The big decision has been made…you want to start your own business. Let me be the first to congratulate you! Your next important decision is to chose a domain name that is going to be a perfect fit for you and your business.

Too many people rush through this process not understanding how difficult it might be for them later on, if they choose incorrectly now.

So here are five major mistakes people make when picking a domain name for themselves:-

* THE DOMAIN NAME HAS VERY LITTLE RELEVANCE TO YOUR BUSINESS. This is a very serious mistake because when prospects reach your website and you are not providing them with the information they are expecting, then they are going to quickly leave your site, never to return again. You want to choose a name that will immediately tell your prospect something about your business and what they can expect when they visit your site.

* THEY DO NOT CHOOSE THEIR OWN PERSONAL NAME. If you are interested in building a reputation for yourself, then it is a good idea to purchase your own personal name. You might not want to use it right away but I would suggest you go ahead and purchase it now. If you become very successful, someone could go ahead and purchase it before you and try to capitalize on your name. I know of one very well known internet guru that this happened to. He has to put tags on his own name to be able to use it.

* THEY CHOOSE DOMAINS THAT ARE CONFUSING. You want your domain to be easily understood. On occasion you are going to have to recite your website address to people over the phone. Say for instance your site was “helpforyou.com”. People might try to type in “help4you.com”. You don’t want to have to spend time trying to explain how to enter the address. It is my recommendation that you stay away from using numbers that could also be words.

* THEY PUT DASHES IN BETWEEN THE WORDS IN THEIR DOMAIN NAME. You want to have a name that is easy to type. If you are like me, you find it annoying to type in a website address that has a bunch of dashes in it. You want people to reach you easily and typing in dashes is just not the way to go.

* THEY DON’T CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME WITH LASTING POWER. This is the name that is identifying your business. You want to choose one that is good for the long haul. You don’t want to choose a name that is trendy right now. Trends come and go. Make sure it is a name that you will feel comfortable with for many years to come.

As long as you keep these five points in mind when choosing your domain name, you should end up with something that represents you and your business well and that will serve you for many years to come.

Dont forget that your domain name is just like a snapshot of you…make sure it depicts you in the most favourable light.

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