This is the web page for the book; choosing the right domain name. If you are on this page then the chances are that you already have the book, but if you haven't, read about it on its own page or buy it here.

I have created this page to [a] keep the book up-to-date, [b] add links to web pages that enhance the subjects covered within the book, and [c] correct any mistakes I might have made. With that last point in mind - if you want to let me know about any errors, question my decisions or anything else that takes your interest, let me know on email@alancharlesworth.eu.

If possible, I will connect these links to specific elements of the book - but some are generic to the whole of its contents. Also note that some of the sites I link to require you to register: do so, it will be worth your while.

I must confess that I neglected to include a section in the book on actually making a domain name purchase, [maybe I'll put it in the second edition, but don't hold your breath, the first edition took me 8 years to write!] but the points raised in this one - How To Buy a Game-Changing Web Domain Name - address the issue. Although the article lead you to the services offered on the website, its advice is no worse for that.

Chpt 1.04 [What characters can you use in a domain name?] includes mention of the two-character .biz domains, here's more on the subject - NeuStar's Release of One- and Two-Character .BIZ Domains.

Chpt 1.04 [Internationalised Domain Names] - you might know that having spent eight years [off-and-on] writing this book, a couple of weeks after I published it ICANN came up with a significant change in domain name suffixes. That was; from November 2009 suffixes [as well as the actual name] would be available in non-Latin characters, meaning that IDNs could be in non-Latin characters from beginning to end. However, my comments in the book re limited applications outside of those countries/regions still stands. See ICANN's press release on th e subject - ICANN Bringing the Languages of the World to the Global Internet.

Chpt 1.05 looks at suffixes, and here's a VERY unusual application that perhaps only a government could get away with. In the UK there are a number of .uk suffixes available to government departments - which include .mod.uk [ministry of defence] and .nhs.uk [national health service]. But the trick is that if you type in just the suffix you get the homepage of the departments. Nice trick.

In the section on generating income from domain names [chpt 1.09], I mention domaining. I have written my own page on the practice, with an example, see what is domaining? This article - How Google & Yahoo Make Money Off A Twitter Typo Domain - also takes alook at the issue. Note that it mentions Google's 'AdSense For Domains' - yet in the book I say Google is looking to clamp down on domaining sites. Well, 'AdSense For Domains' has a number of 'rules' that address some of the more dubious practices, and so might be considered to be an element of Google's effort to reign in these sites. Towards the end of the chapter I suggest that you search search for "Kevin Ham" - here's an article with a title that says it all - The man who owns the Internet.

Towards the end of chpt 1.11 [multiple registrations] I look at how Procter and Gamble translate their global brand identity of P&G by using pg.com. P and O Cruises [P&O] also use the ampersand in their brand name, but the holiday cruise provider's website sits on pocruises.com. Hardly an ideal domain name I would think. PandO.com would be better, but it is held by a domainer. On the bright side, pandocruises.co.uk and pocruises.com both redirect to pocruises.com. If the cruise company can't get the preferred .com back through legal action, maybe they could have looked at pando.travel?

Chpt 1.12 looks at search engine considerations - and as with all things about search engine optimization there are no rules ... only opinions, a point that is emphasized in this article - Google Says Domain Registrations Don't Affect SEO, Or Do They?, and here is another which supports my thinking on the issue - 6 Ways Local Domains Crush Dot Coms In International SEO.

In chpt 1.14 I offer advice on 'What do you need to do if you are changing your domain name?' this article - How to Move Your Site to a New Domain According to Google - goes into more detail.

At the end of chpt 3.01 on suffixes, I mention 'domain hacks' - here's some more examples:

• The New York Times - nyti.ms [ms is the suffix for Montserrat]
• Google's URL shortener tool - goo.gl [gl is the suffix for Greenland]
• Facebook's URL shortener tool - fb.me

This article - Generic Domain Names in Ads Outperform Non-Generic - is relevant to both chpt 3.03 [are generic words effective as domain names] and 1.12 [search engine considerations].

In chpt 3.07 I address 'choosing the right domain name for a product', and this article - Think Search Before You Name Your Next Product - would seem to do the same, but it should be useful for brands and companies also [plus the section on search engine considerations, of course].

Chpt 3.16 looks at choosing your personal domain name. This short video is actually about reputation management, but there is some content about suitable domain names for individuals. See Andy Beal talks about Google Reputation Management.

By analysing [in her opinion] the 10 Best and Worst Internet Company Names of the Decade the author of this article offers up some sound advice with both good and bad examples. As the subject permeates the whole of the book, I've tagged this link on at the end. When you read it, see how many of the examples you think might have been influenced by the availablity of the domain name of the chosen company name.

Also relevant to the whole book is Smaller retailers risk losing sales with unmemorable domain names.