Choosing a domain name is a crucial step when starting a new website, It is becoming increasingly difficult to find the perfect domain name for wesites, but there are still some good domains available.
When picking a domain name it is best to keep it short and simple. First your domain name should match your website name. It could become confusing not to see a variation of site title in the URL.
There two types of domain names, generic domains and brandable domains.
Generic domain names are domains such as “table.com” or “chair.com”. Most (if not all) short generic domain names have been reserved by domainers whos huge domain portfolios collect ad revenue by type-in traffic. Short generic domains are an expensive investment, unless you have a large budget these names will be out of reach.
Domains that contain keywords that apply to your industry will help your customers remember your website better.
Longer generic domains are still available, but the longer the domain the harder it will be to remember and spell correctly. Examples of longer generic domains could be HotSauceKits.com which is already taken ;)
Many large companies purchase generic domains to benefit from the targeted traffic they bring in. For Example: Barnes and Noble owns Book.com & Books.com, nice assets for their brand.
Brandable domain names are easier to find, they are usually shorter and easy to pronounce and spell. An example of a brandable domain name is nuzle.com or yocti.com. They don’t have meanings, but could be turned into website brands.
Brandable domains can be turned into memorable identities. They are also make good blog names, out of Technorati's Top 100 blogs most of them have brandable domains names.
.com is the most commonly used top-level domain extension on the internet. It was created for commercial businesses, However, anyone is allowed to have a “.com” address, for business or not. Recently, many new TLDs have been introduced. Some cater to specific industries and others to specific countries. While it’s not possible to cover every variation it is best to stick with .com domains.
There are many domain extensions available, try to register a domain with a .com suffix. It is the most common and the first that people type in when trying to find websites.
Short domains are more memorable than longer ones, it is best to keep domains 7-8 characters or less.
Unless you are looking for a legal battle, don’t register trademarks as domains.
Hyphens and numbers in a domain are confusing and should be avoided if possible. Avoid using “4” for “four” or “2” for “to”. If you do register a domain with numbers, make sure to reserve both variations.
If reputation and name recognition in your field is important, such as with consultants, writers, or other professionals, consider using your name as your domain.
Consider buying common misspellings of your domain to protect against competitors and domain squatters leveraging your brand or site name for traffic.
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