One of the initial steps to setting up and developing a website—domain name registration—would seem to be one of the simplest. But when you get down to actually buy your domain name, don’t be surprised if you’re inundated with a dozen or so different offers, add-ons, products, protections, and services from the registration company.

These various offerings can turn a simple, cheap domain name registration transaction into a complicated, confusing, and costly one. It would not be unheard of to log on with the intention of registering a site for $5 or $10, then finding yourself overwhelmed with products and services at prices two, three, and four times what you thought you would spend.

Especially if this is the first time you’ve purchased domain names, this is an understandably confusing experience. You’re torn: you want to do a good job and make sure your website is secure, properly equipped, and able to function well. But you’re not sure which of these services being offered are essential. Should you just buy the domain name and skip everything else? Or would that be a mistake you come to regret later?

We’re here to help. Here are some more thorough explanations of three of the most common domain name registration add-ons offered, which should help you better determine whether you need them or not:

• Multi-year long term domain registration. You will be offered the chance to reserve your domain name for 1, 2, even 5 years at a time. Registering for multiple years is a bit like buying in bulk: each year is more affordable if you buy several at once, but it’s only worth the purchase if you know you will use all those years. If there’s a chance your business will change or move on in that time, you needn’t purchase rights to a domain name you don’t plan to use down the line. (You can always renew again before the year runs out.)

• Protected domain registration (for renewal). Whether you choose short or long term domain registration, your claim on your domain name will, at some point, run out and need to be renewed. If something changes (such as your billing address or credit card information) or if you do not have automatic renewal set up, someone else can step in and buy your domain name and you may lost all rights to it. Protected domain registration prevents this, ensuring that you have the chance to renew before anyone else can take over the name.

• Private domain registration. Anyone online can look up information about domain registration at the “Whois” database. This information is publicly available, but for a fee you can keep it hidden. If you run a business that plans to contact people to pursue sales from the site, check with your lawyer; you may be legally required to keep the information public.

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When you set out to buy a domain name, have you considered not just the title of your domain itself, but also the extension? Domain name registration includes access to dozens of different domain extensions, such as .com, .net, .org, .uk, .biz, .me, and many, many others.

The extensions .com and .uk are most popular for people who buy domain names for UK-based websites. For most websites, having just one domain name may be sufficient. However, there may well be good commercial reasons for buying domain names with additional extensions.

Why would one do this? Well, put simply, to protect your brand. In other words, to prevent someone else buying the same domain name but with a different extension in order to compete with you (for example, you’ve worked hard to promote BusinessName.com and they plan to buy BusinessName.net).

However, before you pursue multiple extensions for domain name registration, make sure you understand what not to do if you have several domain names. For any business website, careful though with a regards to search engine optimisation is a must. Therefore when buying multiple domain name extensions, you should not simply clone your site and put a copy of the same thing at each address. This will trigger Google to think you are a spammer, and hurt all sites. You should either redirect the variations to your main site, or create unique content for each domain name you buy.

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Before you buy a domain name, make sure it meets a few basic criteria for what a domain name should do. Yes, it’s important that you like the name, that it feels like a good fit for your website. And for many people, cheap domain names are also a priority (don’t worry: they don’t have to be expensive if you register in the right places). But there are a few things people can overlook.

Here are the top two ways that choosing to buy domain name rights to a poor domain could end up hurting your business:

• It’s not SEO friendly. Search engine optimisation is essential to any business that wants people to be able to find them through Google. Search engines assess not just what your site contains, but the name you’ve chosen when you set out to buy a domain for the site. If there are good keywords in your URL, that will help. If there aren’t, it won’t.

• It’s hard to remember. Once people find you in a search engine, they’ll probably try to come back for repeat business. Or maybe you advertise on local television or billboards. If people can’t remember your website, they won’t come back.

Choosing to buy domain name privileges takes time to do right (you may want to buy a few cheap domain names to keep your options open), but it’s worth it. Remember, if it’s not helping your business, it’s hurting it by missed opportunities, so do your homework and choose intelligently.

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Selecting, registering, and utilising a UK domain name is an exciting process, but it’s important to understand what you are looking for before you begin. Your domain name is more than just the web address of your website. It is part of your website’s identity, and can actually deliver a surprising amount of value to you as the website operator (and likely business owner of the company whose website is associated with the address).

What kind of value does a domain name deliver to your business? Well, several kinds actually.

First of all, there’s brand recognition and marketing value. This means that people recognise not just the name of your company, but also the name of your website. Having a website that is easy to find, easy to spell, and easy to associate with your company (for example, your business name is part of your domain name) makes for a cohesive, clear, and solid brand representation for your company.

This is important because you need to send a clear message for people to really absorb and retain who you are and what you do. Selecting a rock solid domain name for your UK website is a great way to keep your branding message clear and consistent across multiple mediums.

Secondly, there is search engine optimisation value. You’re probably familiar with search engine optimisation (SEO) by now, but in case you’re not, it’s basically this: when people query search engines looking for a certain type of information, the job of the search engines is to return the results that are most relevant to that query. If you’re a business, you obviously want to turn up near the top of the list when people search for what you offer and where you offer it.

Domain name selection and domain name registration, both in the UK and globally, can play an important role in developing competitive search engine performance. While there are many factors (largely including site content and incoming links) that influence SEO, having a relevant domain name can help inform search engines what it is your site is all about. So, for example, if you provide plumbing services in Oxford, having the words “plumbing” and “Oxford” in your domain name send search engines a clear message about what they’ll find on your website.

Monetary value. This has less to do with the name itself than with how you go about registering it. For a good deal on UK domain name registration, consider registering your domain through the same company you choose for web hosting. This is usually the most affordable way to do so, and it also streamlines your process, keeping things simpler and faster.

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I am set to launch my company online, but the domain name I want, which is a “.com” is already taken. I am a UK business, and although I have already secured the “.co.uk” name I really want my main website to be on the .com as this is the most popular domain extension. What can I do?

There is no doubt that the .com extension is the most popular and recognised domain extension on the World Wide Web. But more often than not, the domain name you desire will have already been registered by someone else. Why is this though? Well, it’s a combination of reasons. Essentially, cheap domain names or even free domain names are regularly offered by a lot  of registration companies. Every single day, literally thousands of people are looking to buy domains, and consequently, hundreds of thousands of domain names are registered every day. Together with the fact that the .com extension is the original extension which has no geographical boundaries or other restrictions, making it the most desirable extension for someone looking to buy domain names.

The first thing to do is to find out who has registered the domain name you want. If there is no website linked to the domain name, you can perform a simple ‘whois’ domain name search. The whois search will list the contact’s (registrant) name and email address.

It’s easier to negotiate directly with the registrant of the domain name if the name doesn’t link to a website or email address. When negotiating, don’t sound too desperate or pushy, it’ll only raise the asking price!

If the domain name is not being used and is close to expiry, it may be prudent not to contact the current registrant, as this may arouse the registrant’s interest in an otherwise dormant domain name. In this case, you can do one of two things.

1. Let the domain name expire and wait for about 45 days after the expiry, which is when the domain should become available to register again.
2. Place a back order with the domain name’s registrar (the domain name registration company).

Option 1 is risky as you don’t know who else is interested in the domain name and may register it before you. Option 2, at least lets you bid for the domain name, even if others have placed back orders on the same domain name.

If you are successful in obtaining the domain name, it’ll be a good idea to register it for multiple years, up to 5 or even 10 years. This way, you won’t be at risk in losing the name because you forgot to renew. Domain names are pretty cheap to register, so it’s always a good idea to buy a domain name for multiple years.

If for whatever reason you’re not successful in obtaining your desired domain name, all is not lost. You could try variations of your company name with either the name of a main product or service you offer, or include the name of the industry you are in. In fact, doing this will improve your search rankings on the search engines because your domain name is more specific. You could also try hyphenating a domain name to give it more clarity and at the same time get a domain name close to the one you originally wanted.

Finally, if you are a UK business, it may be better if you hosted your main site on the .co.uk extension, as this shows your visitors/customers that you are a UK based company.

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Buy a domain name today and you could set yourself up with a nice little nest egg. That’s because domain name registration in the UK can cost as little as a few pounds a year, yet yield hundreds of thousands when sold to the right buyer.

So how do you know which domain name is the right one for you to invest in? Well the simple answer is you don’t, but with good foresight and general market awareness of future products, trends, events and so forth, you can speculate on what types of domain names will be hot property in years to come. In fact, if you’re lucky, you might even find some really good domains still available today.

Your best bet is to register a good number of domain names; after all, you need only strike with just one of them to return a tidy profit. Once you’ve selected the domain names you want to register, look for a cheap UK domain name registration company that offers secure and swift domain name registration. Then place a holding page that points all your domain names to an enquiry or bidding area. If you take up hosting, some domain hosting companies offer free domain names too.

Finally for anonymity it is highly recommend that you protect your privacy when registering the domain names by selecting a service that hides your personal details from the domain name public registry.

Good luck with your searches!

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