Domain Names Explained
January 29th, 2010 | 
Author: Domain Names Explained
A domain name is an address on the Internet. Just as your street address must be unique so that the post office can deliver mail to you, and your telephone number must be unique so that customers can call you, your domain name must be unique so your e-mail reaches you and customers can visit your Web site. An international address system, called the Domain Name System (DNS), was developed to ensure that every computer connected to the Internet has its own address. In the DNS system, however, that address is actually a set of numbers such as 164.223.161.99, which is called the computer's Internet Protocol (IP) address. Because these numbers are difficult for humans to remember, DNS allows you to assign a domain name, such as google.com, to your IP address. Now, when you want to visit Google's Web site, you can type www.google.com instead of 164.223.161.99.
Top-Level Domain (TLD)
Every domain name is composed of two parts: a TLD (top-level domain) and a second-level domain. In the domain name amazon.com, the .com part is the top-level domain, and the word amazon is the second-level domain. While there are an almost infinite number of second-level domains, there are a limited number of generic TLDs, some of which are shown in the following table.
| Generic TLD | Purpose |
| .aero | Restricted for use by the international aviation community. |
| .biz | Restricted for use by businesses; .biz was added because .com is being used by some groups and individuals that are not businesses. |
| .com | Not restricted. This is the original TLD for businesses, but it has been used by many non-business groups. |
| .coop | Restricted to use by cooperatives. |
| .edu | Restricted to use by accredited educational institutions. |
| .gov | Restricted to use by the U.S. government. |
| .info | Not restricted. Intended for use by organizations that provide useful reference information. |
| .int | Restricted to use by organizations involved in running the Internet and organizations established by agreements among international governments. |
| .name | Restricted to use by individuals who want to register their own name as a domain name; this allows people to have their own personal Web sites without using .com or other TLDs. |
| .net | Not restricted. Intended for use by organizations who contribute to the construction or maintenance of the Internet. |
| .mil | Restricted to use only by the U.S. military. |
| .museum | Restricted to use by museums. |
| .org | Not restricted. Intended for use by organizations such as non-profits. |
| .pro | Restricted to use by professionals, such as lawyers and doctors, who can pass credential checks. |
| .tv | For use by the television industry, particularly broadcasters. |
In addition to generic TLDs, there are a growing number of country code (cc) TLDs which associate Web sites with a particular country. For instance, .us can be used by companies in the United States . If you are an international company or do extensive business with another country, consider registering a domain name with the appropriate country code. Note that rules vary by country; some require your business to be incorporated in that country to qualify for their cc TLD. More than 130 country codes are currently in use; the following table lists a few.
| cc TLD | Country |
| .au | Australia |
| .ca | Canada |
| .cn | China |
| .co.uk | The United Kingdom |
| .de | Germany |
| .hk | Hong Kong |
| .it | Italy |
| .jp | Japan |
| .us | United States |
Deciding which TLDs are right for you is a balancing act. Remember that business1000.com is an entirely different address than business1000.biz, business1000.pro, and business1000.us. If you own two of those names and someone else owns the other two, there is a real danger that your customers will end up at the other company's site, and vice-versa. You may want to own several TLDs to prevent this from happening. However, each TLD costs a separate fee to register and maintain, and new TLDs are introduced regularly. For small businesses, the .com TLD remains absolutely necessary, and many companies also purchase .biz.
Second-Level Domain
The second-level domain is what most people think of as their company's domain name-it is the verio in verio.com, the google in google.com. The second-level domain is how your company will be known and remembered: think of it as a vital extension of your brand. You are free to create any second-level domain name that you want, as long as no one else is already using it. Here are several additional factors to consider:
- Part of your business name: In many cases your domain name will include your company's actual name or an abbreviation of that name. For instance, the domain name for The Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah is ladyandsons.com.
In certain cases, however, it may be better to choose a domain name that reflects the product you sell or the industry you serve. The Bed & Breakfast Associates of Bay Colony helps customers make reservations at bed & breakfasts in the Boston area. Their domain name is bnbboston.com.
- Incorporating key words: When customers use a search engine to locate a business, they use keywords to describe what they are looking for. Some experts believe that incorporating a relevant keyword into your domain name helps ensure that it is listed near the top of customers' search results. So if your company's name is Hannah's Internet Café and you sell fresh coffee beans from around the world, you might incorporate the keyword coffee in your domain by registering hannahcoffee.com.
- Short, memorable, and unique: Your domain name should be easy for people to remember: this usually means making it short and unique. For example, if your company's name is David's Lawn and Landscaping Advice, you might choose a name like davidlawn.com. However, if there is already a davidlawns.com or a davidlawngrass.com, you should probably chose a different name because yours is no longer unusual; customers may confuse it with your competitors' sites and go there instead.
Domain names such as amazon.com and monster.com have nothing obvious to do with their businesses, but the names are unusual, memorable, and effective. If you want to build a new brand with your domain name, however, be aware that common words like monster and amazon are much more difficult to trademark. Training customers to associate an unusual word with your business usually take a lot more marketing muscle.
- Misspellings: If your name contains words that are commonly misspelled, you might consider registering those misspelled versions, as well. For instance, if you own a plumbing company and your domain name is plumberfriend.com, you might also register plumberfreind.com so that people who misspell your name still find your Web site.
- Be aware of trademarks: Under U.S. law, domain names are intellectual property. If your domain name includes someone else's registered trademark, you can be held liable for damages in civil court. Under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999, you can also be held liable if you register a domain name that contains someone else's trademark, even if you don't actively use that domain name. This same law protects you: if someone else has registered a domain name that contains your trademark, and they are using that name for commercial purposes (including trying to sell it to you), you may be able to pursue legal action.
Before finalizing your domain name, go to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov) to perform a free trademark search. You can also review relevant laws and regulations at this site, including the Anticybersquatting Act. If you are uncomfortable dealing with these legal issues, consider seeking an attorney that specializes in trademarks.
Each domain added to your contract has a minimum term of one year and will be charged for this period in advance. It is included in your cost.
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