smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Business websites with URLs that are easy to remember gain a significant advantage, but "many of the domain names have gone already", according to online specialist.

Adrian Lawrence, managing director of Discount Domains, says domain names give companies online branding but it is getting harder to find the one you want.

As there are no restrictions for buying web adresses, you could find that even if your company has a registered business name in the UK, the domain name may have already been sold.

Prices have also gone down. Whereas domain names cost £90, seven or eight years ago, they can now be bought for £10 or £20 says Lawrence.

He explains that companies have to create their online branding by being inventive about the names they buy.

'It's more about what names are available depending on what your business identity is,' he adds.

According to Domain Informer, when the suffix .asia went on sale, there were 266,663 applications within the first 24 hours. Most of these applications - 40 per cent - came from the US, 35 per cent from Asia and 24 per cent from Europe. Around 28,000 domain names had more than one application on the first day.

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