Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Domain Names : Domain Name Tutorials : 9 Tips to Choose a Great Domain Name

[MikeyMells]

Tip #1: Always use your business name as the domain name. Your visitors should have only one name to remember your business - be it your business or your domain name.

Tip #2: Your domain name should be short and/or easy to remember. The limit is 67 characters. Domain names that are short and easy to remember names make it easier for your visitors to visit you repeatedly.

Tip #3: In addition to Tip #2, avoid using more than 4 words in your domain name. For example, avoid www.getyourbestcomputerdeals.com. It is both difficult to remember and type. Having said so, it is increasing difficult to buy short domain names.

Tip #4: On top of registering a domain using your business name, register another domain name that is related to your business sector: For example, register www.dell.com and register www.computers.com. You can point both domain names to the same website. Use popular keywords when you do this.

Tip #5: If you have a domain name that is easily misspelled, you should also register the misspelled domain name. Why would you want to do this? Simple, your visitor will still get to you when they misspelled your domain name.

Tip #6: If you need to use abbreviations, use only those that made sense and/or easy to remember. For example, instead of using www.instituteofmentalhealth.com, it might be easier to use www.imh.com.

Tip #7: Avoid using hyphenated domain names. The advantage of hyphenated domain names is that it is easier to spot when printed. For example: www.institute-of-mental-health.com is easier to read as compared to www.instituteofmentalhealth.com. The downside is when the domain name is communicated verbally. To really make sure the person you talk to get to your website, you have to pronounce it as "www dot institute hyphen of hyphen mental hyphen health dot com" as compared to pronouncing it "www dot institute of mental health dot com". It is such a pain.

Tip #8: Avoid using "to" or "for" in your domain name. It can be confusing as your visitors may type "2" or "4" instead.

Tip #9: Avoid using numbers in your domain name. Similar to Tip #6, your visitors may type in the number in full instead of using the numeric key.

[bear]

Moved to domain name tutorials

[frattay22]

nicely written, i will add a link to this in my newsletter as it is helpful to the type of people that i work with

[iJake]

You could add to tip #8 to buy both number and words to avoid confusion if or for is in the domain

[shadows123]

hmm or..the easiest way..there are applications for this sorta things..write two words and it'll give ya a domain name. that's easiest..never used it.. lol

[casitecenter]

nice tool to find web 2 suitable names
http://www.lightsphere.com/dev/web20.html


best regards

[Acorns]

Very nice tips may i add, and yes i agree with tip 8 and 9 i have seen many sites lose visitors like that a example would be youtube, they kind of got sued by utube to changed their domain name so many people who want to vist youtube instead type in utube

[Hastings]

Originally Posted by MikeyMells

Tip #9: Avoid using numbers in your domain name. Similar to Tip #6, your visitors may type in the number in full instead of using the numeric key.

I totally agree with this - But I'd say its fine if you get both the letter and number domain. For example, I own slip7.com, slip7.net, slipseven.com, and slipseven.net.

[spatical]

Fact or Myth? I have heard that if you register for more then one year it can give you a better search ranking?

[kwakkwak]

this is a nice one. But there are so may tuts who say that their way is the best. So you should find your own way.

regards

[JeremyBain]

Thank you for the 9 Tips, if I would have had them when I started in this business, I maybe could have avoided a few REG disasters. Thank you for the tips.

JeremyBain

[julia44]

Interesting comments and suggestions, either way thank you.

[Host Ghost]

1. Check first, if your business name is available. There are business name registers for each county, in some states it is state wide. Do not register a company under a name confusingly similar to somebody else's company.

2. Check TESS, the trademark search engine. Businesses increasingly force private people to give up domain names that use their trademarks. This has been introduced to protect the trademark rights of businesses.

3. Google your name, and see if someone is already running a business with a confusingly similar name.

[gregghall]

Excellent tips and topic. As a domainer and internet marketer it STILL blos me away how many good domain names are still available, and I am talking about TLDs, not crap.

I was amazed in my area how many realtors didn't have the name of our town along with prime keywords such as condos, apartments, etc.

That is a good hint for you guys who want to snap up some cash. I bought 20 in my area and charge the realtors for ad space!

Gregg

When there are not free domain name we must miss some of your tips.
Then we try to find similar domain name with some number on name or hyphenated.