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With such a huge growth in the number of websites and the resulting difficulty in finding an available domain name, it is tempting to grab the first one that sounds like it might do the trick. However, a small amount of homework will pay big dividends ' follow the ten steps below to obtain the optimal domain:

1. AVAILABILITY

If it's not available you can't have it ' simple!

2. COPYRIGHT

Ensure that you do not breach copyright or infringe trademarks with your choice of domain.

3. EXTENSIONS

It's widely acknowledged that the best TLD (top level domain) is .com. However, in the UK, web users are more than used to .co.uk so this is equally acceptable for UK websites. If .com isn't available and you use .net instead (for example), check that .com isn't either a competitor or that the .com site content is acceptable! Always try to get the .com, your country TLD or .net in that order. Web users are still not used to .biz or .info.

4. BE GREEDY!

If more than one TLD variant is available, buy as many as you can afford and set them all to point to your website. This is a form of brand protection and prevents unscrupulous competitors trying to cash in on your hard-earned web traffic.

5. BE MEMORABLE

Make sure that potential web users will remember your domain name and that they can spell it properly.

6. BE PRONOUNCABLE

Try telling people your web address over the phone ' can they understand what you tell them? Or do they give up and try someone else's website.

7. BE DESCRIPTIVE

If you are a new business, very few people will remember or search for your domain name if it is your company name. Try choosing a domain name that is descriptive of your products instead e.g. cheap>.com. Try testing it with a hyphen as well as using just one word.

8. OFFLINE MARKETING

Use your domain name in your offline marketing literature and ensure that it is as visible as possible. However, if your domain name consists of more than one word, that isn't hyphenated, try using capital letters e.g. which is easier to read ' littlefishwebdesign.com or LittleFishWebDesign.com? Domain names are not case sensitive so your clients will find your site whichever version they use.

9. BUY YOUR DOMAIN FOR LONGER

Search engines are now looking at less obvious information such as how long you have bought your domain name for. Domain names owned for less than two years are though to be penalised, so buy your domain for as long as possible.

10. OWN YOUR DOMAIN NAME

If you use a web designer or third party for your domain names, ensure they are registered in your name and that you have a signed agreement with the company that they will release all the details (including password) to you, quibble free, if you choose to move to another design or hosting company.