Small Business Guide to Domain Names

Business owners beware of those who make money off of your lack of information. What are we talking about here? We are talking about the vast world and business of the web.

For any business owner these days, a web site is an extension of the product or services being offered to customers. So, having a good web site is great and securing that perfect domain name is just icing on the cake.

However, as most business owners know, it's not that simple. Most people just starting out with their own business are doing a lot, if not all, of the leg work on their own. Thus, the task of simply making sure you have all of the correct licenses and paying off all of the state and city business fees is overwhelming enough to call it quits. Add in all of the other details aside from the simple creation of your product or service, such as marketing, and a small business owner has quite a bit on his or her plate.

So, the first step to think about before you even file your dba (doing business as or fictitious business name statement) is to decide what you want to name your web site. Many small business owners, due to the fact that they are sole owners, will neglect to think about their business until after they've filled out all of their forms and done their DBAs. The problem is that by that time, another person will have taken the DBA you want. This is because there are other people out there who buy up domain names in large lots and then sell them back to people who actually have a business or other need for the domain name.

Case in point, many people watch the DBA listings in the newspaper and then buy up domain names based on what they are seeing so that by the time a business owner finally gets around to picking a web name for their business, it has already been bought up by someone else who will charge an arm and a leg for you to buy that name. Many people suggest business owners who fall into such circumstances not be persuaded to pay large amounts of money to get the perfect domain name. Instead, think of alternatives that can be just as catchy.

In any case, always make sure to think ahead. Realize that you are going to need a web site and think about your domain name as you are filling out your other business forms. In fact, you should register a domain name simultaneously with your purchase of a business license.

You can buy a name through many outlets such as GoDaddy.com or even Yahoo. Yahoo is helpful if you plan on doing web commerce because they end up making the whole process a little bit easier on you with templates and help with merchant accounts. At the same time, Google is also helpful for starting up a web site.

Once you register a domain name, you should also immediately file a trademark with the United States Patents and Trademarks office. Do this to protect your domain name. Hard and fast rules of the web are still in the process of being made because all of this is new legal territory. So, in the end, when it comes down to ownership of a domain name, ownership will be granted to the person owning the trademark. If that's not you, then you could lose your company's domain name, and in mid-business, that will be detrimental to your company's health.

You can file a trademark through www.uspto.gov. Think of a trademark as something similar to copyright protection only trademarks are used to protect logos, mottos and domain names. A nationally registered trademark carries that "R" within the circle symbol after a name or logo. An unregistered trademark carries the "TM" or "SM" designations.

And just because you've got your registered domain name and had it trademarked, don't think that's the end of your vigilance over your company's web site. Always make sure to keep your contact information up to date with the company you have registered the domain name with. Oftentimes, just before your domain is about to expire, the company will contact your with reminders as a courtesy to renew the registration. If you don't keep your contact information updated, you won't receive those important reminders.

Likewise, don't get lazy and let your domain name expire. Don't assume that someone won't grab it - especially if your business is doing well. Remember, there are actually people out there who make a living off of other people not paying attention to all the various windy roads involved with the legal/registration process.

Another little tip for securing and maintaining your company's domain name is to keep your credit card information up to date alongside your contact information. If you choose to automatically renew your registration and then never update your credit card information, then automatic renewal is a useless tool to use.

Remember, you may need to research, understand and do a lot just to secure your domain name, but it's not as difficult as it seems. People tend to get overwhelmed at the large number of steps, and other people bank on that so they can make money off of other's laziness. Don't let your business fall into those people's hands.