Five Common Domain Registration Mistakes – Which One Do You Want to Avoid?

A domain name is the identity of your website and loosing the online identity can cause severe and costly damage.

However, do not make these mistakes when registering your domain name.

Click here to download the full report on how to avoid domain registration mistakes.

Mistake #1: Not Registering a Domain Yourself

You know how a business owner hires someone to create a website for their company and then after a few years, the person (or company) who created the website disappears for whatever reason? The person or company may have moved out of the area; the person might get another job; or they may be out of business.

Then unknowingly, the web domain registration expires and is automatically, electronically gobbled up by opportunistic domain squatters. These domain squatters then register the expired domain in hopes that the original owner will be highly motivated to purchase the domain name at a much higher asking price. Usually, squatters might ask for $200 to $2000. Sometimes, it could even be much more.

So what should you do instead if you have not registered the domain yet? Just go to one of the best domain registration services below and register the domain yourself.

• Namecheap – one of the cheapest with free domain privacy for first year.
• Godaddy – the most popular and trusted domain registrar.

Did someone else register your domain name for you? A webdesigner or web host perhaps has done it for you. That’s fine, but you’ll want to check a few things. Find out what you should do next.

Mistake #2: Forgot to Renew Domain Name on Time

You are working real hard to beat your online competitors, search the entire internet for your targeted audience, calling all your suppliers bargaining for the lowest cost price so that you can have a much competitive pricing, but be sure you have not missed your domain renewal notice, you should always renew your domain on time to avoid loosing your business.

There are various ways to keep your domain name safe.

Mistake #3: Paying Too Much for a Domain

You only should pay extra for a premium domain name, i.e the domain has been registered by somebody else so they can sell at higher price. A domain name is a domain name. You pay to reserve the name on yearly basis. By paying $35/year instead of $12/year does not give you:

• a top placement in Google's search result. You still need to work on your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• a website. You still need a website built!
• a hosting space. A reliable hosting like Hostgator is recommended and should cost only around $10/month. The Hostgator coupon codes 2012 could save you more for your first invoice.
• visitors to your website. You still need to do some marketing and promotion to get visitors.

Mistake #4: Not Aware of Registration Scams

Registering your domain name is usually safe, but as with anything, there are some folks who may try to scam you. Here are two things to watch out for:

• You might receive offers (email or snail mail) from other registrars who may lead you to believe that you need to renew your domain name with them. While you can do that (you can transfer registrars at any time), these offers usually are at high prices. Don't fall for it. Know who your registar is. If the notice isn't from your registrar, pitch it in the trash.
• "Lock" your domain name. Registrars offer a feature called "domain locking" at no extra cost. It prevents your domain name from being transferred to another registrar unless you authorize the transfer by first "unlocking" the domain. It's a good safeguard, and you can do it online in just a couple steps.

What else should you know about domain registration? There are tons of strategies about domain registration that we want to share, but we would not be able to fit them all here. Download the reports and guides; and to subscribe to the newsletter below.