If you are attempting to sell a product or service on the web, and you're still operating from a free server without a domain name, your chances of success are low. Domain names can be purchased for as low as $10 per year and are an absolute must for survival. It's true that it is much more difficult to find a good domain name than it was a few years ago. However, a slew of tools have been released that aid in creating unique name combinations.

Try and register domain names with different extensions (e.g. .com, .net, .biz, etc.). If you focus on providing products or services to national audiences, use country extensions (.us, .uk, .ca, etc), because these domains will give your audience the confidence that they are dealing with a company 'close' to them.

Try and make your domain name as close to your company name as is possible if your company name is already well established outside the Internet. Many visitors may try to guess your domain name based on your company name (e.g. www.yourcompanyname.com), and by increasing the possibility of them finding it without having to resort to search engines, you can increase your traffic.

When purchasing domain names, it is important to know your audience and how they will relate to your web site. Choose domain names that clearly express your company mission. Search for your own product and check out the competition; this will force you to think like a surfer and provide you with insights about how other companies are using their domain names.