Domain Names for a Home-Based Business

If you are selecting a domain name for your home-based business, you'll have a harder time today that you would have several years ago. There is no question that domain acquisition is tougher than it used to be. Few short domain names are available any longer. More domain names have been snatched up and are being held today for the sole purpose of re-selling -- so rather than picking a domain name yourself from among the unregistered options, you are likely to find that the most desirable ones are already registered and offered for sale by a third party.

The ones most in demand tend to be the shorter ones, and these are also the more expensive and less available. Longer domain names are in less demand and therefore easier to obtain.

Can you make a long domain work for you? One advantage to long domain names is they can contain keywords. Domain names with keywords can help you rank well in the search engines assuming the keywords relate to the content found on the site. (Other factors also influence your search engine rankings).

A disadvantage to longer domain names is that they are harder to remember (for your customers or clients) and can be difficult to spell out over the phone.

It's difficult to build a brand based on longer domain names but a longer domain name is easier to optimize for search. One factor to keep in mind when weighing these trade-offs is that for a home-based business, large-scale branding might be out of the question. Only large businesses really have the deep pockets to promote a brand on a large scale. The longer domain name can be promoted in other ways such as email lists and link-building, and those techniques might be well suited to micro-niche businesses.

What about you? Do you have tips or suggestions for securing a domain name for a home-based business? Share your thoughts on The Home-Based Business Blog.