Choosing a Domain Name

Choosing a Domain Name

When you choose a domain name you have a number of choices on what you want to have on the end of the name. Typically you would be used to seeing domain names like www.google.com or www.google.com.au.

“.au” on the end indicates that it is a domain name that is managed out of Australia. “.com” indicates that it is managed out of the United States. “.com” is also to indicate a commercial organisation. Therefore “.com.au” on the end of a domain name was intended to indicate an Australian Commercial entity or company. Other domain options include:

  • .org.au (Australian Organisation e.g. Not-for-profit),
  • .net.au (Australian Network or technology business),
  • .gov.au (Government Website) and
  • .edu.au (Education Website).

Ideally all Australian organisations will run a domain ending in “.au”. Unfortunately in Australia, the regulations to register a “.au” domain are very restrictive. To apply you must have a registered business name and an ABN, and your domain name must be representative of your registered business name. E.g. If you want to register www.apinkshoeshop.com.au you will need to have a registered business name such as “A Pink Shoe Shop” or “The Pink Shoe Shop”.

A “.com” domain name is a lot less restrictive. You business name may be Fred’s Hardware Shop and you could still register www.thetoolman.com. “.com” domains are also about half the price of a “.com.au” domain name.

When you register a domain name, you become the owner of it. You register it for a period of time such as 1, 2 or 3 years and no one else can use that name. At the end of the registered period, provided you re-register before it expires, you get the first option to renew the registration.

Not just for your website

Your domain name also dictates what your email address will be. E.g. if you register www.acompany.com.au, your email addresses will be bob@acompany.com.au or Julie@acompany.com.au

Therefore when selecting a domain name that is descriptive of your business, don't forget that you are going to have to spell it out to your customers over the phone when giving out your email address.

TIP: Search Engines look at your domain name and register the number of times those words in your domain also appear in the content of your pages. If you are selling hardware, also having “hardware” as part of your domain name will increase the chance of people finding your site using Google. Think about what you are selling and what will people type into Google to search for it. Whatever those terms are, you should try and use them in your domain name.

 

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