Domain.

A domain is read from right to left. On the far right is the top-level domain (TLD): country-specific such as .ch, .li or .de, generic such as .com or .org, or thematic and geographic such as .swiss or .zuerich. To its left is the actual name, the second-level domain. Anything in front of that is a subdomain: www.example.ch, shop.example.ch and app.example.ch are three subdomains of the same domain and can point to entirely different systems.

For .ch and .li domains the SWITCH foundation is the registry, meaning the body that keeps the central directory. Registration, however, goes through a registrar — a provider with whom you order, pay for and manage the domain. A domain is not bought but rented for one year at a time, and it renews as long as the fee is paid. If it lapses, it becomes free again after a grace period — and can be registered by someone else.

The most important point for SMEs is the holder. Whoever is entered in the register as holder legally owns the domain. If the agency, the web designer or a former employee is entered there, the entire online presence, email included, depends on a person outside the company. With every registration the company itself should be the holder, with a working company address as the contact; the agency can be entered as the technical contact.

When choosing a name, memorability and clarity count for more than keywords. A domain such as best-plumber-zurich.ch brings hardly any ranking advantage and looks generic. The sensible choice is usually the company name with .ch, plus the most important typo or hyphen variants, which point to the main domain via a 301 redirect. A .com is worth having if the business is international or competitors would otherwise take it.