Ten Tips For A Great Domain Name

Location. Location. Location. That’s the common phrase you’ll hear when it comes to considering a physical location for your business. It’s what will have a significant effect on the price you pay for your brick and mortar business  location, too.

Just as you needed to take time and carefully consider naming and locating your physical business, you’ll need to do the same thing when it comes time to establish a business on the Internet. You will need a Domain Name – the common English representation of your online business. If you’re new to the online world of business, commonly referred to as  eCommerce, here are some pointers for you to consider when naming your online enterprise.

1. Make It Unique

Be sure to make your domain as unique as possible. The more unique your name is, the better it is for branding purposes. Also, make sure that the name is not too close to an existing domain name or does not contain a  trademarked name or phrase. Choosing a name too similar to one for an already established firm is going to work  against you.

2. Dot-Coms FIRST

Whenever possible use only a “.com” extension. This will save your potential customers a lot of confusion. Despite what the originators of the internet intended when creating the various extensions (.com, .biz, .net, .org, .info, etc.) people still make an automatic assumption that all domain names end in “.com”. So use that to your advantage.

3. Think Of The End Result

Search Engine Optimization is a field unto itself – but it simply means doing everything you can to have your website listed at the top of the major search engines for your chosen keywords. These key words should describe what your  website will be about.

Put yourself in your potential customers position. Try to think of what someone looking for the product or service you offer would type into a search engine to try and find it. For instance, if you have a service to help people with their  resumes, they might type (I Need A Better Resume). Your domain name could be something like BetterResume.com or  ResumeHelper.com

4. Make it Easy to Remember

Your domain name should be something that most people find easy to remember. Think of if you have to tell  somebody what your name is. Will they be able to remember it without writing it down.

5. Keep it Short/Simple

Keep your domain name short and to the point. Having a shorter name plays into how easy it is to remember, and how easy it is to type correctly. Remember the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle.

6. Avoid hyphens and numbers

Stay away from hyphens or numbers in your domain name. Domain names can only be letters, numbers, and dashes.  Using numbers (such a 4 instead of for) can add to confusion and lost opportunities.

7. Make it Relevant

Try to keep your domain name descriptive and relevant to your content. When someone hears it, or sees it for the first time, it should give them a general idea of what your website is all about. In other words, your domain name should be  a bit intuitive. This will help people find you when searching for what you are selling.

If you are selling dog collars, a domain like woof.com, while being “in the vicinity,” does not really tell them that you are selling dog collars.

8. Skip Something Trendy

Don’t try to be trendy or hip or catch the latest fad. That is, unless your website is specifically targeting those people who think they are trendy and hip. Or you are selling something related to the latest fad going around.

What passes for hip now will likely fade into the background and work against you in the long run. Remember that your domain name is quite possibly the very first thing your potential customers see or hear of you.

9. Watch for Dual Meanings

Some people have registered and used domain names without really looking into other ways in which they could be interpreted.

therapistfinder.com can be thought of as “therapist finder” OR “the rapist finder”
penisland.com can be seen in two ways as well “pen island” OR “penis land”
madriver.com might be either “ma driver” OR “mad river”

10. Register Using a Major Registrar

Stick with one of the major players when registering your domain name. You might pay a few dollars more for the  name, but those few extra dollars might save you from hours and hours of trouble in the long run. Don’t go to some out  of the way place who you’ve never heard of just to try to save a few bucks.  Your domain name is not the place to try  and save.

Who are some reputable registrars? Places like Network Solutions, Go Daddy, Bulk Register, eNom, HostGator, and  Yahoo to name a few.

There you have it, my tips on creating a long-lasting, great domain name.  If you’d like help brainstorming your domain name, feel free to contact me using the Contact link above.