Selecting the perfect domain name is a critical step towards the online success of any small- to medium-sized business (SMB). Recently honored as a top registrar at the 25th Anniversary of .com Gala in May, 1&1 Internet, Inc., the largest Web host by known servers, provides businesses with the tools and helpful tips for choosing and registering their domain name and utilizing it to their benefit.

“Domain names are becoming increasingly important for developing brand recognition,” said Oliver Mauss, CEO of 1&1 Internet. “People are referring to companies more and more by their websites and using domains interchangeably with company names. This is especially important for SMBs who are just established in their industry and looking to gain a customer base. If a new business can register a domain that best represents the company as a whole, they have a good chance at improving their visibility on the Web.”

Mauss adds that SMBs should take a few things into consideration when choosing their online alias. A concise, yet informative, domain name will be recognizable to the public and allow the business’s website to be easily accessible. Length is an important factor in the decision process as well. Unless a company’s name is longer, businesses should try to limit the number of characters to 20. If the most obvious name is already taken, words that inform the public about the company, its industry, or its services make a good alternative.

The choice of a certain top-level domain (TLD) can be an effective tool for lowering marketing costs and raising brand awareness for SMBs. A .com domain, for example, is the most familiar global TLD in many languages around the world, which means it can translate to a wide audience. TLDs are also commonly used when guessing a website’s URL address, which is one reason why owning variations of your domain under different TLDs is important.

“The domain selection process is a crucial part of the marketing strategy for any company,” said Mauss. “A well-planned domain name has the potential to drive traffic to the site, maintain public interest, and increase brand awareness – all key factors for successful marketing both on and off the website. It’s actually so important that today’s Web entrepreneurs first check for available domains before deciding on their company name.”

Consistency across various online platforms is another easy tip for maintaining brand awareness and identity. Use the name in the company’s URL address as the company’s alias on social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, to increase brand recognition and familiarity. It can also help to purchase similar domains with various spellings or extensions, so that different attempts at the domain will redirect people to the appropriate site.

To help SMBs get a jump start on their website, 1&1 is currently offering the first-year free for any .com domain registration.

For more information about 1&1 and its services, please visit www.1and1.com.

About 1&1 Internet Inc:

1&1 Internet Inc. is a subsidiary of United Internet, a profitable public company with a market cap of $3 billion. 1&1 was founded in 1988 and hosts more than 10 million domain names, while more than 70,000 servers run on the company’s five state-of-the-art green data centers. 1&1’s global community is over 9 million customer contracts strong. The company’s U.S. headquarters is located in Chesterbrook, PA.