The Ultimate Guide to Domain Registration – Buying Domains made easy

The Ultimate Guide to Domain Registration

The Ultimate Guide to Domain Registration provides all the details about Domains and Domain Registration. Read this article, An Introduction to Domains if you want to know the basics of Domain and the Domain Types

List of Top 10 TLDs as of Q2, 2018

Top 10 TLDs - The Ultimate Guide to Domain Registration
Top 10 TLDs – Source: Zooknic, Q2 2018; Verisign, Q2 2018

Guidelines to choose a Domain Name

According to Rand@Moz, one can follow the below guidelines while choosing a name for the domain.

  • Make it Recognizable, people recollect them easily
  • Make it easy to pronounce, when it is hard to pronounce it is hard to remember or type
  • Keep as short as possible, worst case 15 characters in length
  • Chose .com over others in case a right .com name is available.
  • Avoid Trademark Infringement
  • Make it intuitive, the domain shall tell what the domain is all about
  • Use Broad Keywords and not exact matching keyword phrases
  • Append words or change extensions

Domain Registration

Part 1 of The Ultimate Guide to Domain Registration covered the basics about Domains. In this section, you will explore more about Domain Registration. So once you go through this Part 2 of The Ultimate Guide to Domain Registration, you will make better choices for buying your domains.

You can acquire a domain from domain name registrars either by buying a new domain or an existing domain. If you are starting a new blog or an internet business. Then it is better to acquire an existing domain.  An existing domain can bring you some traffic from day one. It can save the time typically by 6 months to years. 6 months to 1 year is a type is a time a new domain takes to acquire certain domain authority and SERP rankings.

What are the different ways to acquire a Domain?

1. Buying a new Domain

You need to buy a domain from a domain registration company. You can even acquire a domain if somebody already bought it. Sometimes people buy domains and park them to resell. In case somebody bought the domain you want to buy, you can check with them directly or through a broker for the resale option.

2. Buying an Expired Domain

Sometimes it is better to buy an expired domain for multiple reasons. Usually, An existing domain with certain domain authority helps you to kick-start your blog or online business. It may also help you to start with a recognizable domain name already having links. You can search for expired domains from sites like expireddomains or domcop. You can buy these expired domains from the original registrar through a bidding process.

3. Buying a Domain through Buy Now

Buying and selling websites is a business and many people buy domains and park them for resale. Do not feel disappointed in case the domain name you are looking is not available. Because You can check whether the domain is available under ‘Buy Now’ option. The Domain name registrar will show you that the domain is available for Buy Now Option along with the price tag. Usually, these domains are expensive and can run into thousands of dollars.

4. Buying a domain through Domain Auctions

Similar to ‘Buy Now’ domains, people sell domains using an Auction. In Domain Auction you get a chance to bid for the domain. These auctions happen through domain registrars as well as specialized domain auctioning sites like Flippa, Sedo, etc. Similar to ‘Buy Now’ domains, these domains can cost anywhere from $10 to thousands of dollars.

5. Buying a Free Domain

Did I say Buy? Not exactly, you can register the following domains for free. They are called Free TLDs. In this article Get Free Domains, You can get more details about how and where to register free domains with a credit card or bank account.

  • .ga
  • .ml
  • .cf
  • .gq
  • .tk

How to Register my domain?

Every Domain has to be registered in the Domain Naming System(DNS). Whether you buy a new domain, an Expired Domain or got it through transfer, you need to register it in DNS. Do not worry, this is taken care by Domain Registration Companies usually for an annual fee

What is a Domain Registration Company

A domain registration company is also called as Domain Name registrar. It is an Organization accredited by a gTLD registry or a ccTLD registry for Domain reservations. Domain Registrar also provides a Web Portal through which you can manage your domain settings (DNS settings).

Below diagram depicts the Top Domain Registration companies and their market share

Domain Registration Companies Market Share
Domain Registration Companies Market Share

Click here to find the Top Domain Registration Companies and their Pricing Tables for various types of Domains.

Many of these companies offer a new domain for free or at a discount. For that, You need to host your domain with them and go with their annual hosting plans. You want to get the best of both Domain Registration and Hosting? Then Purchasing domain and hosting separately is a better idea.  In case you are an absolute beginner or not familiar with DNS Settings, you better buy both from the same company.

Final Words

Hope you benefit from The Ultimate Guide to Domain Registration. We will add more sections to this article and other related articles based on our observation and comments. So please feel free to share your comments.

Tags:
The Ultimate Guide to Domain Registration, Domain Registration, Domain Buying, Expired Domains