Chapter 1. Domain Names for Existing Businesses

In This Chapter

  • Understanding how domain names affect Google search results

  • Examining domain name endings

  • Determining your site's ideal domain name and length

No matter how you create your Web site — whether you use Google Sites, some other tool, or a combination — you need a domain name. Domain names, today, are absolutely crucial to your business.

In this chapter, we concentrate on creating the domain names for existing businesses — the most common-case scenario. The information in this chapter is just a starting point. In the next chapter, we explore choosing a new domain name for a new business.

The right domain name makes you and your business look serious and sensible. And it helps customers find you easily online, either by someone typing in your URL or by using Google Search.

Your domain name is also part of your — and your employees' — e-mail address. Again, this is further reason why your domain name should be serious, appropriate, and memorable.

The US Government has a guide to setting up a Web site for businesses that want to export to other countries. (This isn't just for export businesses, however; most of the advice seems to hold for any business.) It puts selecting a domain name first, as shown in Figure 1-1. (For the full guide, visit http://www.export.gov/sellingonline.)

Get government help with the naming process.

Figure 1.1. Get government help with the naming process. ...

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