Choosing the right domain name and tld ( the .com, .eu, .ie bit ) is an important choice when setting up a new website.


Should you get a .ie or a .com?
should you go for a name with hyphens or without?


There are several things that you should take into consideration:


1. who is your target audience
2. what search terms do you want the site to be found under


If you own an Irish business and your customer base is largely based in Ireland then you want to reflect that with your domain name.
You will also want new customers to be able to find you in the major search engines. Many of these search engines take into account the domain tld when compiling their results. This means that when you search from Ireland .ie domains are given preference over other domain types. Also with a .ie domain you are more likely to find a domain name that you want as there are less registered then a .com for example.
However if you own a business that is looking to expand into other countries or move its products onto the web to reach a global market, then a non localised tld would be a better choice such as a .com , .net, .info.


So what if you are setting up a brand new website that is going to be an entirely web based project. Well assuming you want to receive visitors to the site the domain and tld is more important than ever?
If you want to reach as many people as possible then one of the global tlds would best. Take a look at the different Domain Name tlds. It would also be of benefit to choose a domain name that contained one or more of the keywords you want the site to be found under. for example if you were setting up a jobs site then finding a domain name with the word “jobs” in it would be a good choice.


From a users point of view a domain name with no hyphens is easier to remember and type into the url. However you have to remember that most of your visitors are going to find you in a search engine such as Google and using hyphen can enable you to get a better choice of domain name and also allow for better separation of keywords.

So why should you register a .ie rather than a .com or a .org or any other domain type?


Search Results

We all want our sites to be found and get visitors, well often when you search from Google.ie you will find that .ie domains appear above those such as .com and .org. This is because when compiling search results Google takes the country you are searching from into account and the .ie domain signifies that the site is from Ireland and of Irish interest.


Interested in registering an available .ie domain name ? check availability by following the link.


This means that if you have and Irish business or site particularly of Irish interest, it would definitely be best to register a .ie domain.


Trust

The .com, .org , .net and so on Domain names are available for anyone to register which means people who have legitimate businesses and reasons can get the domain, but also any unscrupulous individuals could also register the domain. However this is different for the .ie domain. The IEDR (Irish Domain Registery) require specific information from any registrant of a .ie domain.


For eg. if you are registering your domain for a business, then they require you to be a registered business and to give them your RBN (registered business number). They will also want to know what you plan to use the Domain for; this may seem like a lot of effort, but what it ensures is that the .ie domain name remains one of the most trusted TLDs.


Registering a .ie Domain Name

So what is the process of getting a .ie domain. Well first you will need to choose a domain name and ensure that it is available to be registered. You can check ie domain availability through our domain checking tool. You can also check for other domain names.


So know that you know it is available you will need to order it. Once you have ordered it, this reserves the domain (for 30 days, this can be extended if needed) so that it cannot be registered by someone else. The reservation of the domain allows you to gather the information you will need for the IEDR (don’t be put off by this, as I will explain this is quite simple for most registrants). Once you have satisfied the IEDR that you should have the domain then  the domain becomes registered to you for the period of one year. When renewing a .ie domain, you will not need to provide new information, it is simply a case of paying the renewal invoice just as with any other domain.


There a several registration types and the requirements from the IEDR can vary but the main ones are:


Individual Name (yourname.ie) requires: a scan or fax of a passport or a utility bill


Business Name (yourbusiness.ie) requires: a fax, or  scan of headed paper outlining what the use of the domain will be. You will also need to let us know what your RBN is.


If you want to see a full and detailed outline of all the types of domains you can register with the IEDR see our copy of their domain registration policy


So in summary a .ie domain name can be of great benifit for your business or for getting visitors to a site of Irish interest. The .ie Domain helps build trust between you and your online customers. Also because there are restrictions on the .ie domain name, it is more likely that your chosen domain will be available.

Due to a sudden change in the .RU Registry registration policy, every holder of a .RU domain name is now required to provide supporting documents to prove their identity.
If the domain name is registered under a legal person name (company), one of the following documents is required:

1 a certificate of registration

or

2  an excerpt from the commercial register

More generally any official document confirming that the holder of this domain name is a legal entity duly registered in its state of incorporation.

If your domain name is registered under a natural person name (individual), one of the following document is required:

1. a passport copy

or

2. an ID card copy

Please note that the documents have to be readable, personal details and date of issue have to be obvious.

Also note that website copies or screenshots are not considered as a valid document.

The document can be emailed to us or faxed to us on

+353 (0) 51 843466.

We would like to make you aware that as of the 8 April 2010 there will be a reduction in the length of a time a ticket (Registration request or Modification request) can  stay in the IEDR (IE domain registery) ticket queue. Currently, a ticket can remain in the system  for 30 days. As of the 8 April 2010 this will reduce to 27 days.

The reason for this is to do with the IEDR’s payment processing system, whereby credit card authorisations are valid for a 27 day period only. And so they wish to bring thier respective systems into line.