A friend emailed me, "I've found many tips regarding domain registration from the internet. But too many of them and I simply cannot remember them all. I don't have that much time to spend on those. I wonder if you can provide me a quick summary of the major things I should look out for when registering a domain name, so that it makes life easier for me?"

If you're like that friend of mine looking for short cuts, then here's my advice...

Honestly, some domain tips are useful and some are not.

And for those truly useful tips, they can be further boiled down into 4 simple yet critical major rules that you can apply to guarantee your domain name's quality and minimize the chances of others "stealing" it from you.

Here they are...

Rule #1: Short

Why short?

Firstly, most people cannot remember long domain name. Secondly, long domain name is prone to typo when people type into their browser.

You may have heard some so-called gurus saying that your domain name should be long so that it looks more descriptive and at a glance, people will be able to tell what you're selling.

Well, this is true. But it may not be preferable because as mentioned earlier, long domain name is hard to remember and prone to typo. Agree?

Hence, as a rule of thumb, you should go for short domain name (like "Yahoo" and "Google") so that people are more likely to remember your domain name and get on your website again and again and again...

Many people are complaining that it's hard to get a short domain name nowadays. Well, not true. If you put in your heart and soul to think, you'll definitely come up with one. I guarantee.

To get your creative juices flowing, you can try this: search for "expired domain name" in search engines.

Who knows out of the expired list you may find the right domain name for your website. Or even better, the list may inspire you to come up with your very own unique domain name. Right?

Rule #2: Logical

There are two ways here: either you register a domain name that logically matches what you're selling or, you simply use your company name as your domain name.

For example, if you sell ebooks online, you should register ebooks dot whatever extension you like (preferably dot com because it's still the most popular extension todate).

Or if your company name is called Example Pte Ltd, you should register "example.com". Period.

Rule #3: Spell Check

ALWAYS do a spell check on the domain name before you proceed to make the purchase (register).

Just to let you know, registered domain name is refundable provided you request for the refund within 5 days from the date of registration.

If you register a domain name wrongly, for instance, instead of "example.com", you registered "exampe.com" (short of ‘l' -- typo) instead, you can ask for a refund so long as you do not exceed the qualified period for refund which is generally 5 days.

(Note: Some domain registrars may have different qualified period for refund. Hence, it's advisable for you to check with that particular domain registrar before you register the domain name with them.)

On the other hand, if you do not ask for refund within the qualified period, then that misspelled domain name will be attached to you until it expires (the minimum expiry period is one year).

You can't edit the name even in your domain control panel, it's fixed once registered.

See, you waste money on a domain name you can't use due to its wrong spelling. So, don't take chances. Spending just another 20 seconds to ensure your domain name is error-free is really a good bargain.

Rule #4: Register NOW!

According to statistics, more than 65 domain names are being registered worldwide in every second.

So, please do not wait. Once you've thought out a good domain name, quickly go snap it up before someone else does. Or you'll be too late for the grab.

I hope you can always remember and stick closely to these 4 fundamental yet important rules when you register a domain name.

By : Soon Chai Lim