Websites have become such an integral part of the business landscape that it can be easy to take them for granted. Everyone’s got one and every business needs one – and that makes them a valuable resource.
The flip side of that necessity is that domain names are being registered at a prodigious rate. Technically, there’s no running out of domain names – the permutations of letters and numbers is practically endless. In practice, however, there is a limit to the valuable domain names. Clever plays on words, obvious name brands, and memorable concepts are much more valuable than random strings of characters, and while the pool here is large, it’s not infinite.
That makes it worth your while to snap up domain registrations as soon as you have an idea, whether you plan to pursue it any time soon or not. In particular, get your name and the names of everyone in your family (if they’re available). You don’t want to have someone else with the same name putting up a website of their own on the domain; that’s the first thing people are going to look for when they meet you and want to know more.
Most registrations cost just 10 to 20 dollars a year. That investment is a small price to pay for ensuring that you have your territory staked out in the world’s largest marketplace and information resource. I own hundreds of domain names, just in case – and it’s come in handy often enough for me appreciate just how valuable an investment it is! Don’t be left behind – you don’t want your name to come back from a Google search with no website and leave potential colleagues wondering.
