Choosing a domain name is similar to business name registration in an offline business. As I've experienced, it is a major predicament of those who are planning to make Internet marketing a sustainable business.

In my opinion, creating a website is a lot easier than choosing a domain name. If you already have a concept in mind, website creation is made easier with available software developed by web hosts. It becomes more of a technical manipulation. Choosing a domain name on the other hand is a very personal thing. It is in fact a necessary step prior to website creation. Thus, before you start building your website, you should have a well thought of domain name and register it before others will. If you are contemplating of making the most of your site as a business venture: register your domain name first before building your site. Don't repeat the same mistake I made. When I registered for a membership site back then, I was clueless on what the warning "make sure your domain name is not taken", was all about. It is unfortunate that I only came to read credible sites valuable for Internet marketing newbies after I've lost a few bucks for membership fees. I could have invested the money for registration of domain names which I can put on reserve for a year. It will still give me ample time to develop my business concept.

If you are seriously taking internet marketing as a business, I would recommend that you take the following steps for creating your own domain name:

1. Brainstorm on the concept of the site you are planning to create. What is its purpose? What is its central theme? Who are the target visitors? Are you passionate about the topic you are thinking of for your site? Are you confident enough to put content on the site? There a lot more questions you should be able get through to narrow down your choices of possible business name for your site. There are a lot of helpful materials on the net which you can review for added information. Google for topics on niche marketing for more tips.

2. Make a list of alternative domain names that you come up with after the brainstorming. Make sure that the domain names are directly associated with the product or service to be provided by your Internet business. This will also apply even if you will pursue affiliate marketing. Your site should be consistent with the product you will be promoting. It is a mark of credibility which will have a positive effect on your business in the long run. The shorter the domain name, the better. This makes it easier for visitors and would be visitors to enter your URL in the search engine.

3. Search for the availability of the domain names in your list. I've tried searching with the following domain registrants: GoDaddy, ProudDomains, and Website.ws, of Global Domains International (GDI) Inc. Search for .com extension first. I advise that if the .com is no longer available, you search for your next choice. If it happens that there are similar domain names but of different extensions, such as .net, .uk, .gov, etc, the first that would come up if your type your URL without an extension is .com. In other words, .com is the default. And that will have an adverse effect on the traffic to your site.

4. Search for other domain registrants for you to choose from aside from the three I have mentioned for further.evaluation. I registered my domain name with .com extension with GoDaddy and with .ws extension with Website.ws extension with GDI. Please see the links below this page for an overview of the company and the products it offers.

5. Register your domain with the registrant you have chosen. The cost of registration ranges from $8 to $10 per year. Take note that the amount is solely for domain registration. You will have pay a monthly recurring cost if you will have them as your webhost. A better option is to research first for a reliable web host since most of these hosts also support domain registration. In that way, you get into a one-stop shop: a) domain registration, b) web host, and c) site builder. Hostgator has positive feedback from its clients. If you want an outright income opportunity as an added feature, choose Website.ws of Gobal Domains International. See links below for a detailed presentation of income opportunities offered by GDI.

I am sharing my experience in the hope that Internet marketing newbies (I'm still a newbie, mind you!) who got to read this article will not repeat my naivete. I'll be more than happy to respond to queries relative to this hub. There are tons of blogs and hordes of bloggers out there who provide great ideas on money making strategies in the Internet. But, it's a lot different when you implement what you have read. There are really fine prints which you will learn when you put theory into practice.