The main purpose of a domain name is to give customers an easy way to find you on the web (like CharlesWorks.com).  Some people choose to have one domain name to create a website, some use a domain name to create a personal email account (like Robin@CharlesWorks.com),  and some own numerous domains to enhance their web presence. Whether your domain name is for personal use or for your business, we hope you find the following tips to be helpful.

• Initial Search
  First and foremost, be careful of how you search for a domain. Unscrupulous companies purchase domains people search for to sell them to those people at much inflated prices (often $100+ for $15 domains). CharlesWorks can avoid this problem. Just ask us.
   
• Association
  If possible, you should use the name of your business as all or part of one of your domain names. This will make it easier for your clients or potential clients to remember you and to find you on the web (like CharlesWorks.com - CharlesWorks is the name of our business).
   
• General Names
  More general domain names are most likely already registered to other businesses (of course it doesn't hurt to check with us first). It's still a good idea to have more general name(s) associated with your business as one of your domains (that's why we also own HostingNH.net, which will take visitors to our CharlesWorks.net site).
   
• TLDs
  Top Level Domains are the extensions of the domain, such as .com, .net, .org, etc. The most popular TLDs are .com and .net. If you find that your domain is already registered, you might try for an alternate TLD (for example, RobinSnow.com was already taken, so Robin acquired and uses RobinSnow.net).
   
• Hyphenated Names
  Although you can obtain them, we recommend not using hyphens for your business domain name. Most people who are searching for your site will not use a hyphen. You are better off to try a different TLD or a variation of your domain name.
   
• Variations
  Sometimes can be an option if your general business name is already registered (for example ScrapbookCabin.com was not available to one of our clients, so at the time she registered NHScrapbookCabin.com instead).
   
• Keywords
  Having words pertinent to your business in your domain are increasingly important. Simplistically put, search engine algorithms (the math formulae used to compute the importance or value of words contained in your site) rank the importance of web sites according to words.  Many businesses use a domain name to describe the name of their business (like PixByDix.com), and, in addition to that, own domains which contain keywords which are present in their website (like photography-camera-instruction.com).
• Cost
  The charge for various domains varies according to TLD, and also depending on who you register with and what country they are in and so on. CharlesWorks will search for domains at no cost, and will register most domains at only $15 per year. This $15 fee includes private registration (so your personal information is unavailable to others and you are protected more from spammers and scams) and initial DNS setup (actually pointing your domain to your web server)
   
• Most importantly, CharlesWorks will ensure that your domain is renewed automatically each year so you will not lose it.