What’s in a name?

Sterling-FB-Domain-NameOnce you pay for a domain name, you won’t want to change it, so take your time choosing a name for your website, Facebook page, and blog.

A domain name is a name that you purchase for 1 year, 2 years, or more such as SterlingEd.com, rather than SterlingEd@Sympatico.ca. Your own domain name is usually shorter than what your service provider would provide.

Some writers choose their own name, others add the word author or books to their name, others use the name of the book, and others yet, select a business name for their self-publishing business. For example: AuthorBarbaraFanson.net, BarbaraFansonBooks.com, TragedyOnTheTwenty.com, or SterlingEd.com

When promoting a long web address, you can add capital first letters so that a domain name is easier to read such as: www.AuthorBarbaraFanson.com rather than www.authorbarbarafanson.com

Some companies register more than one domain name to keep competitors from registering a similar name such as SterlingEd.com and SterlingEd.ca.

When you register multiple domain names, you can:

  • Keep your competition from registering a similar domain name such as SterlingEd.com and SterlingEd.ca
  • Promote the different products and services you offer by having a domain name for a particular product.
  • Drive more traffic to your website.
  • Enjoy more opportunities to market to search engines
  • Create distinct advertising strategies reaching different target markets
  • Provide customers more ways to find you when searching the Internet
  • Capture common misspellings of your domain name, instead of sending visitors to an error page
  • Protect your brand and online identity by registering it.

Most Internet Service Providers will be happy to register your domain name for a fee. Usually, a domain name is registered for a specific length of time, so remember to pay again when the length of time is nearly over.