Short and simple: A domain name is an Internet address that works like a phone number to your house or business.  It can work as advertising because you can describe your business with it, so it is also what determines whether a customer will visit your Internet Business. Selecting the right name or names is why you are reading this. Hopefully this book will give you some insight as to how the Internet works and how to select your domain name.

        Domain names can be compared to 1-800 phone numbers.  Many companies have spent many thousands of dollars to maintain a phone number by which certain letters on the keypad will dial them, such as 1-800-BUSINESS or 1-800-CALL-ATT.  These numbers are profitable because they are easy to remember.

        Domains work the same way except that you don't have to translate the letters into numbers and you are not limited to 7 letters or numbers.  You can have a domain with any length ranging from 1 character to 63 characters.

        It is a specific URL with a name and a suffix of dot com, net, org, uk, etc. such as ForCongressman.com,  or KeywordDomains.net . When you type "BrassLamp" into the URL box at the top of your browser, it will automatically go to http://www.BrassLamp.com for United States residents.   If it does not exist then you will either get an error message or another page of options based on the words you put in.

        Most browsers are preset to take you to the .com of a domain name in the USA.  If you live in another country, your browser default should be set to the domain suffix that belongs to that country.

        There is something that businesses should be aware of.  Subdomains can look like LarryAustin.ForCongressman.com, where ForCongressman.com is the primary domain and LarryAustin is a subdomain or second level domain that falls under ForCongressman.com.  If you plan on being in business on the Internet, it would be wise to have a Top Level Domain (TLD). 

        Top level domains gain better recognition with search engines than second or third level domains.  Second level domains are good if the primary domain is designed to bring business to you.  If ForCongressman.com is built to draw election traffic, then it would be good to have a subdomain with them.

        When you have a domain that accurately describes your business or product, you are likely to receive the most suitable traffic to your site.  Whether your potential customers stay or not depends on the quality of your website.