One of the most important aspects of creating a successful internet marketing business is the domain name that you choose for your website.  And in-terms of internet marketing, this process is closely related to keyword market research. Once a marketer has found a product or service to promote as an affiliate marketer, they will attempt to determine the word most often used in search-engines by people looking for this product.

That most frequently used search term is called a keyword. And they will want their site’s domain name to reflect that keyword if possible. For example, Ford Motor Company’s domain name is Ford.com. If you’re looking for info on Fords in Google, you are almost certainly going to see a web-site called ford.com high on the list of sites they present you with.

Second in importance to your site’s root domain name (everything that isn’t www etc.) is the domain extension you choose. Sites with .com extensions are consider to be much more valuable than other choices. This is because the buying public associates this extension with authentic and trustworthy enterprises. However, as time goes on, the extensions of .net and .org have gained in popularity with the public as well. According to marketing research, the .net extension has the air of official business, and .org of quasi-government authority. In today’s marketing environment, these, along with .com, are the big three.

Once you have determined what you’d like as your domain name, you must determine if that name is actually available. For this you can go to a domain registrar such as NameCheap  or web-hosting company such as HostGator or BlueHost or to one of many sites on the web (e.g. Domain bot) that are designed to tell you if particular domain names are available for purchase. You simply go to their domain name search window, type in the name you hope to use, and see what is available.

However if the name you desire is already taken, all is not lost. There are some clever domain name tricks of the trade that have emerged to adapt to this problem. For example, if you’re promoting reading lamps and the domain name readinglamps.com is already taken, you can try reading-lamps, or thereadinglamps. You can also try the .net or .org extensions. In other words, if your first choice is taken, be creative and try alternate uses of your keyword in your domain name. You can also consider sticking with your original choice and simply adding the word ‘review’ or ‘info’ to the end. For example, readinglampsinfo.com. After all, the first thing most people are looking for is information about something.

Following this technique you are almost certain to be able to come-up with a domain name that incorporates your main keyword and gives you a good marketable URL phrase. And this is important not just because it’s easy for searchers (buyers) to remember but the search-engines will also place such sites higher in their list of search results; something you definitely want.