Specialists in registering domains for Australians

A domain name is one of the way the internet recognises your website. They tend to consist of two major elements: a top-level domain (TLD), and a second-level domain (SLD). A TLD refers to the ending of every domain, that being anything that comes after the dot. An example of a TLD is .com, or .com.au, or .net. They are among the most common domains businesses may register. Meanwhile an SLD refers to what comes after the “www.” but before the”.com”. For example the SLD in larryscakes.com is “larryscakes”.

All domains are connected to a unique IP address. This is because all web browsers require IP’s to communicate with the internet. An IP acts much like a street address, marking your website’s location in the web. When your domain is entered into a browser, a Domain Name System (DNS) translates the domain into its associated IP address, so the browser can display the website.

This depends entirely on the domain you have purchased. Often, you will be able to register a domain for up to 10 years. However, most businesses register their domain for 1-3 years and then renew after this period of time.

Registering for a new domain is like renting a home. It is on a timely basis with the ability to renew at the end of the lease period. Once you have registered you can move all your things in.

Renewing your domain is as easy as purchasing one. With Domain Pilot you can either manually renew your domain or set up auto-renewal. Have a chat with our registration team and we can help you renew your domain on a yearly, or greater, basis.

It is really easy to register a domain with Domain Pilot. However, it is important that before you register, you have a good domain strategy in place. This will help us find the right domain for your business. A few things we look out for include:

• Making sure the domain is easy to remember. This will make sure your customers can easily find you online and purchase from you again and again.  
• Avoiding trademarked or copyrighted domain. You could lose the domain and suffer legal consequences.  
• Finding a shorter domain. Often a shorter domain name is better. It will make it far easier for your customers to remember and type out.  
• If you are a local business, we look to potentially add your location into your domain. This may improve local search presence. 
• We avoid numbers or hyphens. These make it more difficult for your customers to write out your domain from memory. If anyone hears about your domain they won’t know if you are using 4 or four within it. In the case where you need to register a domain with a number, consider registering both the numeral and written out versions of your domain.  
• We can help you register similar domains. As you get more traffic and become more popular, copycats may attempt to steal some of your traffic using similar domains. So, you should register misspelt or similar domains early on, so it won’t be an issue later.  

There are many reasons why you may wish to buy more than one domain. Examples include:

• If you bought a location-based domain and are looking to expand outside of that location in future, you may wish to register for similar domain names. For example: if you own sarahscafebrisbane.com.au but want to expand to Sydney in future, you may wish to register sarahscafe.com.au, or even sarahscafesydney.com.au.  
• Preventing copycats or competitors from stealing your traffic through similar and misspelt variants of your domain. By buying these out early, you can prevent copycats or competitors from attempting to steal your customers.  

Most countries have their own unique domain extensions such as: .au .nz .uk. In fact, it can go further than that, with many states or cities having their own unique extension, like .berlin. These can be extremely useful for businesses looking to capture their local market. Search engines may be more inclined to rank these websites higher in their local countries than domains without this. However, this isn’t always the case and there are many reasons why you may not wish to purchase a domain with your local extension. These include:

• You are an international business. In this case getting one of the more generic .com, .net, or .org, may be more appropriate. 
• You want a unique domain extension. There are a wide range of really cool and fun domain extensions which may make your URL stand out amongst the crowd. Extensions such as .restaurant or .business are loved by the many businesses that use them. However, in this case it is good to also purchase the domain, or a similar domain with a more standard domain extension.  

Our team of domain experts will help you navigate the extensive extension options, allowing you to find the right domain for your needs.