First of all, you must verify the PR by using a free tool such as http://www.seologs.com/pr-check/pagerank.html. You just enter the domain name that you are thinking of purchasing. This site will tell you whether or not the domain actually has the PR that the seller claims.

Then, even if the site has a high PR, it still may NOT be indexed by Google, and if a site is not indexed, that’s sort of like a word not being in the dictionary. Google may think it’s a great word based on the PR, but if they don’t index it, it won’t be found in Google’s “dictionary.”

It may seem inconceivable that Google will give PR to a site they don’t index, but I’ve seen it happen many times. Google explains it’s because the algorithms that index sites are constantly updating, but the algorithms that calculate PR update less frequently, and sometimes the two processes are not in synch.

Be that as it may, I’ve seen high PR domains for sale that are NOT indexed in Google. What you can do to find out whether the domain is indexed in Google is to type site:www.nameofthedomain.com into the search bar. If Google comes back with a page that says, “Your search – site:www.nameofthedomain.com – did not match any documents” — well, the site is not indexed in Google.

You can try the same thing in Yahoo and MSN and see if any pages are indexed in those search engines. If the domain is well-indexed in Yahoo and MSN, and getting a lot of traffic, it may not matter if the domain is not indexed by Google.

However, another important factor in purchasing a domain is how many backlinks, or links from other sites, the domain has. You can type link:www.nameofthedomain.com into Google, and it will tell you which sites are linking to the domain. Once again, I’ve seen sites with high PR that only had one or even no backlinks!

If you are considering purchasing a domain with a high PR that is not well indexed or doesn’t have many backlinks, you’ve got to stop and think for a minute. Google has made it well known that it considers relevant backlinks, among many other criteria, in assessing PR. Now if the domain has no or few backlinks, how long do you think it will keep its PR?

So when considering the purchase of a high PR domain, be sure to perform your due diligence. Two other free tools that will help you are http://reladvance.com/metrix/find_metrics_results.php and http://www.linkpopularity.com. Always check out every aspect of the domain — PR, indexing, and backlinks — using several independent tools. None of the tools are 100% accurate at any given moment, and so it’s to your advantage to use them all and compare results.

For example, if your site were to be about Persian Cats, you would probably want to use a domain name including the phrase “persiancat”. Unfortunately, however, persiancat.com is no longer available. Nor is persiancat.net, .org, .biz or any of the other top level domain name suffixes.

As I write, persiancat.ws IS still available, so you could buy that name if you wanted to.

However, the truth of the matter is that most people who are searching on the net are going to give first priority to sites with top level domain names, such as a .com or a .net.

At least partially, this is simply a function of these being the original suffixes, and therefore the average surfer believes that they have more credibility and authority.

This is especially critical if your website is selling or promoting your business or products, as these factors translate into “trustworthy” in this situation. Simply put, a top level domain name is one of your strongest sales tools.

Search engines will also consider your domain name when considering your site for that all important search engine ranking Therefore, there needs to be some clear relationship between your domain name and site subject, to give you any chance of featuring when people search using Google or Yahoo.

So, what can you do? Well, here’s a couple of very simple tips that I have used to bag top level names for some of my own sites.

First, try a plural version of your key phrase, rather than the singular version. So, in the example above, we could check on the availability of top level names using persiancats, rather than persiancat. However, used on its own, this tactic is a bit too obvious, and in my experience, when the singular version of a phrase has been take, more often than not, so has the plural.

The second little trick is, however, far more effective and well worth trying if you are looking for a top level name for your site. The trick is – numbers!

Not numbers at the beginning of the domain address – that’s really “old hat” and you only have to look at a list of expired domains to see how many owners of such addresses just allow them to die. Why? Because they don’t work particularly well with either search engines or with real people – and something like “0000persiancats.com” just looks plain silly!

No, I’m talking about numbers in the “body” of the domain name itself, especially the numbers 2 and 4. Why? Well, the number 2 can be substituted for the word “to” and 4 can be read as “for”.

Now, tie that in with one other little substitution trick – take the word “you” and substitute the letter “u” – and we have a method of finding a good top level domain name that still relates very closely to the site subject matter.

Let’s go back to our persiancats example to demonstrate how effective a strategy this can be. Using all three of the highlighted tricks, we try searching for “persiancats2u.com” and “persiancats4u.com”. And, guess what? At the time of writing, both are still available!

Two top level domain names, both closely related to the site content, either (or both) of which clearly and concisely indicate exactly what the site is about.

There you have it. A simple but effective method of grabbing a top level domain name for your site.

Just as a person requires a name to hold a unique identity in this world, the same way website too needs a unique name to hold an identity in the form of domain name, so that it can be easily and efficiently bulletined.

Here, a domain name stands for the name given to our website that makes it easier for the visitor to locate the pool of data we want to show to the world. There is wide range of domain names floating in the world of web, but the best four are .com, .net, .info and .org. Besides, those the rests are .co.uk, .org.uk, .plc.uk, .com.au, .me.uk, .ltd.uk, .biz, .in, .name etc.

The domain name for a web site should be enduring and comfortably remembered by anyone. If web sites keep its domain name altering frequently, it becomes difficult for the visitors to remember and relocate it. Also, it is not easy for a visitor to remember a domain name that is not easily spoken in words. Thus, there are few important items to be considered while choosing a permanent domain name and that can rank your website perfectly.

Apply English words- One should apply simple and business focused keywords for domain name. If possible use a combination of English words for your domain name, like webguide.com, and try to keep the total domain from becoming too long.

Address a unique name for your domain- If you will create a unique name like zap or vexat you will have a greater chance of getting a shorter domain name. And everyone can easily remember even that domain name.

Domain Extensions- There are many domain suffixes to choose from for a given name, i.e. .com, .net, .org, .info, .us etc. Try to choose the best extension.

Generic Name- It is very important to note, that your domain name should match to your brand name or product name. The very name that you use to advertise your product is the name that you will want for your domain, because that is the first thing that people will try in their browser. It is also the easiest thing for them to remember, and whatever that is easily remembered, will be more likely to be tried out than the obscure domain name.

Hyphenated Names – Domains containing hyphens are difficult to remember, spell and pronounce. So, if you register a domain containing hyphens, make sure that you also register the corresponding domain without the hyphens. Once you do that, you can simply redirect visitors from the domain without the hyphens to the domain with the hyphens.

Plurals- Very often a domain name will be free in the plural but not in the singular form. It’s a personal choice, but if your preferred choice of domain name is not available you might be stuck.

Thus, by applying aforesaid segments we can build a permanent and a faultless domain name with equal ease and perfection. As our domain name can take us to the top of the business scenario.

Most people wonder whether they really need domain name or not. Well, for their business to be successful, they do need a domain name. Business is about building up credibility. Having a domain name is the first step towards that. Having a domain name like www. yourcompanyname.com makes your customers feel comfortable while doing business with you. There are many search engines that give importance to the home page of a particular domain.

Although domain name is not the only factor responsible for the success or failure of a business, it is certainly an important one. Therefore, to ensure your success you must choose a proper registered web address from the many options available like .net, .org, .biz and others. Most people find .com to be the most credible. That is why it is considered a popular extension that lends credibility to your business. You can choose any domain name as you have the freedom to use only alphabets, numbers, and dashes also. Only spaces and special symbols are not allowed. Domain names are not even case sensitive.

A good domain name should be short and simple; not long, ambiguous and confusing. Ideally, it should not exceed 14-16 characters. You should spend a lot of time and use your creativity to think of a catchy domain name. Make sure you spell it correctly and include at least two keywords in it. Keywords help search engines to rank them.

Domain names that were once used but have expired are a useful place to search for your domain name. This way you can have a good idea about what kind of a domain name will fit you. Make sure you do not get into any copyright infringement issue with your domain name.

Also, do not register your domain name with your web host in order to avoid having to move your domain if and when you decide to change your host. Keep the two separate otherwise it is quite a hassle.

To be doubly sure, you can even register more than one domain name. For instance, many people register their company’s name in full and in short. You can even register wrongly or differently spelt names of your website. This becomes your trademark and you can be sure of no encroachments and yet have them all.

Before taking the final decision, it’s a good idea to ask people around you for their opinions on it. This is the best way to find out how it will be finally received in the open world.

You must also make sure that you do not pay the moon for registering your domain name. Prices have been slashed down recently. So shop around for the best possible rate!

Although most people feel they do not really need a domain name, the fact is that a domain name is very important for a business to be successful. After all, business revolves round sales, and sales depend on credibility. Having a domain name is the first step towards building credibility. It makes your customers feel comfortable while doing business with you. There are many search engines that give importance to the home page of a particular domain.

Although domain name is not the only factor responsible for the success or failure of a business, it is certainly an important one. Therefore, to ensure your success you must choose a proper registered web address from the many options available like .net, .org, .biz and others. Most people find .com to be the most credible. That is why it is considered a popular extension that lends credibility to your business. You can choose any domain name as you have the freedom to use only alphabets, numbers, and dashes also. Only spaces and special symbols are not allowed. Domain names are not even case sensitive.

A good domain name should be short and simple; not long, ambiguous and confusing. Ideally, it should not exceed 14-16 characters. You should spend a lot of time and use your creativity to think of a catchy domain name. Make sure you spell it correctly and include at least two keywords in it. Keywords help search engines to rank them.

You can get ideas about domain names from the old domain names that are no longer in use. However, this can be a risky proposition if the domain name is in use. That can land you into a copyright infringement issue. So, be very careful while choosing a domain name from the Internet.

Also, do not register your domain name with your web host in order to avoid having to move your domain if and when you decide to change your host. Keep the two separate otherwise it is quite a hassle.

To be doubly sure, you can even register more than one domain name. For instance, many people register their company’s name in full and in short. You can even register wrongly or differently spelt names of your website. This becomes your trademark and you can be sure of no encroachments and yet have them all.

Before taking the final decision, it’s a good idea to ask people around you for their opinions on it. This is the best way to find out how it will be finally received in the open world.

Also take the price factor into consideration. Since there is much competition the prices have come down quite a bit. You can make a decent bargain if you spend some time and shop around.

Basically, domain names convert the numerical format that computers use to identify a website into a text based name that is easy for human users to understand and recall.

The domain registration market is now very competitive with many thousands of services operating around the world.

Domain names now have many forms known as Top Level Domain Types or TLD’s. The best known TLD remains .com but regional names are a rapidly growing area such as .co.uk’s

Discount Domains is a leading UK domain name registration service and offers web hosting and web design services as well as domains.

The various chief type of domain name includes:

.gov – Government agencies
.edu – Educational institutions
.org – Organizations (nonprofit)
.mil – Military
.com – commercial business
.net – Network organizations
.ca – Canada
.th – Thailand
.in- Indian
.info- Information

.COM: – The term is used for commercial purpose. Domain names with the .com extension are by far the most popular, and can be purchased by any individual or business. This is mainly used form personal as well as professional purpose

.NET: – The term is used for network purpose, hence, it is referred .network. This domain extension was originally designed for technical related websites. However, domains using this extension can be registered by anyone.

.ORG: – This is related to organization. Hence, it is referred as. organization. This is originally designated for non-profit firms and any other organizations that did not fit under the .com or .net extension; any individual or business may now register a .org domain name.

Domain name can also be assigned using country extensions. Each country has its own domain extension, for example for India it is “in”, for Canada it is “ca”, for Japan it is “.jp” etc..
In addition to this, there are other domain names, that has been designed for specific use only and they are not country specific. These are only accompained by certain restrictions.

Despite, the above-mentioned categories of domain names, only the .com, .net and .org are typically the most visible and talked-about extensions. These are not the only ones available for use. From a functional perspective, country-level domains work just as well as any TLDs, and alternative extensions work just as well. Therefore, don’t necessarily settle for a mediocre TLD when you can get a better one using a different extension.

The selection of domain names is a major consideration when doing business online, and it is often one of the first issues to be addressed. While a good domain name won’t guarantee success, it can have a positive (or negative) impact on almost every aspect of online business.

A “good” domain is one that is easy to remember and minimizes confusion. If you are acquiring a name that has the potential to cause confusion, it is generally recommended that you obtain the most logical variations This often includes non-hyphenated and hyphenated variations, along with words that are phonetically similar and common misspellings.

There are several companies that keep records of the names of websites or domain names so that you can check that your great idea for a website name is unique.
About the best one is www.BetterWhois.com. Any name you think up needs to checked there before you go ahead and try to buy it.

In fact you cannot really buy a domain name-when you try and do so you will be asked to choose how many years you want it for! In other words all we can really do is rent the right to call our website by a particular unique name. After that period anybody else can jump in and use that name.

The first time you do this you probably want to just register your domain name for a year because it costs less.

However…There is reason to believe that search engines look at how long a domain name has been bought for 1 year, 2, years, 5 years etc. as part of the way they estimate the importance of a website.
It is only natural for a search engine to reckon that a domain name booked for 5 or 10 years is much more serious and possibly worthwhile than a domain booked for 1 year. So do not over estimate this but book your domain for more than a year if you can. Most companies will automatically renew your domain name for you at the end of the booking period. so that you do not lose it. This is something you MUST check!

If you want a little help choosing a good domain name try www.enom.com and www.nameboy.com. These sites have useful suggestions tools in choosing and inventing domain names. You may find most of the names you think of are taken. This is what everybody finds and you just have to plug away until you get a good one.

So should you book or buy your domain name now? Probably not unless you have done your keyword research
Tips on Choosing A Domain Name

1. Only book a dot com. Absolutely avoid .net, .info .org etc
2. Make the name obvious to your niche. For example golfing-girls.com, or home-decor-for-men.com, Confederate-Coins.com is the kind of thing you can do.
The hyphens are just there to make it easier for people to read, your domain name may not need them. It is best to book both versions of your domain name-with and without hyphens. For Example www.Online-Income.com and www.OnlineIncome.com
3 Book you domain for more than a year
4. One of the easiest places to buy and one of the cheapest is godaddy.com. Follow the suggestion on the godaddy website to register your domain
5. Check from time to time that the credit card number you use to allow automatic renew to function is OK as regards expiration date!

A website that is founded on sound market research is going to be making you money for years. A decent domain name can help. But it is your whole marketing and sales process which produces results.

A good domain name is worth a few hours or even a few days thought but after that just make a decision to go for a less than perfect domain name. A rose by any other name DOES smell as sweet.

Myth One: Always Pick .Com Domain Name

It is always asked a person to go for .com domain name. The domain ending with .com is easy to remember, as they are the most common name but not necessary the best. For one thing, there are many domain names ending in .com so it’s really hard to find a domain name ending with one. Picking a .com is good depending on how you are gaining traffic. If you are targeting people that are looking in search engines it can be pointless to just pick a .com domain. Though if you are advertising in Television, Newspapers or the Radio it might help somewhat.

Myth Two: Avoid Using Dashes Or Never Go For That

Once again, this all depends on what you are doing. Remember, search engines translate dashes as spaces, so if you are targeting a popular keyword and use dashes as spaces, than your page will be easier to get onto the top ten search results of that keyword. Some search engines put more emphasis on this than others. So avoiding dashes or not applying anywhere in the domain name can be a fruitful option for you.

Myth Three: Selecting A Domain Name

Choosing a domain name may be a pain, many may prefer domain names that are short but they are not necessarily better. Its true you don’t want a domain name that is extremely long but you don’t want it to be so short that nobody can remember it (unless you own a url forwarding service). There are many combinations of words you can use. It is highly suggested checking a domain name generator. They can be very useful, you enter a keyword and it displays possible combinations with other words and tells you if they’re available.

Myth Four: Domain Used Forever.

While it’s possible that you’ll keep your registered domain name forever, it is not guaranteed. Several things can happen that would cause you to lose your domain name. First, you have to register your domain name each year (or register it for multiple years up front) in order to keep your access to it. If you forget to renew your registration, you could lose your domain name, or someone else can register it and charge you a huge fee to have it transferred back to your name. Second, you could lose your domain name in a trademark dispute.

Myth Five: Domain Registration Through Company Name

You cannot use your company name for the domain registration; in fact, you don’t have the right to register any domain name, even if you have a trademark on the corresponding company name. The reason for this is that a trademark on a business name doesn’t give you exclusive access to use that name. It only gives you exclusive access to use that name for the particular products and / or services that you offer.

They are many factors involved in choosing a domain name. Firstly it should be catchy and easy to remember so that visitors remember the name easily the next time. Also, it should be simple and should contain only a few characters so that people do not mistype the name and land up on some other site. You should choose a domain name which describes your business clearly. Make sure to mention the name quite often on your site so as to promote your site on search engines. But even if you do not like your domain name later and think you can improvise on it then you can always sell it and make some money.

Buy your name in as many domains as possible like .com, .net or .biz. By doing this you would prevent anyone else from buying a name similar to yours and thereby intercepting your business. For this purpose you will have to buy all these domain names as soon as possible or else you would be regretting later over someone else choosing the domain name of your choice.

Also when choosing a name, make sure that it is nowhere close to that of your competitors. In this case, one small mistype by the customer might take him to the wrong site and you will lose potential business.

Always make it a point to buy alternative domain names. For example if the domain name of your choice is example.com or .net then you should also buy with hyphens example.com and .net. You do not have to maintain each of the sites but you can simply link them to your main site. This is not an expensive practice as domain names are dirt cheap and it helps you to be on the safer side.

You need not worry if all the domain names you like are already being used. These domain names, as mentioned earlier, can be rented only for a maximum period of 10 years. So you can choose a domain name whose duration has come to an end and which is already a hit with the search engines and thereby get traffic to your site easily without doing much.

So take your time to choose a domain name that will serve your purpose the best but do not take too long as it is an important factor in the growth of your business and you should not neglect it.

With such facts about the value of domain names, one of the major processes that exist in the world to tackle this matter is the domain name appraisal. The domain name appraisal industry emerged from the opportunities of buying and selling ‘valuable’ domain names. So what exactly is domain name appraisal?

The domain name appraisal is the manner of weighing up a name and recognizing the worth of a certain domain. This is somewhat like a real estate appraisal and other forms of appraisals. However, unlike the currencies in which a set worth can be recognized; in the domain names worth has no way to be standardized. So with such a fact, it is important to know that the appraisal just remains as an opinion. Many experts have noted that due to such condition of the appraisal, there is no way that the domain names worth can be conclusively proved.

Even though the appraisal remains as a mere opinion, the appraisals can still be very helpful. They not only give the domain owners an opinion but the name appraisal also gives certain signals to the owners of what they should charge when they decide to sell a domain. As such, the appraisal is then believed to add at least a tidbit of justification to the asking price.

In appraisals, a number of factors are mostly considered. These factors include the domain names length, keyword recognition, vividness and range of potential uses. It is also considered that most of the appraisals today charge between 10 to 30 dollars, but with official discounts for bulk appraisals. And to better serve the consumers and domain holders, certain companies that conduct such service provide some software that will greatly help to appraise the domain names for the customers.

But still outside from such functions, the appraisals are only means of determining the worth of a name. And if the domain name is appraised at a high value, it doesnt mean that the domain name will sell quickly, it just holds that you picked a better name.