In my previous blog post, I discussed about choosing your niche. Now, let’s discuss how to get a domain name. Even if you choose “email marketing only” as your online business model, you’ll still need a website for people to visit and sign up.
There are online marketers who argue that you can make money with email marketing only and that there’s no need for a website. Yes, you can do that but bear in mind that you’ll also need a domain name for your subscription page.
Let’s start.
Before You Register Your Domain Name
Getting your domain name right is crucial. If you have an offline business, then, of course, you will want to register the name of your business as your domain. The reason is, it’s already associated with your company or brand.
Example: If I am to register a domain name for my pharmacy business, it could be MagtibayPharmacy.com
If you’re starting from scratch, though, things become more complicated.
Think of a domain name that’s easy to remember, but also to reflect the nature of your business and your niche.
Sometimes, it’s a good idea to include at least one keyword in your domain name. Not only will this cement what your website is about in your customers’ minds, but it can also help with search engine optimization (SEO).
The best way that I know to find relevant keywords is to use Google AdWords’ Keyword Planner. This is a tool designed to help with Google AdWords (more about those in a few days), but it’s also great for finding keywords for other purposes. It’s free to use, but you will need to sign up.
Alternatively, you can use the Jaaxy Keyword Tool, which is easier to use than Google Keyword Planner.
How to Get a Domain Name
Related video: Getting A New Domain Name and Web Hosting
When you’ve decided on your domain name, you’ll need to register it. There are several places online where you can register a domain name.
As a member of Wealthy Affiliate, my personal recommendation is WA Domains. The reasons are obvious, just take a look at the comparison table below:
Now, in registering your domain name, pay attention to your domain extension. If you’re marketing to a worldwide audience, then stick with a .com extension.
If you’re marketing locally, then a country-specific extension like .co.uk or .com.ph is fine. Avoid some more exotic extensions like .biz or .io as they don’t look professional.
Sometimes, you will discover that the domain name you have in your mind has already been registered by someone else. With that, you’ve got two options: Buy the domain name, or think of a new one.
If you have the money, you can opt to buy your dreamed domain name that has already been registered by others. But unfortunately, you will discover that domains that are for sale are quite expensive. But if you can negotiate a price, then it’s good. If not, better think of another one.
I have never bought a domain name in my entire life!
Let’s Have A Discussion
So, that’s it for now on how to get a domain name for your money-making website. I made this blog post short and sweet, with beginners in mind. I don’t want to overwhelm beginners with too much information to digest.
We’ll discuss getting a website hosting in my next blog post. A website hosting is like a “business space for rent” online. You’ll need that for your online business.
If you have questions on the topic discussed, see you in the comments below.
Your online business coach,
Gomer Magtibay a.k.a. Coach Gom blogs about home business ideas and answers questions (free coaching) about starting or growing a home-based business. If you would like to learn more about him or connect with him, click here.
My name is Gomer Magtibay, a.k.a. Coach Gom, I’m a certified home business coach and a member of Wealthy Affiliate, I blog about home business ideas and I answer questions (free coaching) about starting or growing a home-based business. If you would like to learn more about me or connect with me,
Hello Coach, nice to see you here again with another informative post.
Last time I asked you about what online business is easy to start. With your reply, I am thinking of starting an affiliate marketing business with Wealthy Affiliate as you have said they provide the best training for beginners. Now, I’d like to ask which one I should prioritize? Joining WA and getting trained or registering a domain name with WA Domains?
Thanks for asking.
Once you join WA, you will receive your training on affiliate marketing and along the way, you will be asked to create our own website (of course with our guidance), and then followed by registering the domain name of your new site with WA Domains. It’s a complete step-by-step training that allows you to learn while applying the lessons.
When will you sign up? If you don’t have a sign-up link to use, click here.
A friend of mine has a blog that’s hosted in Hostgator. Since I am a member of Wealthy Affiliate, I am encouraging him to register a domain name in WA Domains as ours is cheaper and offers more value than the competition. Would it be possible to register a domain name via WA Domains and use that domain in a blog that’s hosted in Hostgator?
Yes, he can use the domain name that’s registered via WA Domains in blogging in Hostgator. In the admin panel of your domain account, go to settings, and then to Nameservers. If you know Hostgator’s primary and secondary nameservers, put them in the appropriate boxes and then save settings.
I have heard of email marketing only without the need of a website. Have not tried it yet. I agree with the idea of choosing a domain name resonates well with the niche you are into. That is a great idea of finding keywords with Keyword Planner. I am currently using the Jaaxy Keyword Tool and it is doing wonders for me. I have also registered my domain at the Wealthy Affiliate Platform and so far so good. Those are really great tips to go about finding and registering a domain. Great article!
Yes, that kind of marketing exist but since there’s not much SEO involved, the way you can get clients or customers is by spending a great deal of money in ads. For someone without much experience and spare cash, it is not advisable as you can lose a lot of money before you can see a sale.
I live in the UK but I don’t intend to market to my countrymen. I want to market to people in the United States. If I pick a domain name with .com.uk extension, will that limit the number of people seeing my site? I like that extension as it looks cute.
I’m from the Philippines but I still can see search results with .com.uk extensions. That shows everyone can see your site, people from all over the world as long as they have an internet connection. I think the downside with choosing that extension is that people from the United States seeing your site might think you intend to serve the UK market only. With that, it is better to just have a .com domain extension.
I really appreciated your comparison chart of the different places to get domain names. It looks like the WA domains program includes so many more features than all of the others, all for the same price. For example, you get the privacy and security features included, instead of having to pay more for them in an upsell. How important are the Privacy protection and SSL certificate? Could you still have a successful online business without those?
Thanks for your advice on what to do if the domain name you want is taken. That happens a lot from people genuinely creating the website, or also from people buying up the domains so they could sell them at a higher price later. Is it okay if you use a domain name with dashes or does that reduce the page ranking of your website?
Also does having numbers in your domain name reduce the page ranking of your website?
Thanks for your expertise on the subject and have a great day.
I used to think that it is okay to have dashes in domain names and to have numbers. I even practiced doing that myself until I experienced hardship in making the blog get ranked high in Google. So, better avoid using them at all.
With regard to SSL, I still see sites that are ranking high without SSL. But I can say, they’re just lucky or some other factors weighed higher than not having SSL, like for example, maybe there’s little competition over the keyword or the post has thicker content. But if you can do it with SSL, I think it can do better.
Hello Coach Gom
I just read through your article and found it very informative. I recently came to Wealthy Affiliate and consider myself a newbie. I have purchased my .com domain but my daughter thinks I should also pick up the .org and the .net
What are your thoughts on her suggestion? She thinks down the road when I am a retired and successful blogger I will not want any competition with a similar name.
If you have the extra money, you may register a .org version of your domain but not .net because it is not as highly regarded as .com or .org. But they are not necessary unless you intend to have direct traffic coming to your site just like in the case of personal branding where consultants use their names as their domain names. But like I said, it is not that necessary. For us doing blogging and SEO, a one .com domain is enough as long as you perform other necessary things like giving value with your content and, getting good backlinks and comments.
Hey Gom. Thanks for this informational post. Getting the right domain name is indeed important. I’ve had a few domain names in the past and I can tell you that having a name that is catchy and easy to remember does make a huge difference. My current one was registered via GoDaddy and it’s expiring soon. Since I like the features and pricing that Wealthy Affiliate offers, maybe I should renew it over there. How do I renew it on Wealthy Affiliate? Are there any particular steps that I should take?
You can transfer your domain name from GoDaddy to Wealthy Affiliate Domains. There’s a tutorial inside WA that can teach or guide you how. If you want to, you can sign-up in WA to access the training. Click here for the link to the training on how to transfer that domain name of yours.