A domain name is part of the address you type into a web browser to go to a website. It is also part of an email address. It is a way to find resources on the Internet.
A domain name has a number of parts. For example, the address https://www.companyname.com has a domain name of “companyname”. The “www” is the name of a specific host or server. The “com” is the top-level domain name. A top-level domain name is a way to organize different parts of the Internet for things like commercial (com) or educational (edu). But, the lines have blurred as the Internet grew. Additionally, new top-level domains have been allowed like BIZ or CO that are options.
It is a good idea to match your business name to a domain name. This sometimes is difficult because a business name only needs to be unique in your government that registers business names. But, there can only be one domain name per top-level domain name.
There are a number of tools to help brainstorm domain names. The easiest domain name is one that exactly matches your business name. But there is a good chance that domain name might already be taken so you need to brainstorm some alternatives. Once you have a few options, the next step is to check availability of the domain names at a domain name registrar. A domain name registrar is a company that will lease a domain name to you for fee per year. You can check the different combination of domain name and top-level domain names until you find one that is available.
If you would like to learn how to find an available domain name, check out a companion article on Digital Marketing Extreme.
