As you establish your business presence on the web, your domain name (www.yourcompany.com.au) will become one of your most important marketing tools. It forms the gateway to your website and will be used in your email addresses.

You can register as many domain names as you want. It costs less than $100 every two years to register a ‘.com.au’ domain name and approximately USD$10 per year to register a ‘.com’ domain name.

Try to keep your domain name as short as possible. Depending on your business and what your customers call you, you may be able to use initials or abbreviations.

Make your domain name as relevant to your business name as possible so people don’t have to think too hard about what it may be.  For example, it wouldn’t make sense for Telstra to use the domain name www.telstracommunications.com.au when www.telstra.com.au is easy to remember and quicker to type.

Your domain name should be easy for people to spell and pronounce.  If your company name is prone to misspelling or mispronunciation I recommend registering several domain names. For example, a company called “ABC Stationery” should consider registering www.abcstationEry.com.au and www.abcstationAry.com.au.

Once you have decided on a domain name you need to check it is still available.  Domain Name Registrar websites usually provide a search facility for this purpose. If you don’t know where to start try http://www.tppinternet.com.au.  Having a few different domain name options is a good idea in case the one you want has been taken.

The next step is to choose a domain name extension – this is the bit at the end of your domain name like ‘.com’, ‘.com.au’, etc. These are usually based on geographic location (but don’t have to be).  If you conduct business primarily within Australia then you should register and use a ‘.com.au’ domain name extension. You may also consider registering the ‘.com’ version just to ensure you maintain your brand in the global marketplace.  If you undertake business overseas then you may want to register other versions.  For a list of all domain name extensions – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_code_top-level_domain.

If you find your chosen domain name has been taken, there are other options such as ‘.net.au’ or ‘.biz.au’.  Think seriously though before using one of these as your primary domain name though.  By habit most people presume that a domain name ends either in ‘.com.au’ and ‘.com’. You may inadvertently pointing business the way of your competitors.

Similarly, to prevent your competitors from registering and using other options of your domain name you can consider registering all domain name extensions relating to your domain name, for example: www.yourcompany.com, www.yourcompany.com.au, www.yourcompany.net.au, etc.

Australian domain name registration laws are more stringent than other countries. If you are registering a ‘.com.au’ domain name then you will have to supply your business name, ABN and / or ACN details. This is so the Domain Name Registrar can verify that you are registering a domain name that legitimately relates to your business.  The reason behind this is because years ago cyber sharks were registering domain names that contained the names of large companies or famous people and then they would try to sell them for huge amounts of money.  Australian domain name registration laws now try to prevent this happening.

For more information on Australian domain name registration laws visit this website: http://www.domainhostingshop.com.au/australian-domain-name-requirements/

If you have a tip on domain name registration you want to share with others, I invite you to comment below.  Conversely, if you need more information or are still confused about what domain name to choose and how the registration process works, don’t hesitate to contact Rebecca @ RAM Marketing anytime.