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Advanced Tips for Choosing a Domain Name

Now that you have a general idea of how to go about Choosing Your Domain Name, here are some tips on creating a domain that not only defines the purpose of your website, but can easily be remembered or indexed. In some cases, certain aspects are more important than others. Remember, these are suggestions, not rules.

At the beginning of 2014 there have been hundreds more domains made available. From .club to .ninja, the possibilities have expanded greatly. That is why we start with the first suggestion:

Keep it Simple

Try to find a domain name that only has one possible spelling. Choosing a simple domain name without confusing spelling will make it easier for visitors to reach your website.

Shorter is Better

The shorter your domain name is, the easier it is for your visitors to remember, type and tell others about. Try using 6-10 consecutive characters.

Avoid Hyphens

Hyphens can really get someone lost. Not to mention, it can be difficult to embed the hyphen into someone's memory. If mydomain.com is taken and you decide to order my-domain.com because it is available, there is a great chance you will end up getting people lost at mydomain.com.

Consider Other Extensions

If you find the perfect domain name ending in .com then it usually is a great idea to pick up other extensions like .net, .org, .info, .us, etc. as you can park these domains to point to your actual account to pick up any visitors that just may happen to type in a different extension.

Keep it Singular

This follows the same reasoning applied for avoiding hyphens. If mydomain.com is taken and you pick mydomains.com, there is a good chance you will be sending your traffic to mydomain.com as most domains are singular rather than plural. This is not so much the case when it comes to picking keyword rich domains.

Use WHOIS

If someone owns a domain you want, and you see it is not in use, run a WHOIS to find the owner and communicate your interest in obtaining the domain.

Make it Keyword Rich

While this does not significantly impact SEO, it can help. For instance, if people are searching for "Texas motor events," texasmotorevents.com could be a great domain to buy for the mere fact that it is exactly what people are searching for.

Consider Type-In-Traffic

This is applicable when someone navigates directly to a website by simply typing in what they are looking for followed by “.com” in their browser's URL bar. This goes hand-in-hand with the previous tip of choosing a keyword rich domain.

Avoid Numeral Substitutions

Numeral substitutions just really do not work. Tell someone your site is "advanc3.com" and you are guaranteed confusion.

Avoid Slang

This is for the same reason as avoiding numeral substitutes. For instance, ursite.com is a bad subsitute for yoursite.com

Make it Brandable

In the early days of the internet, no one knew what Google, Yahoo!, or Facebook was going to be. But now they do, and those domains are highly brandable. It does not hurt to get creative with your domain name in anticipation of future branding.

Avoid Copyright Issues

The last thing you want is legal trouble over your domain name.

Use a Thesaurus

Look for alternative words if something you want is already taken. This is a great way to come up with a creative name; however, make sure your alternative word is something that can be remembered and spelled properly.

Industry Relation

If you are selling products or offering services online then it is a great idea to use a domain that is related to your industry. This is a secondary "fall-back" if you cannot find a domain to match your actual business name. In an instance like this industry-related domains are better suited for online sources or communities.

Brainstorm

Take your time and put some real thought into it. If you have a business partner or someone you closely trust, work together to brainstorm a name. In most cases, you will already have a name if your site is going to be business related.

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