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“What's in a name?” Shakespeare asks in Romeo and Juliet. When it comes to your website the answer is: quite a lot.

A domain name is the English (or other) language designator for your website. Because of the way the Internet operates, that name is connected with an IP address, a numeric identifier that computers and network components use to direct a browser to a website.

It's not mandatory that a website has a name. But directing people by IP address can quickly generate issues. Having an IP address IS mandatory, since it's ultimately the way a web site is found by other computers and network software.

In the early days of the Internet the name was chosen with care in order to help a person remember the URL. That made it easier to type, too. With hotspots on a page, great search engines, social networking and other modern resources, that's not as critical now.

But from a marketing perspective, it is still important to have an effective domain name. It's still useful to have a site called 'CheapTVs.com' if what you sell are inexpensive television sets. Calling your site, 'InexpensiveElectronicVisualDisplayDevices.com' may describe your business in some way, but it's a {little harder to send someone to your website.

Which name you choose can, as a result, determine how much traffic your website gets, how soon. Sooner or later, if you have information and/or products/services that people need, word will get out. But having a good name can certainly help. Love them or hate them, the Google company chose well.

Of course, the fact is that there are billions of web sites around the world. That means, you usually {{don't necessarily get the name of your first choice.

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is the internationally recognized authority for managing IP addresses across the Internet, along with the top-level domain name-extensions (.com, .net, .org, .edu, and so forth). But registering a domain name is done by simply contacting any of a hundred organizations that work as intermediaries to establish and track the names.

GoDaddy, Register.com, Network Solutions and a great many others provide the service for anywhere from free to a few dollars per month or year. You contact them by navigating to their website. Then, using a feature they all provide, you can select a possible name. They use something called whois and other software to determine if the name is already claimed. Or, you can check yourself at www.whois.com. Registration is for a {{limited time, but is renewable in perpetuity provided you pay the annual fee.

You might have to try several choices to find a domain name that isn't already in use. With so many billions of websites, the chances of you finding your first choice are small, unless you have a highly unusual imagination. But, it's also true that domains tend to die or expire. When they do, the name becomes available for purchase by someone new.

A method for getting on a 'waiting list' is available. You register the domain name you want and if and when the name becomes available, you are offered the chance to claim it. Of course, there's fierce competition even on the waiting list for unique names. There are many different methods of establishing priority that vary by company. At any given time there are thousands of so-called auctions going on to bid on these domain names.

Give some thought to your new domain name and research its availability, but don't stress too much over it. The name isn't everything. After all, if Google had built a search engine that produced useful results only 10% of the time, their name would be mud. Once you have your new domain, it's time to find the most appropriate host, so drop by Web Hosting Reviews to see how others rated the top web hosts, and if you need a newweb site design to go along with your new domain, be sure to visit Wildfire Marketing Group!

Related posts:

1. Should I Register For a Domain Name? | ArticlesBase.com
2. Domain Park Creates Income From Dormant Domains
3. Use Suffixes for Cheap Domain Name Registrar
4. Domain Name Selection – 8 Tips
5. The Age Of Your Domain Is A Factor That Is Significant In SEO

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