There is a lot to consider when choosing a domain. Make sure that you take all of these concepts into consideration when picking a domain.
You will only need to pick a domain name one time. If you are redoing a website, you always want to retain the domain name that you already have as it will have SEO ranking associated with it.
Key Concepts:
- Pick a domain that makes a good “first impression”
- Domain Names Affect SEO
- They define your brand.
Key Terms:
Exact Match Domain (EDM) – It used to be that websites would rank well because their domain name had 1 or more of the keywords the user searched for in their title. Nowadays, this may help you, but it won’t do all the work for you.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Making your content rank in search engines.
Things to consider…
- Only use .com domain names
- Brandable not Generic
You want whatever name you pick to be easily identifiable and remembered. You also want it to be easy to pronounce and understand.
- Only 6-14 characters long
In the interest of making something memorable according to this article they found most websites are best used at 12 characters.
- Easy to Spell & Type
- Easy to Pronounce
Have approximately 10 people look at the word you chose and pronounce it correctly. If more than 1 of them fail to or have a hard time pronouncing it, then choose something else.
- Avoid Hyphens & Numbers
- Include “Niche” Keywords
Make sure that you don’t stuff your domain name with keywords you are trying to rank for making it generic. If they flow naturally, use them. Place keywords at the beginning of the website name. This will make it rank more efficiently.
Use Choose the Right Keywords with Our Research Tools or Keyword Tool (FREE) ᐈ#1 Google Keyword Planner Alternative with keyword searches.
- Long Term over Short Term
THIS DOESN’T CHANGE LATER SO PICK WELL.
- It’s not already used or trademarked
Check…
- Availability on social media
- Trademarks Registered?
Use https://knowem.com/ to check availability across multiple domains.
- When stuck, use Domain Name Generators for Ideas
Here are some of our favorite domain name generators to try out:
- Wordoid. This tool allows you to plug in a word; it will come up with ideas that either contain that word, begin with that word or end with that word.
- Lean Domain Search. This tool matches your keyword with other keywords and generates a list of available domains.
- DomainHole. This tool allows you to search keywords, find expired domains, generate new names, and more.