A domain is the Internet analogue of your business' phone number. It is unique and every letter matters. Therefore, a good domain should be easy to remember, easy to promote, and easy to use. It can bring you not only website visitors, but also potential customers. For example, the domain "ubc.ca" is easy to remember as opposed to "UniversityOfBritishColumbia.ca". Below are a few scenarios you should consider when choosing a domain to register:

Scenario 1: You just launched a TV advertisement. The company's website URL is displayed at the end for ONLY a few seconds. Your leads are going to visit your website for more information. Therefore you would like to avoid domains like: "UniversityOfBritishColumbia.ca"

Scenario 2: Someone receives your business card and wants to send you an email for business. If any letter is typed incorrectly, you will never receive their email. Try to avoid domains like: "IlIIllIllI.com" because it is difficult to tell which letter is "L" and which one is "i".

Scenario 3: You have to give your domain to other people via voice. This may occur when you have a radio ad or are talking on the phone. Try to avoid domains consisting of letters with very similar pronunciations like "pvbetddt.com" or mixed words and numbers such as "five5five5.com". It may take you forever to tell someone your website's URL.

- Article written by Barry Dong, Owner of BBB Accredited 5U Website.

This article was originally published on BBB BizSmart News (sent to accredited businesses on Mar 5, 2013)