The domain names as we know is a very handy way to specify which website we want to visit, but that was not the same way before the domain name system existed. Before this, servers should specify a numeric address known as IP address which in their original form were 4 numbers separated by dots ranging from 0 to 255 like: [ 41.169.24.5 ] and that identified one server on the Internet. IP addresses were unique and the only way to communicate with a computer was giving that IP Address which was like a phone number.
The system worked well, but there was a problem: servers changed the IP Addresses from time to time, so in order to keep communications flowing correctly, lists of the IP addresses should be interchanged frequently between all the servers that wanted to communicate. Imagine if you have to do that today, the Internet will be clogged by the sheer number of requests to satisfy those exchanges.
Then the domain name system was invented. This was a central database were all those underlying IP addresses were stored and consulted right before establishing a communication with another machine, instead of communicating the server directly with the other. As the DNS kept all underlying IP addresses current, each server only has to query the DNS to translate the domain into the underlying IP address to know exactly where to go.
Domains On The Early Days Of The Internet
Domains were free at first and when the era of Internet commerce was beginning to emerge, people were taking them fast, but when people noticed that those domains got traffic immediately, the domains got snapped really fast. Savvy entrepreneurs know that advertising if expensive and if some asset could get visibility without expending money, then that asset is very valuable and they were free!. Soon domains were costing $60 a year, extraordinary expensive for the price that you can get one today, but very cheap if you consider that good generic domains are extremely valuable as: loans.com sold by 3 million dollars en such.
Generic domains got a special kind of traffic known as: "type in traffic", which happen when a user opens their browser, Mozilla Firefox for example and go directly to a location on the Internet without going first to Google or any other place. With this kind of traffic you don't have to spend on publicity and it is much easier to be profitable. Although the opportunity of type in traffic is now almost gone, you could generate your own type in traffic building a brand publishing content in the correct way.
Choosing Your Domain With Branding On Mind
Brands tend to have short names. Domain names have been snapped so fast that it is already very difficult to have a short name, so try to make it memorable and avoid generic names that aren't easy to remember. The best brand names are the ones that communicate something about the product or service. Some time ago, I registered the domain: www.KidneyStonesAway to promote the product: Kidney Stones Removal Report By Joe Barton and as you can see, the domain is excellent for branding purposes, not SEO oriented as you won't find exact match keywords for the phrases that I was trying to promote.
Publishing With Branding On Mind
If you want to publish content on the web, you have a lot of web 2.0 properties to choose which are free and you could publish your content in your own domain. If you publish content on web 2.0 properties and the content is good enough, through time, you will be developing links to those articles and those will get traffic from people going from link to link in the Internet. The amount of traffic available through this is enormous and you should not underestimate it, but if your content gets moved or simply the site disappears, you will lose all the traffic coming from those links even if you managed to save your content with a backup.
I don't say that publishing on web 2.0 platforms is wrong, but you should publish most of your content in your own domain, that way you could control your destiny and focus more on the long term.
Brand development is build with consistent work and keeping all your efforts to satisfy people with the main promise of your website.
