Dealer Dan, pictured here with WWE Superstar Mick Foley, has been in internet marketing since 1996. He likes hugs, long walks on the beach, and making money while wearing his jammy jams. For more information, you can read all 
I think one of the first steps an affiliate should take is picking out their domain name. Buying a domain makes it official, and it really helps you visualize the site in your head. You’re actually DOING something and getting your website in motion.
Google is all about “branding” these days, and there’s nothing more brandable than an actual domain name. Therefore when you want a domain name, you want to get one as close to the topic that you are actually promoting. Exact match domains DO give a boost in rankings – believe me, I’ve tested this out many, many times.
You also need to aim for a .com first and foremost, although if that isn’t avaiable then go for a .net or .org. In my honest opinion I would not purchase a domain name with any other extension, unless I was going for a country specific website(ie: if my website was targeted towards Canadian online daters, I’d be fine with getting a .ca domain name).
When it comes to domain registration, I use GoDaddy. I’ve tried other services but I like GoDaddy the most. They are always offering special deals like 10% off or 20% off, make it very easy to renew your domain and also offer various additional extras.
I should note that while I recommend GoDaddy, another very popular domain provider is NameCheap. In a recent poll conducted at LifeHacker.com, Namecheap was voted the #1 domain registrar, with 38% of the vote.
So head on over to GoDaddy.com or NameCheap and see if you can find a domain name that will suit your website. If your website topic was on Matt Damon movies for example, then these would be acceptable:
MattDamon.com/.net/.org
Matt-Damon.com/.net/.org
MattDamonMovies.com/.net/.org
Matt-Damon-Movies.com/.net/.org
It’s hard to really summarize how to pick a domain name – except go for one that matches the website topic you have in mind, includes the keywords, AND makes you happy.
If you are having any problems with coming up with the perfect domain name, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll help you come up with something.
This article was written on November 12, 2010 however all articles are looked at on a monthly basis and updated to keep them relevant.
If you need to contact Graeme, please see his Contact Page. If you are an affiliate manager wanting promoted please see this page.
