25 Rules for choosing the right domain name

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"25 Rules for choosing the right domain name:"

1. Choose “.com” domains – In choosing the right domain name for your business it is of much greater importance to choose .com top-level domains/ TLDs because of the popularity that .com names bring. People know that most new businesses have websites ending in .com so it will be easier for them to remember your domain name, compared to if it is ending in .net or .org or .biz, etc.  Of course, businesses located in other countries other than US may be an exemption. Instead of using .com, they may use .uk (if in the UK), .au (if in Australia), .de (if in Germany), .cn (if in China), .ca (if in Canada), and so on and so forth.

2. Other extensions – Once you have decided on a good domain name with a .com ending then you might also want to purchase as many of its other extensions as well and then redirect those to your main site, your .com domain name. For instance, if you’re able to buy the domain name sallysfoodblog.com then register sallysfoodblog.net, sallysfoodblog.biz, sallysfoodblog.info, etc. as well, then redirect all of them to sallysfoodblog.com. Doing this has 2 key benefits: 1) when people accidentally type in sallysfoodblog.net then they will automatically be taken to the site sallysmusicblog.com and, 2) it will prevent other people (who possibly want to steal traffic away from your site) from purchasing domains that are similar to yours but just with a different domain name extension.

3. Industry jargon – Another good strategy in purchasing domain names is to use industry jargon or terms that are specific to your site’s niche. Doing this can increase your site’s credibility in the eyes of visitors – particularly those who know all about the jargon in your industry.

4. Easy to understand – Make sure that when someone encounters your domain name for the very first time, they should be able to grasp right away what your site or business is all about.

5. Better be short! – A short domain name simply is easier for visitors to remember, and also easier for them to type. It is also easier for people to share to others.

6. Memorable – If you can easily recall a domain name after you have heard it just once, then you have found a memorable domain name. Use it.

7. Unique – Also use a unique domain name as it also easier to remember.

8. Brandable – Before Google.com was that brandable and extremely valuable, nobody knew what “Google” was or what it meant. You can also choose a clever yet brandable domain name but just make sure to not get too carried away. A simple brandable domain name can go a long way in giving instant popularity to your website.

9. Avoid slang – Don’t use slang spellings for your domain name no matter how much you want to create a brandable name out of it. It would be easy for people to mistype your URL and be taken to a different website so don’t use “u” for “you” or other similar slang versions.

10. Refer to a Thesaurus – If you find it difficult to come up with a new domain name, grab a Thesaurus or go to Thesaurus.com to find good synonyms to words that best describe your business or website.

11. Easy to spell – As much as possible prefer a domain name that has only one possible spelling. Most people find it difficult to spell, let alone remember your site’s name and its spelling.

12. Easy to type – The easier it is to type a domain name, the more effective it will be.

13. No hyphens, please – Avoid using hyphenated domain names. Not only can people forget where its hyphen or hyphens go, a hyphenated domain name can direct people instead to other similar domains with no hyphens and lose you significant traffic (i.e. instead of a visitor going to your domain name johns-carpeting.com, he types johnscarpeting.com instead (without hyphen) and is then taken to a competitor’s website). Also, hyphenated domain names often seem like a cheap version to similar domain names without hyphens. Instead of registering johns-carpeting.com, a much better domain choice would be johnscarpeting.com (again, without hyphen).

14. Avoid substituting numerals – As much as possible do not to use the numerals “4″ as replacement for “for” or “2″ as replacement for “to”, etc. Having numerals in a domain name can sometimes work just okay but often they can be very confusing and difficult to remember.

15. DON’T use the numeral “0″ – The numeral “0″ (or zero) is often mistaken for letter “O” so as much as possible, don’t use it! Spell out the word “zero” instead.  

16. Singular or Plural? – Most of the time, domain names using the plural sound much better than using its singular, for instance educationinsuranceplans.com (with ‘s’) versus educationalinsuranceplan.com (without ‘s’). On the other hand it would also be best if you purchase both the plural and the singular domain names to avoid directing your visitors, again to a possible competitor website. Just redirect the other one to the better sounding domain name whether singular or plural.

17. Keyword optimized – Pick a domain name that has keywords closely related to your type of business. This will boost your site’s SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and it get more traffic.

18. Type-in traffic – Traffic can also come to your website from people who use the browser URL bar in doing their searches. When these people type in their search phrase including the extension “.com” into the browser bar, and if your domain name is an exact match, then you domain will have greater chances of receiving more traffic plus increase its SEO as well.

19. Dropped domains – Sometimes good domain names can become “dropped” or become unregistered, which normally happens when a company or business can no longer afford the domain’s renewal fee or simply had just forgotten to pay for it. These dropped domain names then become available for anyone to purchase which is a good chance for you to find a good domain name.

20. Domain auctions – A domain auction can also be a great source in finding the best domain name for your business at a fair price.

21. Price – Registering a new domain name typically costs $10 a year but if you buy one from an auction, it could cost anywhere ranging from $5 dollars to hundreds or thousands of dollars (plus annual renewal fee). Still, this is a good chance to find only top notch domain names for your business.

22. Copyright issues – Beware: Avoid being fooled and getting yourself in trouble. Some domain names for sale only infringe existing copyrights so make sure that you check with the US Copyright Office’s search feature before buying a particular domain name.

23. Commercially appealing – Don’t forget: the final domain name you pick should also be highly marketable or with good commercial appeal. Hint: if you think a domain name sounds good or would look good in a commercial or on a billboard, then it is highly marketable.

24. Brainstorm – Finally, if you still cannot think of a good domain name for your business then you can exchange ideas with friends or family members and see what you can come up with. Think of as many words or word combinations that are related to your business or website’s niche. List them all down and in no time you’d be able to come up with your top  3 best domain name options. The next step then would be to check which one is still available.

25. Start Now! – Decide on a good domain name as soon as you can. Someone else might just thought of the same domain name and beat you to purchasing it so hurry! Good luck!