Picking a Good Domain Name for Your Website

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 5:26 pm

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Picking a Good Domain Name for Your Website.

Choosing a good domain name is not as easy today as it was years ago and it is getting harder every day.

Short and to the point names are scarce.

There are more websites and registered domain names than the entire population of the planet.

There are many factors that have to be considered before deciding on a domain name.

What is the purpose of your domain?

Are you selling something?

Is it going to be an extension of your current business?

Or is it primarily personal or informational?

If you want your domain name to be typed into a search engine browser easily then keep it short and do not use numbers or hyphens.

If you want your domain to have three or more words then hyphens are an option to consider and search engines like dashes that separate keywords, but people don’t.

The length of your domain name comes down to what your website is about and what products or services you are selling.

There are a great number of experts that will tell you to put keywords related to your content into the title of your domain.

This is not necessary.

It is necessary to try and have it somehow related to your content but most importantly it should be easy to find and to remember, the shorter the better.

You can add all the keywords that you want into the page titles and folders.

Using the .com extension is preferred, but if it is not available you can try .net, but this is not recommended.

Try to always use .com, even if you have to change the domain name somewhat.

You can save time searching the availability of names that you want by using these two sites: bustaname.com, and domainsbot.com.

Use them both and compare the results.

The Most Common Extensions

• .COM: Short for .commercial
• .NET: Short for .network
• .ORG: Short for .organization

The Basic Don’ts for Domains

• it should not be difficult to spell
• only use .com when available
• don’t use hyphens or dashes unless you are using keywords
• try to avoid using numbers
• keep it as short as possible
• try to avoid using personalized words like: my, the, your

When you register your domain name definitely go with an established registrar.

Shop around and see who is offering the best deal at the moment.

You can often find good coupon discounts for registering and hosting at sites like: web-host-coupons.com.

If you are in a serious business then you may want to register names similar to your own and the other available extensions for your domain name.

You can always forward the other names that you register to your main domain by changing the DNS settings.

Always use the same registrar because it is easier to keep them all in one place.

You can use Yahoo domains, Godaddy, Names, or any well established registrar.

Read reviews about the registrar before you make a final decision.

Remember when you are investing in a domain name it is a reflection of you and your business.

Picking a good domain name is the second most important decision you’ll make when establishing an Internet presence.