How to Select a Domain Name

The best names are dot com. Surfers tend to assume there is a dot com at the end of the names when they type them in. If you pick a different type such as .org, .tv, .us, or .net, you could lose customers to other sites that have the dot com version of the name you pick. If you like a name well enough to use the version other than dot com, you will should be sure that a competitor in your field does not own the dot com. That could really be a disaster.

We usually start with a dot com name and if the .net or .org are available, we will purchase them as well to diversify our project. If you use a different name for email, for example, you can sometimes simplify the development of your website. We generally don't fool around with names other than .com, .net, or .org.

A name for your domain should be as short as you can find. It is usually possible to find a name consisting of two words with a bit of effort. One-word names are pretty much gone. The availability of three word names is common; and if the words are small, the name will not be too large. An example of this would be:

www.cybermarketingpro.com

You can use dashes in a name. This will separate the keywords for the search engines. Then, when you use the name in a link, the search engines will pick up the keywords that you are targeting. A good example is:

your-internet-business-opportunities.com

Many domain registrars have tools available to help you search for unused domain names and find different combinations for those names. One of the best registrars is also one of the least expensive. It is located at www.cyberspaceregister.com

Keep the names for your domain as short as possible, and make sure they are easy to say over the phone. Names that you have to spell, or explain the difference between spelled out numbers or numerals, will cause confusion. The name, domains4you.com is an example. To communicate this domain name over the phone, you will need to make sure the customer knows you mean "4", not "four". You will also have to tell them that it is "u", not "you". This will become a constant time waster if you are working with customers over the phone.

Stay away from words that are spelled differently for different meanings, such as "To", "too", "two", and "2". Another is with the successful website, royaltyware.com. Though it is not a serious problem, they do have to deal with ware vs. wear in their telephone support with this site.

When I pick a name, I usually look at a two word definition of what I am trying to market, or the mental image I am trying to present. I will run these two words through an online thesaurus. Then, when I have a list of each, I will try different combinations until I find one that flows well, is not terribly confusing, sounds nice when spoken, and doesn't need to be spelled out 50 times a day. You will be amazed at how many really excellent dot com names, using two words, are still available.

Sometimes when I am looking for a domain, I will end up buying two or three for later use, or resale. In fact, you might even purchase domain names that are close misspellings of your original name. Many companies make use of search engine misspellings, to sell their products on pages developed, just to pivk up the traffic from misspelled searches.

When we name a new software product, we name the product with available domain names in mind. Our free affiliate organizer software is called Affiliate File Cabinet. We chose the name and purchased affiliatefilecabinet.com at the same time. That not only puts critical keywords in the domain name, it also ties the domain name directly to it's product.

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