What Makes a Good Domain Name?
TweetThis post is a bit back-to-basics, but is always relevant to new domain buyers. Here are some tips to help you pick the perfect domain name for your business or personal use.
Shorter is Better
A domain can contain up to 67 characters, but that doesn’t mean it should be your goal to use all 67. Instead, shorter is better when it comes to domains. The less characters someone has to type in and remember, the better.
Example:
NO: purcellville-loudoun-real-estate-and-homes.com
YES: realestate.com
Keep it Simple
A short domain name certainly falls within this category, but also think about other aspects of simplicity. A domain that uses common words rather than acronyms is preferable. Also, while it may be tempting to include numbers or dashes between words, it’s generally a good idea to avoid doing so.
Example:
NO: hwy-914-autos.com
YES: beltlinecars.com
Is it Memorable?
You’re off to a good start if you’ve got a short, simple domain name, but is it memorable? A key aspect to branding and getting good traffic to your website is the memorability of your domain name. This is somewhat a two-way street; good branding will make your domain name memorable, but a memorable domain name will make your branding efforts much easier. Think of Internet giants like Google and Twitter. They started as unknowns, but both have simple, catchy domain names that are memorable.
Example:
NO: emblismological.com
YES: zappos.com
Can you Spell it?
If your domain name is spoken audibly, could someone easily know what to type in to get to your site? Make sure there aren’t confusing elements of your domain that could be difficult to communicate to others.
Example:
NO: doubleyou.com
YES: boston.com
Match your Names
While not an absolute requirement, it’s always helpful to have your business name and your website name match your domain name. There are exceptions to this when it comes to generic domains (as covered below), but in general, if your business name is Cute Fluffy Puppies, Inc. you’ll want to grab cutefluffypuppies.com or a similar variation.
Example:
NO: business name is Pacific House Cleaners, domain name is brightcleaning.com
YES: business name is Dotster, domain name is www.dotster.com
Find a Domain Early
This one is most applicable to a new business or start-up and follows along the lines of the importance of matching names. Choose a domain name while in the process of naming your business if at all possible. If you’re an established business, you may find that your ideal domain name has already been taken by someone else. Don’t be surprised when you start a company called Amazon Tours only to find that someone else has snagged amazontours.com ahead of you.
Generic or Branded?
In general, at the very least you’ll want to come up with a non-generic business name and matching domain name. Online companies such as Facebook have built a business around their domain name, but you may not want to call your business Onion Sales just because onionsales.com is available. That said, generic domains do have value to supplement your primary domain name. For instance, Dotster customer Bike Tires Direct (biketiresdirect.com) also owns bicycletires.com and a variety of other domains that receive visitors from both typed in and organic (search engine) traffic.
Pick a strong TLD
You’ve probably heard that .COM is king. This is generally good advice, mostly because the history of domain popularity has turned .COM into the go-to domain extension (TLD). However, there are numerous quality TLDs available, with plans for many more in the works. The TLD you should pick is very much based upon what you intend to do with your website.
- If you’re starting a business, use .COM, .BIZ, or .NET, or alternately use a country-based TLD such as .US (United States) or .CA (Canada)
- For organizations and non-profits, .ORG is a well-known and highly recognized TLD that most internet users approach with trust.
- If you’re starting a personal site or a portfolio, .ME is a fairly new TLD that is a great option.
- Other more specific types of sites have TLDs that may be a good fit. For instance, .TV or .FM TLD may be a good choice for a media-focused website.
Consider your Options
It can be really tempting to settle with a mediocre domain name if you have a business name you like, but often it’s not worth doing so. If you’re Jerry and you’re starting a pizza parlor, but jerryspizza.com is not available, all is not lost:
Good Alternatives:
jerrypizza.com (short, memorable)
pizzajerry.com (Jerry is all about pizza)
pizzajerrys.com (Jerry’s is the place to go for pizza)
jerryspizzaparlor.com (not too long, and descriptive)
jerryspizza.biz (alternative TLD)
Not-so-Great Alternatives:
jerrys-pizza.com (avoid the dashes!)
jerrysfamousdeepdishpizza.com (getting a little long)
Cover Your Bases
Once you’ve found the perfect domain for you site, consider purchasing the same domain name for different TLDs if it’s available. If you want to limit any potential confusion with your domain name (say, animalpostcards.com), purchase animalpostcards.net and other variations as well. From there, it’s as simple as redirecting those other domains to the .COM domain to make sure you’re capturing all the traffic that’s out there trying to find your site.
If you’ve got ideas for a great domain name, use our domain search to see if it’s available.
