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When purchasing a domain for your business, you'll be presented with a number of options designed to optimize your virtual experience. One of these choices is the top level domain or extension -- which often means choosing between the .com, .net and .org versions of your Web address. Purchasing all three might seem superfluous, but if your budget allows it, it's well worth the expense. By doing so, you're creating less confusion for customers, clients and investors when they try to locate your online presence, and guarding your brand against a future competitor looking to move in on your organization's success.

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What are gTLDs?
Generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, were originally designed to indicate the nature of the site. The .com extension was used for commercial business domain registrations, .net was for companies focused on networking and technology, and .org was reserved for non-profit organizations. The sheer number of domain registrants made the practice of selecting based on industry impossible, though, and ICANN, the organization that regulates the global domain name system, deemed these three popular extensions unrestricted and available for registration by the general public.

Start with .Com
The .com extension is the most common top-level domain that most people type when they're entering a URL and it's also the first to be listed in a search engine, so focus on purchasing the .com first. If your domain name is already registered to someone else, refrain f rom rushing into the purchase and development of the identical .net o r .org. People typically default to .com, so you could potentially be leading them away f rom your business and bolstering your competition's site. Inc. Magazine recommends using a WHOIS search to locate and contact the domain owner with a purchase offer o r otherwise simply rebranding and renaming your company around an available .com.

Next Purchase .Net
The .net extension, which stands for "network," was once reserved for companies primarily involved with networking but, as with the others, is open for purchase f rom the general public. It is considered to be the second most important domain name and should be your second purchase once you've acquired the .com for your company.

Non-Profits and Purchasing .ORG
There's one exception to starting with the .com. If you're a non-profit organization, start by purchasing the .org as that's the domain extension most commonly associated with non-profits. Most domain providers sell .org domains for slightly less than their .net counterparts and you might qualify for further discounts with proof of 501(c)3 tax exempt status. Even if your company or organization is not non-profit, though, your third purchase should still be the .org.

Other Extensions
If budget allows for additional purchases, it's always a good idea to acquire as many additional extension variations as possible -- and there are dozens available. Additionally, companies with an international customer base might also decide to purchase country-specific domains -- .ja for Japan o r .uk for the United Kingdom, for example. Inc. Magazine suggests purchasing misspellings of your name with varied extensions, too. This allows for future expansion of your business, eliminates companies who might draw traffic away f rom your site, and prevents individuals f rom purchasing similar domains and charging you excessive fees when you decide you want them later.