Choosing a Good Domain

Although domain registration is no longer expensive, finding a good domain name that is available can seem like an impossible task.

You will probably not find an available domain that is made up of any single word in the dictionary. Even if one does become available, these are so heavily back ordered, that getting one is not realistic.

The best approach is to decide on 3 or 4 words that describe your business or website. Then, play around with those words until you come up with something that is fairly easy to read with no spaces between them and/or fairly easy to pronounce or spell.

Since most of us end up advertising our web addresses (URL) via electronic means, your end user will, in most cases, only need to click on your website address as a link somewhere – whether it be in an e-mail, search engine or some other website. So don’t worry if your domain is not perfectly easy to spell or pronounce…but it should be sensible and recognizable.

Unless you plan on promoting your website on the radio or thru a lot of audio media, it doesn’t have to be as easy to say/spell as amazon.com, yahoo.com or ebay.com – that kind of easy to say/spell domain basically does not exist anymore. Those days are probably over.

However, you should avoid “cute-sie” play on words types of phrases. Don’t think of your domain as a personalized license plate that makes people guess at what you mean.

For example, if your website is selling e-books, avoid the “ebooks4u2read2day.com” kind of domain. Some people use numerals to create abbreviated words, but it is usually confusing to the eye. Use numerals carefully, if you must use them at all. They are best at the beginning of a domain and not in place of a word.

Also avoid hyphens if you can – unless it really helps clarify your domain. Some words MUST have a hyphen in between them to avoid creating some other word. That should be just about the only reason to use a hyphen. A good example of hyphen use is this: paint-it-right.com. Without the hyphens, that domain can look downright vulgar!

If you must use a hyphen, keep it consistent thru the domain. Don’t hyphenate some of the words. This is a BAD use of hyphens: my-newwebsite.com. This would be better: my-new-website.com. But, this is best: mynewwebsite.com.

Dot “COMS” are always better than other TLD’s. Although, you can often get a .NET version of a domain you cannot get a .COM for, be mindful that people will probably inadvertently look for you at the .COM first. If there is already another site by your same name, you could be sending traffic to your competitor. It is better to have a less desirable .com than an easy to say/spell .net (or .biz, etc.)

When it comes to the look, “feel” and sound of a domain, it should describe the site as best it can and still be sensible when you read it. Some of my favorite domains that fit this standard are:

pushbuttonpublishing.com (easy to remember)

ezwebstudio.com (describes the product)

bonboncharms.com (name of the company and product in one easy-to-say phrase)

audiospots.com (easy to say; short domain)

247webtalk.com (proper use of numerals)

10billionfiles.com (proper use of numerals that describes the site)

info-on-the-web.com (good use of hyphens)

the-com-artist.com (proper use of hyphens with play on words that describes the business)

mrgoodbrush.com (just the name of the company alone is a great domain)

Good online tools for researching good and available domains are at instantdomainsearch.com, nameboy.com and deleteddomains.com. All of these sites help you by searching for and displaying what is available, as well as domains that are similar to what you are looking for. You can always register your domain at teknondomains.com

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