Buying a domain name seems like a pretty straight forward process, right? Not so says I!
There are a few things to consider:
- What will the goal of the website be and, is the name descriptive of that goal?
- Where will you buy the domain name? Will you use Godaddy like the masses? Or would you rather save a little money and have more flexibility? I typically purchase from NameCheap.com. Approximately $10.98 for a domain name and domain privacy. You can also use NameCheap to determine whether or not a domain name is even available.
- Where will you host your website? This is where the files of your website will actually reside. *Marketing Velocity will host your website on our redundant servers for just $6.25 per year. (*Prices may vary depending on the type of website and content involved).
- Has the domain been registered before? If so, did someone use it to send spam and has Google given it the thumbs down?
And last but not least, has your chosen domain name been registered before and more importantly has it been in trouble with Google?
Why is this important? Over the last few years Google has been cracking down on spammy type websites and have issued penalties to websites they thought were spammy or trying to cheat the system with false rankings.
If you inadvertently purchase a domain name that has been issued Google penalties, the likelyhood of your new website ever ranking in the Google search results is pretty near 0% and getting the penalties removed can be a pretty big hassle.
To keep on the safe side and determine if your website is penalty free, watch the video below as Matt Cutts explains how to research a domain name you want to buy.