When you decide on a name for your business, you will then want to check if the domain name is available. Be very careful when picking your domain name. Like your business name your domain name can negatively affect your business if chosen incorrectly. You want to take your time and choose a name that you feel best suits you and your business.

If you use your business name as your domain name, and it’’s available, GREAT! Now is the time for you to register your domain name.

If, on the other hand, you find that the domain name you wanted to use is taken, then you need to choose a domain name that is as close to your business name as possible, or, go out on a limb and choose one that you see fits your business, even though it may not match your business name. This is fine. Many VA’s have used this route before and are very successful today.

When choosing a domain name, however, you should keep these tips in mind:

• Avoid using numbers – If you choose a domain name such as VA4Success.com, your prospective client may not find you because they have entered the domain name VAforSuccess.com. So if you do want to use a domain name such as this, it suggested that you use the word “for” and not the number”4”. An exception to this may be if you wanted to use a domain name such as 24HourVA. It would not make sense to write out the number 24.

• Avoid using hyphens – If you use hyphens in your domain name you will find that many clients may have a difficult time finding you. If your domain name is VA-for-Success.com, your prospective client may choose to enter VAforSucess.com. Therefore, your client may not find you and move on. If possible, try to choose a domain name without hyphens.

• You want a domain name that is easy to remember.

• Don’t choose a domain name that is confusing to others.

• Avoid names that can easily be misspelled.

One last thing to keep in mind is that domain names are not case sensitive. People choose to write their domain name as VAforSuccess.com because it stands out and is clearer then vaforsuccess.com.

If after following these steps you have chosen your domain name and checked its availability, your next step is to register your domain name.