Your domain name or URL is a key factor in the success of your website, both in search engine results and for your customers.

If your domain name is something like: bigpond.com/~fredsplumbing or ozemail.com.au/~ fredsplumbing, it is not only long but unprofessional. Also if you change Internet service provider, you will need to change your domain name as well.

Increasingly people and most of the major search engines dismiss these types of domain names as personal web sites. This means that you will not receive the results that you are seeking from your site.

By registering a domain name that represents your business such as fredsplumbing.com.au, you will make it easier for your customers to remember your address.

Basically, you should register a domain name if:

• you want to protect your business name, products and services
• you use email regularly as part of your office communications
• you already have a website or are thinking of implementing one
• you plan to make the internet an integral part of your marketing strategy

Click here to visit our domain name registration portal.

An important fact to bear in mind when registering a domain name, is that just because you have a registered business name does not necessarily mean that you will be able to have the same domain name.

Domain names are registered using a "first in, first served" basis, so think of it as the same as registering a business name - once you have it, no one else can use it.

Quick Tip: When you are working out which domain name bests fits your business and web site, try to come up with a name that is

1. Easy to remember
2. Not overly long. If your domain name is too long, it could be easily mistyped!

Consider this. Your potential customer is driving down the freeway doing 100kph, and your adveritsement is played on the radio. The ad captures his or her attention.

Your hook gets them in and they want your products.

Here's the dilemma.

Chances are they will not rember your phone number, and by the time they pull over and find a pen, then they more than likely will have forgotten your number. By giving your web site as an avenue to contact you and peruse your products and services, all they need to remember is your domain name.

They already know the www bit, and the more common .com or .com.au domain, so all they really need to remember is the bit in the middle - pretty easy!

Click here for information on writing for the web