When choosing an online strategy for your business - the first step is selecting a domain name- choose only one domain name for one business!

Theoretically business owners want more than one domain name to cover issues such as misspellings, having separate domain names for products, or simply having more than one name pointing to there website.

This might seem logical because having various domains names all coming up on your website is a sure way everyone will find you easily. Wrong; this is one of the most common mistakes among all industries on the internet.

The best approach is to have one domain name and one version of your website. The key here is to get properly indexed, get properly ranked, and not damage one's image in the eyes of search engines.

When having numerous domain names all pointing to various versions of your website, or having numerous domain names all pointing to the same website, search engines see this as spam and, in turn, can have you banned or blacklisted.

Therefore, having one domain name and one version of your website is the key stepping stone in building a strong web presence.

• Simple Domain Name - As good practice, keep your domain simple. Your domain name does not need to be the actual name of the hotel.

• Brand Name/ Franchise Name - Know your brand domain name policy before buying your domain. Avoid using the brand name/franchise name as part of the domain name if you violate the trademark guidelines.

• City/ Region - Try to use the city/region as part of the domain, for example www.hssantaclara.com.

• User Friendly Domain Name - Have your front desk give out the domain to a few customers on the phone. This exercise will help you figure out if your domain is simple or too complicated for your customers to type.

• Sub Domain Strategy - Take advantage of a sub-domain while setting up a secondary site for weddings, meetings, etc.

Article contributed by Alex Yunerman, Milestone Internet Marketing. Milestone Internet Marketing, experts in creating complete internet marketing solutions for the lodging and hospitality industry. Benu Aggarwal is founder and president of Milestone Internet Marketing, experts in creating complete internet marketing solutions for the lodging and hospitality industry. Please contact Benu at benu@milestoneinternet.com  www.milestoneinternet.com .