What is a domain name?
A domain name is the text of your email address and/or website address.
For example, this website’s domain name is “really.market” and our email addresses include it, too, such as “support@really.market.”
Common domain names end in .com, .net, .org, and so on, but there are also hundreds of other domain “extensions” you can register.
New domain extensions such as .homes, .house, and .estate are examples of new, up-and-coming choices in real estate.
A domain name is essential for hosting your website so it can be accessed via a browser and so you can set up email addresses.
Where do you get one?
Hundreds of companies offer domain name registration services for monthly or annual fees.
Some popular services are Google Domains, GoDaddy, and Namecheap.
You can visit their websites to search for a domain name for your website and email, then register your choice instantly.
What to look for when choosing a domain name?
When you pick a domain name, make sure you check the following boxes:
- Make it as short as possible.
- Don’t misspell common words.
- Make it clear what you offer.
- Pick a popular or industry-relevant domain extension (see above).
- Ensure it’s unique.
- Try to include your brand name or company name.
Choosing a domain name that complies with the above criteria will help your site get more visits, differentiate you from competitors, and increase engagement with your brand.
Our Recommendations:
You can register a domain name using many different companies, but the top factors to consider when choosing a service are:
- Cost - Cost varies between services, and many vendors will try to sell you on other related services such as email hosting, domain “security” packages, and multi-year registrations. Pay attention to what you need and what you’re buying.
- Ease of use - Once you register your domain name, you will need to access tools provided by the vendor to link it to your website, your email hosting, and various other 3rd-party tools you may use. Some vendors make it very easy to do the things you need to do, while others make it purposefully difficult to sell you other services you may not need or want.
- Upselling - Many service providers use your domain registration to sell you more services and products after registering. Some even sell your information to outside business partners who market to you via phone and email.
- Ease of transfer - You may want or need to transfer your domain to another service provider (such as a web hosting provider). Many domain registration service providers purposefully make it difficult for you to do so, thus causing headaches and delays in your plans that can affect your email or website.
Considering the above, we suggest you register your domain name with Google Domains.
Here’s why:
- Most Google domains cost only $12/year.
- Google has over 300 domain extensions, including the top names for real estate.
- Registration and domain management tools are easy and quick.
- It’s easy to share access to your domain registration with your web developer, marketing company, or IT department.
- You can access your domain settings easily from any device at https://domains.google.com.
- Getting started with the world’s top business email hosting, Google Workspaces, is simple and easy to do right inside your domain registration login.
- Transfers in and out of your Google Domains registration are easy and quick.
- Google doesn’t upsell with marketing emails.
- Google is the premier search engine in the world, so integration with other services you will want and need is built in.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
You can register your domain quickly and easily by following the steps listed at the link below:
https://support.google.com/domains/answer/4491208?hl=en
