Setting up a Domain for an Online Business Opportunity

A Home Business Article Contributed by Cassandra L. Keller

Setting up a Domain for an Online Business Opportunity

If you want to take advantage of an online business opportunity, you will most likely need to establish a domain name for your venture. You can set up a domain name through various Internet companies. Yahoo is one example of a company that handles domain names. The following are some tips, based on Yahoo guidelines, that will assist you in establishing a domain name and getting your online business opportunity under way.

Domain Name Basics for Your Online Business Opportunity

Establishing a domain name for your online business is an easy task. Your initial step is to determine if you want to use an existing domain name, or develop a new one.

For those entrepreneurs who decide to create their own domain name for their opportunity, there are few things to remember.

First, domain names can only include letters, numbers and hyphens. Additional symbols such as spaces and underscores are not allowed.

Second, a domain name must be no shorter than 2 characters and no longer than 63 characters.

Third, it is a good idea to include your venture's name, type of business or product in the domain name for your online opportunity. This will increase the promotion of your company with nearly no effort on your part.

Fourth, a domain name should be easy to say and remember. You also want it to be easy to spell and type. Overall, it should be clean and concise to ensure it is user friendly.

What to Do If the Domain Name You Select for Your Online Business Opportunity is Not Available

It may very well be that you initial choice for a domain name is not available. If this is the case, try the following steps.

1) Rearrange the word order

2) Use synonyms

3) Add hyphens

4) Try different abbreviations

All the while, try to keep in mind that you want a domain name that cannot be mistaken for another business. You may also want to check out the companies that own your first domain attempts to make sure they are professional and reputable sites because your customers may accidentally visit their sites.

What to Do Once You Have Established a Domain Name for Your Online Business Opportunity

Once you have found a domain name for your company, your next step is to decide what you want to do with your domain.

If you chose a domain name through Yahoo! , you may want to consider opting into Yahoo! 's small business services such as business e-mail, merchant solutions and Web hosting. If you do decide to go this route, check and see if you can get a package deal when purchasing your domain name.

If you purchased you domain name, but already have a Web site or online store, you can forward your domain name to that site.

Also, you can start utilizing your domain name by creating a Web page with basic information on your business. With Yahoo! , this can be done via pre-designed templates and their Web page wizard.