Here are some of the best tips for choosing a domain name, which covers everything you should know before making a decision.
Choosing Keywords
Before you begin coming up with domain name ideas, try to have a list of 5-10 of the top keywords in mind for your business. Think of several key terms or phrases that describe your business, then work around these in order to come up with domain name ideas. For example, if you're setting up a bakery website then play around with words such as bread, cake, bake, food, etc. Keep jotting down ideas until you come up with something that rolls off the tongue.
Domain Names are Branding Tools
If you remember that your domain name is the perfect way to show off your brand, it should give you a great headstart on the drawing board. You want to be able to differentiate yourself from the competition and a domain name should conjure up plenty of ideas for branding techniques. By using the keywords you came up with earlier, consider how you could expand on each of those and turn them into a brand.
Unique Domain Names
Once you've got a list of a few good domain name ideas, you need to see if someone has already had that great idea themselves. You can use various domain searching tools to find out if a domain is already registered, which should help narrow down your list. If there's a popular website already using a name that's the same (or very similar) to yours then don't even consider it. All that will happen is that you'll get useless traffic, looking for the other website. Remember to consider copyright infringements, also, by checking the copyright government website.
Easy to Type and Easy to Remember
There's nothing worse than a website domain that takes you half a day to spell out to someone on the phone! It's also no good if people keep misspelling your website address because it's too difficult to type. Try to keep the domain name short and sweet, without using too many complex letters or symbols – in fact, you may want to get rid of numbers and hyphens completely. This will ensure people will remember it and can type it straight into their address bar.
Following Latest Trends
Unless you're planning on updating your domain name every few months then it probably isn't worth trying to keep up with the latest fashions and trends. Using a name such as “cupcakes2015.com” is only going to be out of fashion by the next year. Not only that, but what's to say someone doesn't take “cupcakes2015.com” before you do? Instead try to think of a domain name that will remain classic and timeless.
Remember, choosing a domain name is a big part of creating your website and so this should take some careful consideration. Use all of the tips above and your own thoughts and feelings in order to create a domain that is memorable, well branded and user-friendly.
