A domain name, the www.yourdomainname.tld (tld is the com, net, org, etc..), can be one a huge asset when it comes to Internet marketing. Companies have been known to pay literally millions of dollars for a domain name. Why? It's because domain names have become a huge business for making money from the Internet.

There are people out there that have nothing better to do, than to sit around and buy up all of the domain names they can think of. Some are just obsessed with owning Internet real estate, while others are investing in their future. Yep, it's an investment. Why? Well, because they may have the domain name that you want bad enough to pay them more than what they paid for it. Right now, the average domain name sells for about ten bucks from a domain registrar. You can find them cheaper, and you can certainly find them much more expensive. However, if you find a domain that nobody is in possession of, you can pick it up at just about anyplace that sells domain names for under fifteen dollars.

What makes a domain name so valuable?

Suppose you are selling squares. Would it make a lot of sense to have a domain name of www.circles.com? It probably would not. The reason is, those people came to that site expecting to find circles. Imagine their disappointment when all you had to offer was squares. However, what if your domain name was www.squares.com? Now you're cooking with grease! Think of all of the people that would simply type your name into their address bar, without ever even using a search engine. People have somewhat come to expect the domain name of a website to be relevant to its content. I know, I know, what about Google and Yahoo, or any other big name that has a domain that has nothing to do with its content. Well, that answer is simple. It's called "Branding." Branding is when a name, regardless of its typical meaning, because valuable. Usually branded names are small, and easy to remember. That is what helped them to become more popular. Quick, think of a guy's name. Was it something like John, or Bob? Why wasn't it Sebastian, or Ebenezer? It is because our simplistic little minds like to keep things simple. We cherish simple things in life, and we remember them more easily. Domain names are no different. We remember the small simple ones, and besides, they are easier to type. That is all part of branding, and unless you are lucky enough to get a hold of a name like that, and have the dough to sink into marketing it, you should probably stick to a name that describes you website's content. That's why domain names are so valuable. People buy them up, and resell them to us to make a profit, because a good name is hard to come by.

How do we choose the right domain name?

First, decide if you are going to attempt to compete in the Branded name market, or if you are going straight to a name that makes sense for your website. If you are going for the branded option, more power to you, and good luck buddy! However, if you're going with a name that makes sense, sit down at your computer, and find a website that sells domain names. I recommend Site Expressions for dom ain names, but you are welcome to go anyplace you feel froggy. Site Expressions offers their domain lookup tool, and you can type in any name that you think of, and it will let you know if that name is taken, and if so, what other alternatives you can have for that name.

Choosing a domain name for a website is tricky business. The value of that domain name will be placed squarely upon the results you get in traffic from it. Search engines play a large role in the value of a domain name. They can make or break your online presence. If a search engine considers your domain name to be relevant to your website, then that search engine may give more search results to your site. If your website does not bring in traffic, perhaps you should look at such things as the domain name. Domain names that are too long, have too many words, or are just plain hard to remember will rely on links to get traffic to your. If you can pick a relevant domain name, one that is easy to type and remember, you will not only get traffic from backlinks, but also traffic generated by the domain name. That is how you can place a value on a domain name. If it brings traffic to your site, it is priceless, and you should hang on to it. Remember the guy sitting at home waiting to buy it? He will be watching you, I promise.

About the author:

Jamey Perkins has spent the last few years working in website design. He is currently studying SEO techniques to further provide better service to his web design clients. You can visit his website on Search Engine Optimization and learn more about his techniques.