I have long held that domain name selection and management should be a college course. I often loudly pontificate at dinner parties and swanky soirees about the need for domain name education.

Herein is contained my writings on the subject.

Domain names are important. Some experts claim the domain name is the single most important aspect of a web site.

Here are some tips for becoming master of your domain.

Be creative and memorable. Most of the good .com’s are already taken. Use a service like Domai.nr. It is the best way to find memorable jewels like ma.tt and del.icio.us.

Think about it. Ask someone other than yourself if the URL makes sense. You don’t get capitalization or spaces. Enough. Said.

Buy more than one. If you find a good .com, also buy the .net, .org, and as many other extensions as you can afford. If, say, you are The Worthwhile Company, buy worthwhile.com and theworthwhilecompany.com

Buy the 5 or 10 year registration. Search engines love legitimacy. A domain that has been registered for 5 years or more looks like it is here to stay. Yes, Google does care. They even patented that part of their algorithm.

Register using an email address you will use forever. Even if you register your domain for 10 years, you will want to renew it someday. Please use an email you will always have. It scares me when I see domains registered to an @charter.net or @bellsouth.net email address. You may lose the address if you move and fail to be notified when the domain is up for renewal. Or worse, someone else would snatch your email address when you lose it and commandeer the domain. I’ve seen it happen. Better yet, [shameless plug] let an experienced expert register and manage your domain library for you.

Be willing to buy on the aftermarket. Since the dawn of time (or at least the Internet), speculators have been purchasing domain names so they can sell them to you years later for exorbitant amounts of money. It may cost you. Budget to spend thousands of dollars if the right domain isn’t already available.

See you lat.er (hey, that one is available!)