While creativity can be important when it comes to choosing a winning web domain name, a lot more thought should go into choosing one than just the first name that pops into your head. So what should you be considering when it comes to checking domain availability?

First, your web domain name ought to match both your business name and toll free number in most cases. The idea behind this connection is to build a strong, unified brand. Together, your toll free numbers, business name, and website can exponentially expand brand recognition and awareness as well as positioning you as the "go to" source for your product or service in your industry. Most savvy business owners and executives check the availability of all of these items before reserving any of them to make sure they can present a strong brand image that is not in use by anyone else.

Next, when it comes to checking domain availability, make sure the name you select is both easy to remember and easy to type without mistakes. Otherwise a good portion of your marketing efforts might just go to waste and business could be lost to your competition. Check also the domain availability of similar domain names and reserving those as well so your competition cannot feed off of your marketing efforts.

Last, when searching for domain availability also look at your marketing plans for the next few years and make sure you reserve vanity numbers for those marketing campaigns and also the optimum domain names available so you can block your competition from the niche market segments you plan to target - or at least force them to expend more resources to compete with you. Keep in mind also that, for SEO purposes, the longer time period for which you reserve your domain name, the better your page rank will be. Opt to purchase your domain names for five to ten years instead of just one so you don't have to worry about domain availability when you really need it.

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