TIPS FOR BUYING DOMAIN NAMES
Length: Shorter domain names are better if the domain name is going to be typed-in often (brandable domains, mass-market domains, major websites). A shorter domain means reduced risk of typo errors, easier memorability, faster type-ins, and more flexibility in promoting the domain. For these reasons, most businesses who can afford it buy a domain of five characters or less. Two and three character domains are the choice of major corporations (GE.com, AA.com, ML.com, AOL.com, MSN.com, etc…), and come with a price tag to match. At the other extreme, an informational site that receives most of its traffic from search engines will do fine with a domain of two or even three words. DOMAIN NAMES
Before buying a domain name, you should consider the following:
Country-specific or international: If your business is only active in a single country or if you want to target buyers in a specific country, it may be adequate to use a country-specific extension such as .us, .co.uk, or .ca. If you´d like to appeal to a global audience, it is best to choose a generic extension such as .com, .biz, or .info.
Importance of Keywords: If search engines are a major source of traffic to your site, make sure that your domain includes one or more of your principal keywords—this can help you get a good ranking on these terms. Also some buyers are looking for some high searched keywords, not just any kind of name. If you have domains with high searched keywords, you will apeal to a higher buying audience.
Commercial or informational: If you intend to sell products on your site, it is important to convey a professional image. Usually, this means a short, brandable .com domain name without hyphens or numbers. If your site is informational only, consider a .info or .org extension.
Target User Group: Different domain names will appeal to different groups. For example, a B2B site will generally do best with a descriptive domain name so that a visitor immediately knows what the site is about (EX: Naming.com, Corporation.com). A mass-audience B2C site will generally do better with a catchy, brandable domain name (EX: Yahoo.com, Amazon.com, Google.com).
Risk for Traffic Diversion: Choosing the wrong domain name can result in thousands of lost visitors due to mistypings. To reduce this risk, avoid hyphens, numbers, misspellings, and exotic extensions. People should be able to figure out the domain´s spelling from the way it is pronounced: eg, “yahoo’ or “amazon’ is easy to spell, but u-websites.cc or kool4ts.net will tend to leak a lot of traffic. If in doubt, register or buy all possible spellings of the name.
Length: Shorter domain names are better if the domain name is going to be typed-in often (brandable domains, mass-market domains, major websites). A shorter domain means reduced risk of typo errors, easier memorability, faster type-ins, and more flexibility in promoting the domain. For these reasons, most businesses who can afford it buy a domain of five characters or less. Two and three character domains are the choice of major corporations (GE.com, AA.com, ML.com, AOL.com, MSN.com, etc…), and come with a price tag to match. At the other extreme, an informational site that receives most of its traffic from search engines will do fine with a domain of two or even three words.
DCFirst Comments: Always buy your own domain name! NEVER let a website design company buy your domain name for you. If you have a problem with the design company or if they go out of business. It is the design company that owns the domain, and they have no obligation to turn it over to you. Spend the $10.00 a year to own your domain, go throught www.Dotster.com or www.GoDaddy.com to register a domain name.
Dotster has a unique tool that will give you options on a domain name if the one you want is taken. When you are searching for the right domain name for your clinic, be aware there are overseaes companies with programs that keep track of your domain searches. They will purchase the domain if you do not buy it right away. So buy that domain name ASAP.