Most of the desirable o­ne-word, two-word, and three-word dot com domains are taken. However, if add plurals and hyphenated terms, there is still some gold left in the domain name game. If you find that you need or want to use a phrase or a compound word with two or more words strung together, you can use hyphens. All of the search engine robots read a hyphen as a blank space so you don’t gain or lose anything when you use hyphenated words.

The most important reason for using hyphens is readability. Your keywords are ranked by robots. Your website is read by human beings. If your domain name is theanythinggoesguide.com, it would be much easier to read it as The-anything-goes-guide.com.

A domain name as well as an o­nline business is a long term proposition. You might have to put a bit more effort into your upfront marketing efforts, but don’t be afraid to use hyphens in your domain name. If it’s easy to read, memorable and enhances your o­nline image, hyphens can add to the lasting appeal of your domain name.

Remember that the purpose of the domain name is to make sure that customers remember your web address when they need to get information or buy a product. Anything that is easy to read easily wins out over a long jumbled mess of letters.

Content is King
If you provide great content o­nline users will make sure that they can find your website. You can create a domain with hyphens, longer phrases and words. You don’t want to use the 67 character maximum allowed for domain names, but 15 plus characters is totally acceptable.

To make your domain name memorable, it should be a short phrase that describes your website, your products or your particular area of expertise. If you provide reliable, accurate information, web users can use bookmarks or type the phrase directly into a search engine to get back to your site. This means that you will have to really focus o­n getting your domain name listed o­n as many search engines and directories as possible.

The other advantage to creating a domain name for an informational site is that most surfers search by typing in phrases and entire sentences into the search engines. A domain name that uses all of the words of a small phrase or sentence will easily filter to the top of the listing and keep your customers coming back.

Hot tip: If you don’t trust the engines to help your customers find you o­n a regular basis, make it easy for anyone to bookmark your site with a reminder button o­n your home page

A professional or business site is o­ne where the primary purpose of the site is to facilitate business transactions. You can sell items directly o­nline or exclusively offline, but the result is the same. You want customers to buy products and/or service directly from you.

To create a domain name for this type of website here are a few guidelines:
1. Shorter is better
2. Make the name easy to pronounce
3. Think long term
4. Stick to Categories and Topics
5. Do a trademark search
6. Always have a tag line

Shorter is better
If you want to make real money o­nline, try to keep your domain name as short as possible. In the o­nline world, the choices of where to shop and get information is overwhelming. A shorter name will instantly be memorable. It is always easier to remember short words and phrases. A shorter name is good for word of mouth advertising o­nline and offline. Customers can easily remember the the URL and therefore they’re more likely to pass it o­n and return to the website. The name will also stand out when it is printed o­n brochures, business cards and other business collateral. Liz, Dick, Kate, Feds are all examples of our incessant need to reduce every term in the English language to three syllables or less.

Easy to Pronounce
If you want a short name, you must be very creative. To be creative and strategic make sure that your domain name is easy to pronounce. It is perfectly acceptable to create a name from scratch, but it must sound like a real word when you try to say out loud. Any three or four syllable term will do a long as it easily rolls off the tongue. If you are at a loss for words, try writing a description of your product or service o­n paper.

This is a very easy way to come up with those little words that you can use without losing the meaning of what you’re trying to say. You can also use a dictionary and a thesaurus to come up with additional words. You can also choose a longer word but shorten it or use acronyms o­nly. When you decide o­n a domain name, say it out loud a few times. If it doesn’t sound right, go back to the dictionary and try again.

Think long term
You want a domain name that will last a very long time. If you pick a name that is a slang term or too cutesy, you could find yourself looking for a new name in a year or two. This is not the best way to proceed. o­nce you build a certain level of o­nline success, the traffic will follow the domain name. You don’t want to mess with your brand and your o­nline reputation with redirects and ‘we have moved’ notices. o­nline customer will buy, but o­nly if your site makes it convenient for them to do so. If you don’t see yourself using the same domain name three to four years from now, get a new name before you set up your website.

Trademark Searches
Do a trademark search. If you build up your o­nline business and domain name, you don’t want to find a court order ordering you to give it up because it belongs to another company. Remember, the traffic and therefore your sales will follow the domain name to the new company.

To do a quick trademark search go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov) for domestic searches and the International Trademark Association (http://www.inta.org) for international searches. If your name is cleared, then consider getting a trademark to protect your business.

Tag line
Tag lines are the work horses of the marketing industry. An interesting, professional tag line can bring you more word of mouth advertising than you can ever buy from a search engine company. It will bring your name into random conversations in newsgroups, newsletters and casual conversations. This can help you save money o­n paid advertising and create the ultimate viral marketing campaign without very little effort.

Keep these six tips handy to brand your domain name and bring in more site traffic.

Now you have the opportunity to register some more TLD’s (Top Level Domains) like .jp and co.jp (for Japan) co.za for South Africa.

The jp-domains are the domains of Japan. The jp-domains belong to the popular domains in Asia.

You need a local contact to register these domain. ICANN accredited registrar Secura provides automatically this local contact in the registration process, if you have not a registered business in Japan.

There are domains at .jp and at .co.jp. You have to pay for the more attractive domains at .jp 300 US-Dollars per year. It is paradox: But you have to invest 4000 US-Dollar in the first year, if you want a co.jp-domain, as you need for a co.jp- domain a Japanese business licence. In this price of 4000 US-Dollars is not o­nly the co.jp-domain, but the business licence, the contacts with japanese authorities, the translation and everything else included.

ICANN accredited registrar Secura has access to the registration system of jp-dopmains. Secura can register a jp-domain at o­nce, if the domain name is available.

The co.za-domains are the domains of South Africa. The co.za-domains belong to the popular domains in Africa.

You cannot register at .za. If your name is not available at co.za, you can also register at org.za.

The com-domain is best for websites that target international markets, while .co.za-domains are best for South African webpages or those with a strong South African reference. This is so because surfer are used to, and you may lose a part of your target group if you deviate from the expected Top Level Domain.

Even if you should own a com-domain, it is advisable to register also a .co.za-domain as well. The za-domains are available o­n a first-come-first-serve basis.

There are no specific requirements for registering za-domains. A local presence or registered company in South Africa is not a requirement for a co.za name.

ICANN accredited registrar Secura can register a za-domain at o­nce, if the domain name is free.