing campaign.

If your domain name can be easily remembered then you will attract more customers. People will use your web site or email address to get immediate and convenient access to the information or service that you are providing.

Choosing a Domain Name
When it comes to choosing a domain name, people are plagued with questions like: Should I use my Company Name? Should I choose a name that will get lots of direct requests? Should I register my domain with dashes or without? Should I get a dot-com or a dot-co.uk? Indeed you may wish to register more than one domain name. Choosing the right domain name can be critical to the success of a website. Most Internet users remember websites by their domain names; your domain name can also affect the anchor text of inbound links; and your ranking in search engines.There are various issues youperhaps would like to consider when choosing a domain.

Should I use my Company Name?
If you have an established company that is well known and respected, (even if only locally so) then you should register your company name as your domain name. This will make it easier for people who are already familiar with your business to remember your web site address.

If you are a new business starting out exclusively on the Internet or without an established name, then finding a catchy domain name is an ideal way to start branding your company.
 
What makes an effective domain name?
A name that is easily memorised, or recalled and is not too long will be an effective domain name. The longer the domain name is the more likely it is that your customers may make errors when typing the name into the browser. The domain name can be either your company's trading name or as is becoming popular now, a name to reflect your products or services e.g. (if you sell air conditioners then airconditioners.co.uk would be suitable). Choose a domain name that will look professional on company literature and fit in with your company's corporate identity.

Domain Name - Short or Long?
Keep your domain name as short as possible and simple - it needs to be memorable, and

Keep Your Domain Name Simple
Keep it simple; your main aim is for people to easily remember your web address and domain name as they may only see it as a glance on the side of a van, your letterhead or in a magazine!
 
Can I register more than one domain name for a single web site?
Yes, you can have as many domain names as you like and use them all as aliases for the same site. We can even arrange for a domain name to point to a particular page on the website. Provided your domain name is registered with us there are no additional charges for domain aliases. You are allowed to have as many aliases as you like. We make domain name registration easy for you!

Should I choose a domain name that will get lots of direct requests?
Firstly we should define a direct request. A direct request is where you type the domain name of the site you want to visit directly into your browser, rather than following a link from a search engine or another site.

Yes you should choose to register a domain name that will get lots of direct requests. And naturally if you have an established brand or company you should also register your company name as a domain name.

Should I register my domain name with dashes or without?
If you can afford to, then register both permutations. E.G. my-domain.com and mydomain.com. Generally you should be guided by what is easier to read. For Example: "bicycle-engineers.co.uk" is easy to read but bicycleengineers.com is more difficult to read because of the double 'e' that appears when you join the two words. If your name contains more than one word and putting the words together would create a double letter, (particularly double vowels,) then consider separating them with a dash so that the domain name can be read more easily.

Many search engines examine the web site address (including page names) to help to determine the content or relevancy of a web site to a particular term. There is a school of thought that recommends registering keyword intensive domain names, people who do this often recommend hyphenating the words, for example: property-for-sale-in-yorkshire.co.uk. However these can be cumbersome to type so it is recommended that you have a second name for "regular" domain name for general use and reserve this type of domain name for search engine suggestion.

Should I get a dot-com or a .co.uk?
Dot-com domains are very popular and usually it is advisable to register both the dot-com and the dot.co.uk if they are both available. Obviously if your market is solely in the UK, then you may prefer to just register the.co.uk name.
 
You are not limited to the standard 3 extension anymore, there are many other extensions to choose from. Here follows a little detail about some of these.
 
Keywords in Domain Names?
If you want your website to have an added advantage in the search engines - then think of a domain name which includes keywords which your visitors would type into the search engines in order to find your products/services.
 
Brand Names in Domain Names
Using a brand name - if you sell a product and have a brand then it is a good idea to register your domain name to include your brand name or variant of it.
 
Domain names are portable.
You can move physical address, change phone numbers, change Internet service providers, change the company that hosts your web site, and still keep the same domain name. Your domain name provides a flexible method of keeping in touch with your customers.
 

Which extension should I choose?
Generally it’s advisable to get a Generic (None regionally specific) Domain as they are the most prevalent. However, if you only trade locally or nationally a good fall back is always your local country level domain.