How to Pick a Good Domain Name
A good domain name is relatively short, easy to remember and easy to spell.
As an example, let's say that a company called Otway Floral Gifts Emporium decides on the domain name otwayfloralgiftsemporium.com.
There are several problems with this domain name even though it is their company name.
- The first problem is that it is very long and will be hard for people to type in their browser.
- The words "otway" and "emporium" will be very easy to misspell.
- People might have trouble remembering all the words in the domain name. Four is quite a few!
- The email addresses for this domain name will be very, very long: support@otwayfloralgiftsemporium.com.
Tips for Good Domain Names
- Always try to register your domain name in the .com top level domain. People are used to hearing .com in a domain name so they'll have an easier time remembering your name.
- A short and memorable domain name makes it easier for people to remember your website address, and easier to
type into their Internet browser.
- Catchy names can be very effective. Examples: Yahoo.com, Verio.com, Google.com are all very short and catchy names that are very easy to remember and type.
- Try not to use hyphenated names like sports-fishing.com. The problem with these names is that the name without the hyphen usually belongs to someone else. In the sports-fishing.com example, sportsfishing.com is probably already taken and you run the risk that people will end up on that website becaue they forgot to type in the hyphen.
- Numbers can be a problem because people don't know whether to type the actual number or spell it out. As an example 3sportfishing.com could be spelled threesportfishing.com. If you use a number in your domain name, try to register the numerical version and the spelled out version. That way it doesn't matter whether people spell the name out or not.
- Many, many domain names have already been registered so you may find that the domain name you really want simply isn't available. Try using a thesaurus to come up with alternative words and phrases.
- If you are setting up a company website, always try to register your company name, even if it is long and hard to remember.
Don't worry about it if you can't but do register it if it is available so that someone else can't set up shop under your company name.
- If you are trying to come up with names that work well with search engine strategies, try to use the main keywords you are using in your domain name.
See info on Search Engines for more on this.
- Don't be afraid to be creative. Companies like Google, Yahoo and GoDaddy have done very well with their very unique (and odd) domain names.
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