Selecting the Right Domain Name
A domain name is simply a unique address. Domain name servers hold the IP numbers of all registered websites and direct requests to the corresponding IP address. A domain name plus its extension is as unique as a telephone number. There are many domain name extensions, so although the name itself may not be unique, the domain name plus its extension is unique and registered in the global domain name network to one registrant.
The entire domain name network is linked to central name servers regardless of what country extension is chosen.
A domain name is extremely transportable. Even if you change your hosting company, you can arrange to have your domain name transferred to your new hosting company or server. Businesses should use the email address associated with their domain name and not their internet service provider. Once you terminate your service with your ISP, you cannot keep your email address. If however, you use the email address associated with your domain name, you could move anywhere in the world and keep the same email address. See Email Accounts
We suggest that you choose a domain name that is easy for your customers to remember or branded to your company name. If you are a company, we suggest you choose a .com and .com.au (or the corresponding country code extension), if you are able to secure both domain name extensions.
What are good domain names?
Generally good domains, are relatively short, easy to remember, made up of one to three words and have some relationship to the website content. It is a good idea to "google" your domain name and see what other acrynoms and meanings come up. You might be surprised that your desired domain name is not very unique or is associated with search results that may be undesirable or unrelated. eg. the word "club" can denote football club but it can also refer to a night club. So club + photos, may seem like a great domain for a football club but actually returns results from night club photos, which is probably not a great idea to send young children too!
Often choosing a domain name like naming a baby is a very personal choice but choosing the right domain name will affect how your site is ranked on google and since the majority of traffic comes from search engines, a small investment in research to feel confident about your domain name choice, is a good idea. Though, don't take too long researching because you may find, especially with .com domains, that another person may register the domain before you.
Choosing between com or com.au
If you are lucky enough to be able to register the .com and .com.au of your desired domain name, then do so. The only decision you will need to make it deciding which domain to develop your website on and which domain to redirect. For localized Australian search having a .com.au is important. If you want to market to the world, then choose to build your main site under the .com domain and redirect all other domains to your .com domain name.
How does domain name country id affect search engines?
Search engines use either the domain name or the ip address of where the website is hosted to determine relevancy for local search. If you have a .com and host it in the US, your website will not be listed in search results for google australia. You will need to host your .com website in Australia, for your website to appear in Google Australia results. Alternatively, register a .com.au and you can host your website overseas and it will still appear in Google Australia.
Protecting your domain name
Many companies and organisations choose to register multiple domain names. If you do not register the equivalent .com top level domain name, anyone is free to register it and use it for their own purposes. Customers that inadvertently type in the com address will find themselves at the wrong website, which may be redirected anywhere.
Therefore it is a good idea to register multiple domains with both .com and .com.au, common misspellings of our domain name, company trademarks and products and utilize domain forwarding (which is a free service with all our domain registrations and transfers) so that these supplementary domains are automatically redirected to your company website.
It is a small price to pay to ensure that your company name and trademarks are secured and that your competitors don't register the .com version of your domain and redirect it to their website.
Organisations and networks
If you are an organisation, then a .org or .org.au (or the corresponding .org country code extension relevant to your country) is more appropriate.
If your website, services a network of users, then a .net or .net.au (or the corresponding .net country code extension relevant to your country) is an appropriate choice.
Generally, we would suggest that you avoid .tv or .biz. because these tags are not as recognized and it makes it easier for customers to remember your website address if it is a .com, .org or .net.
Related Articles
What is the Internet? provides background information on the internet and the need for domain name registration.