Are you writing for publication?

If I get signed on to an agency will I need to travel to meet with the agent?
This depends on the agent. I believe that many agents request their client to visit at least once to kind of get things out there, talk honestly, see each other face-to-face, however I am quite sure that you shall be able to discuss everything over the phone and through email as yet. My suggestions? Query and try to get an agent before you think about this; you can always decide later and agents will probably understand if you cannot travel.

Does word counts, really matter?
Yes, word counts do really matter! The longer your work, the more paper will be required for the printing, so most literary agents and editors have an average word count for each genre they try to stick to make their publishing easier. If your novel is extremely long, you will most likely be asked to CUT part of its length (e.g. 500,000 to 300,000, etc.). But yes, word counts do matter, and if possible, stick to the average word counts in the business.

And is it common to use ones own name or a fictitious name when getting published?
I think this depends on the author. Some people use pen names that fit the market (i.e. a "romantic" name for a romance, etc.), while others do it for security measures or privacy, while others just don't want their real name associated with the published work. So you just decide.

Hope that helps! Check out sources online and Writer's Market for more answers.