How to Pick the Right Domain Name

A good domain name is one of the most important things to dwell on when creating your own website. An effective domain name could easily make or break your website. So, here are some tips on how to choose a good domain name.

1. Choose a name that effectively states what your website is about.

Picking the right domain name is the first and the most crucial step when you consider building a website. After all, it’s the first thing potential buyers and visitors will see. It sounds simple but it actually needs a lot of thought. All your choices will eventually affect the popularity of your website, your search engine ranking, and your visitors. Needless to say, your domain name can make or break your site. Here are some considerations when choosing the perfect domain name for your site:

1. Use your company name or product.

Using your company name or product is the most straightforward choice for your domain name. For example, if the name of your company is Venus Beauty, you may consider venusbeauty.com. A keyword-rich title such as beauty.com will push your site higher in the search engine rankings. Thus, a simple redirect from beauty.com to venusbeauty.com will dramatically increase your visitors.

2. It must be easy to remember.

Keep your domain name simple. Your visitors must not have difficulty in remembering it. Notice how large entities are branding their company with initials: KFC for Kentucky Fried Chicken, GE for General Electric and PG for Procter & Gamble. But you have to be careful when doing the same. Abbreviations in domain names only work for companies that have already established a good name. So it’s not advisable to pick vb.com (abbreviation for Venus Beauty) for your site if your visitors barely know what the initial means. Just make sure that your URL is short and is good. It is okay to use a long domain name, but you have to make sure that it is an easy one to remember.

3. It must be pronounceable and has only one way of spelling.

A long and unpronounceable domain name is definitely a no-no. You have to remember that your visitors may come from different nationalities or hail from entirely another country. So you must pick a short and simple domain name. Also make sure that the name only has one spelling. For example, colors.com is the right spelling in the United States. However, colours.com is acceptable in the United Kingdom. An incorrect spelling may mean a lost visitor. But then again, many webmasters deliberately buy a popular misspelling of a domain name to sabotage the competition.

4. Make the domain name unique.

Having a domain name that is very close or sounds very much the same with another website is pointless. For example, it is ridiculous to choose venusbeauty.com if there’s already an existing website called venusbeautiful.com. Make sure that your site is unique to avoid visitors mixing it up with other sites. Do your research and check for the names close to your desired domain name.

5. Make your domain name is keyword-based and go for the branding effect.

There are a number of ways to pick a good domain name. Either you pick a keyword-based domain name or you go for branding. Alternatively, you can mix these two approaches to decide what domain name to use. By using this approach, you will successfully create a branded, keyword-based domain name. This is clearly the top approach.

6. Consider your business and the content of the site.

If your business is about books, then ‘books’ should be the primary keyword. If your business is all about making bags then “making bags” is a good primary keyword suggestion. Check the web to know if your “primary keyword.com” is available.

7. Check out a list of effective keywords.

In case your primary keyword isn’t available, you should choose a keyword that is close or related to it. Use keyword research data to identify related words. Your site will figure prominently in search engine rankings if your keyword phrase has a lot of hits. For example, if your website is about shoes and using the keyword research tool you discovered that the keyword phrase “all about shoes” has a lot of hits in the searches, then you can definitely use it. Find out if it is still available.  The domain allaboutshoes.com could just be the perfect choice for your domain name. This will also give you an advantage in the SEO ranking.

8. Try to stick with .com domain names.

One of the rules of thumb in choosing the right domain name is to register a .com domain name. This is what the majority of internet users all over the world type in the address bar whenever they try to go online. However, if the website you’re putting up is country specific, pick that country’s extension for a better targeted visitor range. You can check to see if someone already owns your ideal domain with the box below.

If your ideal domain is already registered by someone else, try typing it into your browser and see if a proper website is there or not. If all you find is a blank page, a page full of links on a parked domain or that the website looks very out of date, the owners may well sell it to you.

9. Consider all other factors

Here are other considerations when choosing the perfect domain name for your site. First, make sure the domain name doesn’t use any hyphens. Users tend to forget the right placement of the hyphen when they type. In many cases, this leads potential visitors on your competitor’s page. You must also avoid using numbers in your domain name. Moreover, violating anyone’s copyright will put you in serious trouble. Make sure you don’t step into anyone’s shoes.