As you may have heard, there will soon be several more options to choose from when it comes to acquiring a domain name. Later this year, seven new top-level domains will become available in addition to the .com and .net that we're all used to by now.

The new options that might be attractive to brokers, agents and businesspeople in general will include: ".biz" ".info" ".name" and ".pro" - the other three extensions are specific to other industries and won't be discussed here.

When these new domains become available, rest assured that many companies will contact you urging that you "buy now" - the scam artists have already begun, legitimate offers will follow!

It's predictable that FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) will create great opportunities and profits for those who will be selling domain names using the new extensions. However, before you rush out to reserve any of these new domain names, realize that for the most part, it's still a .com world. When someone suggests visiting a web site, such as Yahoo, Amazon or E-Bay, almost all of us will naturally type in the .com suffix out of habit.

Thus, while owning a .pro or .biz domain might be fruitful in the very long run, as we all get used to the new options, I'd avoid getting too excited by the prospect and then rushing out to buy these new domains assuming they're going to be "sure-fire" investments.

As a corollary, consider that even years after new options have been added, when someone says call "toll-free" most of us still automatically think of 1-800 and not 1-888 or any of the other newer toll-free extensions that now exist. This is not to say that there will be no value in the new domains, just that you should think very carefully before purchasing a domain using one of the new extensions and not make a rush to buy when they become available.

In addition, before you register a domain name (whether it's a .com or one of the new extensions, when they become available) make sure to do so through a reputable domain registrar, such as register.com and nsi.com among others.

While some registrars may charge less than the typical $35 per year, you should consider whether this is the right place to try and save a couple of bucks annually. If you do choose a discount service, you must ask yourself what will happen if the registrar goes out of business? Or, how your web site traffic will be affected if they can't afford the latest technology for their Domain Name Servers, which actually direct traffic to your site?

While some registrars may offer savings of five or ten dollars a year, you should make sure that you're comfortable with their reputation and stability before making any commitment. 20000120_domains.htm