16 Tips For Choosing A Domain Name

Use Keyword Research

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

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

For example, if you're launching a weight loss related website, 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 match.

If you are building a site in a very competitive niche, you need to be very creative when selecting your URL.

Domain should be Site Name

Selecting is very important, for the simple reason that when people think of your website, they'll think of it by name and if it's also your URL, they 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 name that reflects your site or business.

Generic vs Brand Name Domains

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

I feel when choosing your name it needs to matches your website theme.

Selecting your domain should match what types of products you are selling and/or promoting.

It is also the easiest thing for people to remember and whatever is easily remembered they can find you.

Long vs Short 

Even though they can be up to 67 characters, don't settle for a domain like lwfg.com when what you mean is LoseWeightFeelGood.com.

Selecting 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.

Short ones 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 names does have a huge disadvantage in which you may lose traffic to your competitor's site that does not have hypens as many people may type the name right in.

If you selected a domain name to use but it 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 one.

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 registrar suggests alternate forms and many times these are for sale at a high cost.

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

COM, NET, ORG etc?

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

With over 80 million ".coms" 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 won't open their pocket book to you but just call their attorneys and let them deal with you.

Choosing a trademarked name could 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