So you're starting a website and have visions of making hundreds, even thousands of dollars in sales a day.

You've done your market research, found a profitable niche, planned your website's theme and layout. Now all you need to do is build the site, buy a domain name and - voila - the cash starts rolling in.

Hold on there cowboy. While making lots of money with your website is very possible, it's not as easy as it used to be.

Increasing competition, fickle web searchers and crazy search engine algorithms make earning money from your website a little harder than it used to be.

Don't get me wrong though: If you're serious about making a living online and you work hard, you can make more money than you ever dreamed possible. The key is that you have to realize that every little decision you make in your web business helps propel you to the top and give you that edge.

One way to get an edge over your competitors and and keep your customers coming back is to choose the right domain name. (Your domain name is the unique name that identifies your Internet website.)

Here are the top 3 ways the right domain can help you build a killer cash generating website.

#1 A good domain name helps your customers remember your website.

How many times have you found a great website, forgotten to bookmark it and then completely forgot the name of the site? While some Internet users do use the bookmark function, many other Internet users do not.

They assume they'll be able to return to a good website by remembering the URL or through the search engine where they found it. But that's not always the case. Search engine rankings fall; people forget which search engine they used or which keyphrase your website came up under.

Tip: Choose a domain name primarily for your target audience. Make it simple - preferably 2 words only or 3 short ones at most. Try to choose a .com or a .net or even a .org ending - people just don't remember a funky extension like .name, .tv or even .biz.

If you can, make it an action phrase that describes what your website can do for your customer. For example, if you repair laptops, something like: www.fixlaptop.com would be a lot easier for your customer to remember than www.laptopland.com

Why is this easier? Because people don't have time to remember your URL. They are focused on what THEY want to do (i.e. 'fix laptop'.) therefore it's much easier to remember your URL if it describes what they want to do.

Choosing a domain name like this also has the added advantage of telling your customer EXACTLY what you can do for them. No questions or confusion. ('Do they sell laptops? Do they sell laptop parts or add ons? Do they fix laptops?')

#2 A good domain name helps the search engines rank you for your chosen keyword.

Although this is still up for much debate, many webmasters and SEOs think that a domain name with your top keywords in it is much better than a domain name without your keywords.

They think that search engines use the domain name to help rank your website. So, in theory, someone with a website about affiliate programs would rank higher (all other things being equal) if their domain name was http://www.affiliateprograms.com than if their domain name was http://www.makemoneyonline.com.

Tip: Try to include your top keyword or keyphrase in your domain name if you can - but not at the expense of your audience. If they can't remember it, they probably won't come back or recommend it to anyone.

#3 A good domain name establishes you as an authority on your specific niche.

I was advising someone just the other day who wanted to start their first affiliate marketing website. They were about to make the same mistake almost all newbies make: choosing a domain name that was way too general.

Here's the thing: Unless you have the resources of Amazon, Yahoo or shop.com, you just can't compete with the overly general sites. Successful marketers will tell you that the most profitable websites are found in the niches. A good domain will reflect your niche and, as such, establish you as the authority in that area.

Think about this, if you need a part for your Toshiba Laptop, would you rather go to a website named www.laptops.com or a website called www.Toshiba-laptop-parts.com? Which one do you think will have a larger selection of Toshiba laptop parts? Which one do you think is the authority on Toshiba laptop parts?

Choosing a good domain name can help you stand apart and keep your customers coming back to buy more. By following these three tips, you can choose the right domain name and skyrocket your website sales.

Kate Fox is contributing writer to Web Conversion: How To Sell More With Your Website

For more free tips and articles on how to improve your web conversion rate and make more sales, visit:

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