Choosing a Domain Name
Choosing a domain name may seem pretty straightforward but it needs to be given serious thought. The domain name you choose can significantly help or hinder your website. Before registering a domain name for your website, take the following into consideration:
Your domain name should be your website name
This should be self-explanatory. It doesn’t make sense to choose a domain
name that does not correspond to your website name. Since the domain and
website name go hand in hand, you should research good domain names PRIOR
to choosing your website name. As I write this article (January 2009),
there are 78,923,458 active .com domain names registered. Given that,
it is entirely likely that your first (or second, third, etc.) choice
of domain name is already taken. Whatever you do, do not despair and select
a domain name that differs from your website name. If you make this mistake,
repeat visitors may end up at your competitor’s website if they inadvertently
type in your website name believing it to be your domain name. Use the
following domain availability tool from Godaddy to check if a domain is
available. If your first choice for a domain name is unavailable, it will
suggest alternative domain names. Unlike other domain availability checkers,
this tool will also list premium domain names that are up for sale by
the owner.
Avoid long domain names (4 words is too much)
Unless you are willing to fork over thousands of dollars, generic one word domains are probably out of the question. While that may be true, you should also avoid using a needlessly long domain name. I would suggest searching for a good two word domain name, expanding to three words if necessary. Using this website as an example, I first checked to see if websitebuilding.com was taken. I then checked for website-building.com (taken as well) until finally settling on website-building-101.com (websitebuilding101.com was taken too). Avoid using more than three words in your domain name! It looks unprofessional, spammy, and visitors may pass up your website after glancing at the long URL.
Using hyphenated domain names
Hyphenated domain names (like website-building-101.com) should be born out of necessity only! Only when the non-hyphenated version is unavailable should you opt for the hyphenated domain name. Hyphenated domain names are harder to type and look less professional. As far as search engine optimization (SEO) goes, some argue that the hyphenated version may get a SEO boost while others argue that search engines punish hyphenated domain names as spammy and degrade their position in search results. If we take the middle road (and based on my own personal experience), hyphenated domain names receive little if any boost from an SEO perspective and Google most certainly does not punish hyphenated domain names. One of my other websites (which is hyphenated) has continuously ranked higher than other authoritative websites in the same niche. So when choosing a domain name, use the following steps:
- Check availability of non-hyphenated two word domain (bluewidget.com)
- If taken, check for the hyphenated two word domain (blue-widget.com)
- Check availability of non-hyphenated three word domain (shinybluewidget.com)
- If taken, check for the hyphenated three word domain (shiny-blue-widget.com)
- If all of them are taken, use alternative words. Avoid domains that have more than three words!
Country-specific top level domains
In your hunt for the perfect domain name, the .com domain may be taken while being available for a country-specific top level domain (TLD). If your website caters to an audience from a specific country, it makes perfect sense to use a country-specific TLD such as .UK. This has the advantage of targeting your intended audience and reducing unwanted traffic from other countries. Localized search engines in your target country may place special emphasis on websites using the local TLD while other potential visitors may use popular search engines such as Google but use an advanced search to only include their country's TLD. However, if your website is of use to an international audience than a country-specific TLD is counterproductive as potential visitors will bypass your website after viewing the TLD. In such cases it is better to stick to a .Com domain.
.Org and .Net top level domains
Should you use .Org or .Net top level domains (TLDs) if the .com is taken? This is the source of intense debate in some circles. If your website is truly not for profit, the use of .Org is a perfectly logical choice as it avoids the commercial connotations associated with a .Com domain. For commercial websites, use of anything other than the .Com domain should be avoided. Many surfers of the web are conditioned to expect .Com domains and may bypass other TLDs. Past visitors to your website are also likely to type your domain as a .Com inadvertently, potentially ending up on a competitor's website. If you resort to using a .Net or .Org domain, you need to rigorously promote your website as such. Whenever referencing your website, you must include your TLD so your visitors notice your domain is not a .Com.