People ask us all of the time — how do I choose a Web site domain name?

From a technical standpoint, the process is easy. Go to a domain registrar, like register.com or godaddy.com and type in the domain name you want and purchase it.

From a marketing standpoint, the process is a bit more complicated. Your Web site domain name is your business address on the Internet. It may be the first place people interact with your business, and the name will be the Web site’s first impression left with a potential user. We have 4 rules for choosing a Web site domain name:

- Do a Dot Com. Your domain name will always start with your business name (like Curvine or 3M, or Microsoft), but there are a lot of different ways your domain can end. Which one should you use? If your business is in the United States, you should always choose to end in .COM, and never primarily use .NET, .INFO, ,US or .ORG. The reason is simple: if your domain name ends in something else, people will sometimes forget and go to the .COM version. If that business is a competitor, this could lead to lost business.

That said, there is no harm in buying other domain names to avoid having someone else by them. For example, Microsoft may purchase Microsoft.info even if they have no intention of using it.

For international businesses, it is worth noting what the most common practice is in the areas where you are doing business. For example, a UK based business may purchase a .com.uk domain.

- When possible, make your domain name easy to say. You will be telling lots of people about your Web site, and they might tell other people. It needs to be easy to say. If an average person can’t pronounce it, it means less people will find your Web site. Try asking a friend how to pronounce your domain name before buying it. Note that sometimes this isn’t possible. If your business name involves your last name which isn’t easy to say, than there’s really nothing you can do about it.

- When possible, make your domain name easy to spell. Just like the tip above, it is important that your potential clients and customers can spell your name. Some of these are obvious, words with -ance and -ence are often confused. Others are less obvious: when someone hears Eye in a domain, will they spell it Eye or I? Too is another word people have trouble with. Also, having two words that end and start with the same letter; like EvilLambda has two L’s — which people may spell with only one L. If these things can’t be avoided, consider purchasing the misspelled versions of your name so that people can be redirected to the right place.

- When Necessary, Be Creative. We have a client who opened a movie theater called Movies 8 several years ago. Not surprisingly, movies8.com was taken. He also had plans to open additional theaters with different names, so we came up with a creative name that could be used for all of them, seethemovies.com — it is both easy to say and easy to spell. It is still in use today.

So there are four tips on choosing a great domain name. We welcome your tips below!