How To Choose A Domain Name

There are a number of factors that go into picking the perfect domain name for your business. Here are some things to consider:

Should You Pick a Branded or a Keyword Rich Domain Name?
When it comes to picking a domain name, you basically have three choices: a generic name made up of keywords, a branded name (ie Google.com), or an obscurely branded name like del.icio.us. (If you haven’t heard of http://del.icio.us, it’s a website where you can store your bookmarks for others to see.) In most cases, you’ll probably go with either a generic or a branded name, though if you come up with something creative, perhaps the third type is right for you.

There are several advantages to generic keyword domains. They tell people what your site is about and tend to be easy to remember. Search engines also like them because they are keyword rich, which can lead to higher search engine rankings.

If you already have an established offline company, you should consider registering your company name as your domain name. Since you already have a customer base, they’ll look for you online based on your company name.

Should You Choose a .Com Suffix?
If the domain of your choosing is available as a .com, then that should be your first choice. Dotcom domain names have been around the longest, so people naturally assume that your domain will end in a .com unless you heavily promote it otherwise. Also, in many browsers, if you type in a word (like “Yahoo”) and leave off a suffix the browser will assume you meant to add the .com and go there.

That said, sometimes it’s not possible to register the .com domain name you have your heart set on. I suggest that you brainstorm for similar keywords, plurals, or word combinations before you give up on it – often, you’ll find something that will work almost as well. For instance, if your company is named Acme but www.acme.com is already taken, try other combinations like www.acmewidgets.com or www.acmecorp.com. I’d advise against using hyphens like www.acme-widgets.com unless you absolutely have to because people are less likely to remember hyphenated domains than non-hyphenated domains.

If a competitor already has registered the .com domain name, you should probably consider coming up with a different name rather than registering the .net domain. Otherwise, you’ll inadvertently drive a lot of your traffic to their website. On the other hand, if you believe they are violating your trademark, you may want to check out the ICANN dispute-resolution policy.

If you do business in a specific country, picking a regional domain name like .uk or will probably suit your needs. In other cases, choosing a .biz, .info or .org can suit your organization just fine. Here’s the full list of top level domains to choose from.

Finally, if you want the domain badly enough, you can always perform a whois search to learn the contact information of the domain’s owner, contact them, and make an offer.

Should You Choose a Long or Short Domain Name?
You can register domain names up to 67 characters long, but that doesn’t mean that is a good idea. As of March 2006, all the 2 and 3 character domain names and almost 80% of 4 character domain names have been taken, so if you were looking to register your initials, you’re out of luck. Dennis Forbes has put together a great article on about domain names that discuss interesting facts like 80% of all first and last name combinations are already taken and that the most popular domain name length is 11 characters.

Personally, I think words are much easier to remember than random alphanumeric strings. That said, if you have a long company name, you might want to shorten it. For instance, if your law firm name is Smith, Johnson, Williams and Jones, you might consider shortening it to www.sjwjlaw.com or something similar.

In conclusion, my general rule of thumb is that the domain you pick should be something you like, makes sense for your business, and is easy to remember.

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