16 Tips For Choosing A Domain Name

Use Keyword Research

When you first begin your domain name search, it helps to start by choosing 5-7 keyword words or phrases which best describe the website you will be creating.

Start by adding prefixes, pair them up or use suffixes to create good domain name ideas.

For example, if you're launching a weight loss related domain, you might choose  words like "diet, lose weight, flat abs, control weight, diet control", then play around with the words until you find a good name match.

If you are building a site in a very competitive niche, you will need to be very creative when searching for a new name.

Domain Name should be Website Name

Choosing a domain name for its website name is very important, for the simple reason that when people think of your website, they'll think of it by name and if your name is also your URL, they will automatically know where to find you.

For example, when people think of Create A Website Tutorial, they don't have to wonder what URL to type into their browser to get there. The name of the site is also the URL.

People automatically turn to the Web for information and it pays to have a domain name that reflects your site or business.

Generic Names vs Brand Name Domains

A number of people believe your domain name must be some generic name like "diet.com" if you are selling weight loss products.

I feel when choosing a domain name it needs to matches your brand name.

The very name you choose to advertise your product is the name you would want for your domain as that is the first thing people will type in their browser.

It is also the easiest thing for them to remember, and whatever that is easily remembered, will be more likely to be tried out than the obscure domain name.

Long vs Short Domain Names

Even though domain names can be of any length up to 67 characters, don't settle for an domain name like lwfg.com when what you mean is LoseWeightFeelGood.com.

Shorter domain names are much easier to remember, to type and far less susceptible to typos.

Others argue a longer domain name is easier on the human memory as we are more likely to remember the name.

Short names are getting extremely difficult to register but one big advantage to using words in your URL instead of letters is that it helps the search engines.

Hyphenated Names

The jury is still out on if this truly matters with the search engines. Choosing any hyphenated domain names does have a huge disadvantage and that is you may lose traffic to your competitor's site that does not have hypens as many people will type the name right in.

If you have a domain name that you want to use but the name is already taken in the top level (dot com), but other ones are available (dot net, dot info, etc) then go ahead and register those along with the hyphenated name.

You don't need to create web pages for the non-hyphenated domains, just forward those to your main domain.

Plurals, "the", "my" and "your"

If the domain name you have chosen is not available, the domain name registrar suggests alternate forms of the name and many times these are for sale at a high cost.

If you are able to find a plural, "the", "my", and "your" of the name you are trying to register, then you may want to buy it. But make sure when you are promoting the site, use the full name.

COM, NET, ORG etc?

Dot com is the leading extension used for domain names. Even though it is not essential, choosing a dot com extension is the best bet for your domain. 

With over 80 million ".com" registered URLs, it is the most popular, with “.net”, “.org”, ”.info”, "biz" and ".us" lagging very far behind in popularity, which is according to the ICANN Wiki.

Since people are so used to the .com, many just type that into the browser by default.

Avoid Trademarked Names

Some years ago, people were registering many trademarked names and then selling them back to the company and making a huge profit.

That is not the case any more. The big companies will not open their pocket book to you but just call their attorneys and let them deal with you.

Choosing a trademarked name will lead to a huge headache for you. So just avoid registering them.

See Choosing a Domain Name - Part 2

.com .us .net .org .biz .info .ws .com  .us  .biz .info  .net  .org .ws  .name  .tv  .cc .de  .jp  .be  .at .uk  .nz  .cn  .tw