What you should know before selecting a domain name

Few things are more important to a website than the domain name. Most times designers and SEO experts are working on sites that already have domain names but, in a few cases, they are asked to provide advice. These tips should help narrow down the choices and make selecting an excellent domain name much easier.

• Websites are unique and the domain name for the website should be unique. Choosing a domain name that is a variation of a popular domain name is not advisable in serious business efforts. The chances are you attempts at branding will be overridden by the already existing and prominent website. Get your own domain name.
• Dot Com domains are the gold standard. A domain name even if unique, that has anything but a dot com address is losing traffic or will lose traffic. Many people started with dot comes and really do not know there is anything but dot com on the net. They will not be typing in .net or .org to find you.
• Long names are hard to remember and difficult to type. Short and sweet is simpler and looks much better on a business card.
• Avoid using numbers or hyphens in a domain name. They are difficult to type and generally confusing. It will not help your branding efforts at all if your website is not easy to remember and easy to type.
• Do not go with fads for naming your website. Fads come and go and naming fads are notorious for being here today and gone tomorrow. Web 2.0 misspellings were a fad but few remain around today and so it is with most trends in domain names.
• Memorable domain names are not complex and not always catchy but they are simple to remember. The-best-rate-mortgage-home.com is hardly memorable and is excessively complex to be effective.
• Easy to type domain names are best. Don't make your domain name forgettable and don't make it hard to type in. Part of your branding will come from an easy to remember easy to type domain name.
• Domain names should fit the business. As famous and as Google is now, it took a lot of effort to create that branding because it is objectively hard to associate Google with search engines if you had never heard of it before. On the other hand, lendingtree.com is easily associated with finances and loans.
• Pick A few keywords and choose your domain name on variations. Many desirable domain names may be taken but by playing with multiple keywords, you can select a domain name that applies to your business and is available.
• A domain name should also be a branding tool. A domain name that is unique, sets expectations, and applies to your industry can be a great tool for branding.
• Domain name selection tools are available at almost any registrar or web host, and remember you do not have to use their service to register the domain name.