Tips to Search and Register a Great Domain Name
If you want to learn how to register a good domain name for your website, then you must pay close attention to this post. In this post, I will share with you some of my personal experience, tips and tricks to register a good and catchy domain name, so your visitors can always find you fast and easy.
I will divide this post into two main parts. In the first part, I will talk about the important points you should consider when you’re brainstorming for a good domain name. And then, in the second part, I will share some great tips what you can do if your desired domain name is already taken.
Brainstorming a good domain name
Short and simple
You want to make sure your domain name is as short as possible, and also as simple as it can be. This is because simple and short domain names allow your visitors to remember, to spell, and to type your website URL easily. This will ensure you will get more return visitors in the future. For example, instead of choosing long domain name like www.learnhowtoinvestforbeginner.com, you should go for shorter one like www.investnovice.com.
Contain keywords (search engine optimized)
You should make sure your domain name contain keywords that you want to rank for in Google. Keywords are the terms, words, or phrase that people type into the Google search box when they intend to look for information. The more search engine optimized your website is, the higher the rank your website will show up in Google search results.
Of course, the matter of search engine optimization does not depend solely on having a keyword rich domain name. It also involves other elements like targeting correct keywords, link building, in-page optimization and others. Nonetheless, a keyword rich domain name still plays an important role helping your website to rank higher in the search results list. For example, if your keyword is “dog training”, then choose a domain name which contains the keyword such as www.dogtrainingtips.com, instead of www.mikepetblog.com. If you’re having trouble deciding whether to choose a shorter domain name or the keyword rich one, I would suggest you go for the keyword rich one. Keyword rich domain names will help you to gain targeted visitors more easily.
Reflects the purpose of your website
Your domain name should, in the first sight, tells your visitors what it is about. For example, www.dogtraining.com tells your visitors you provide information about dog training; www.icecreamrecipe.com tells others they can learn how to make ice cream in your website. I mention this because the most frequently asked question I get is not about the process to register a domain name, yet it is about how should they go for a unique name that will represent their symbol or brand.
For example, you want to create an online store selling dog training equipments and tools, and you want to brand your website as “Kerlex”, so you should go for www.kerlex.com or www.dogtraining.com? I would say the answer is dependent on how big is your marketing budget. Companies like Google, Yahoo, Nike have no problem choosing a unique domain name because they have plenty of resources to market their product. In a nutshell, if you want to just blog about dog training and earn extra money by selling related products, I would suggest you to pick the keyword rich domain name. However, if you’re very serious about building your brand and have huge budget for it, then follow your will and choose a unique name.
What to do if desired domain name is taken
- Consider other suggestion given by your registrar such as Godaddy
- Use a hyphen, for example www.dog-training.com
- Add “secret” or “tips”, for example www.dogtrainingtips.com. Adding secret/tips can create a psychological effect and drives more visitors to your site because human beings like to learn something which is not know to a lot of people. For example, if you can only visit one website out of the following two, I believe you will visit www.investmentsecrets.com instead of www.investmentinfo.com.
- Use www.nameboy.com. It will generate domain names based on the keywords you enter. Helps you to brainstorm faster.
In conclusion, always make sure your domain name is not too long, contains keywords, and reflects the purpose of your website. If your desired domain name is already taken, you can always follow the guide above to find a better one. If you insist to use the taken domain names, you can always put the name on back order or make an offer through registrars like Godaddy.com. Buying a domain name which is already taken is often more expensive compare to the one which is still available. Good luck with your great domain name!
Category: Tips & Tricks
About the Author (Author Profile)
Jasmine is an experienced webmaster and web hosting professional. She blogs at Best Web Host, a web hosting review and resources website. She also helps to maintain Irenelim Fashion, a well known Malaysia online fashion store.Subscribe
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Great post! Finding a great available domain name with proper keywords is really a difficult job these days!
Yeah, most good domain names are already taken. Nevertheless, use my tips above, and you might just get lucky.
Jasmine recently posted..Top 10 Fashion WordPress Themes
Thanks Jasmine! I now have a domain name which does not suite my niche at all! I wish you wrote this post 2 months ago!
Ayush Chand recently posted..Download Redsn0w 097
Thanks for the Tips, i am currently looking to obtain a new domain name.
Twitter: pradctgign
says:
Great article surely gonna help most people to find there domain names.
Thanks
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Domain choice is difficult, there are many ways to choose – a brand building or a keyword rich domain name. From SEO point of view, it is good to buy old domain name with traffic and PR.
I guess Google likes an aged domain more. So it’s advantageous to buy an old domain name.
Jasmine recently posted..Top 10 Fashion WordPress Themes
Jasmine,
this is a wonderful post. Thank you.
I have recently created a tool to help find good domain names called SuggestDomainNames.com
I hope it helps you guys too.
Sure, will check out your new tool. Thanks.
Jasmine recently posted..Top 10 Fashion WordPress Themes
I still prefer names including keywords over modern names like digg or fiverr because it should still help with search engine rankings if you don’t have a large marketing budget.
The tips are simple but they work. I also had a problem with the domain name that I had chosen – it had been already taken. I just put a dash and a good name appeared. The customer was satisfied with the result.
Registering a domain name is very easy, there are many good registrars, however, my advice is to register .com, .net or .org domain names, as usually those are easier to remember and gain higher Google rankings. If domain is not available, try auction or domain broker if there is not active website.
I have selected my domain name for specific reason. I think my domain has lots of things that you have mentioned above such as keyword, easy to learn etc. By the way I would be appreciated if you and all web user will come to see my site and suggest me about my domain name.
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Twitter: Jajodia_Saket
says:
I wish I have got this before I have bought my domain…
Saket Jajodia recently posted..Auto Update Your Twitter Using FeedBurner
Great Tips. It is really a tough task to get your choice of Domain.
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Use my tips above and hope they help you a bit. Good luck!
Jasmine recently posted..Top 10 Fashion WordPress Themes
90% of good domain names are already registered. it totally a headache to search for a good domain.
Great article. This will truly be of help to me. Choosing the right domain name was probably my first mistake when I created my site. I liked it because it sound cool & catchy. Although I have attracted a decent amount of traffic, I still think it has more potential to reach more visitors had I chosen something with keywords related to my what my site caters to. Many thanks. – Claire
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Great tip about using name boy to brain storm…Thank you!
There is one thing I do no agree with though. Keeping the domain name short. I have both long and short domains and it has never made a difference…In fact if you can get your precise keywords in your name you will rank better, guaranteed!
Mitz recently posted..Find which keywords to use with the Google external keyword tool
Twitter: rohitbatra14
says:
nice post Jasmine….will keep in mind your tips for next time if i do not get a desired domain name…Thanks for sharing..
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Thanks for mentioning the site,Nameboy.It helped me alot.
Saksham recently posted..10 Tips For Increasing Affiliate Sales
Thanks for these tips! I agree with them completely, because it’s very important to choose a proper domain that would be attractive both for people and search engines. As a reader, I prefer short names, because I often have difficulties remembering longer ones. So, if you can’t get a short name, you’d better use hyphen to distinguish the words.
There are LOTS of great domain names out there, it just takes a little patience to find them. I disagree with the advice to use hyphens, though. Imagine standing up to speak at a seminar or introducing yourself on a podcast: “Hi, I’m Cindy from Dog Dash Training Dash Tips Dot Com.”
It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Nor is it terribly memorable. I say spend a little more time and find something that fits without needing to use dashes, odd spellings, or other tricks.
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There’s more to registering domains than many individuals realize. To be fair, it’s not difficult by any means, but if you usually do not cover all your bases to start with it could come back to haunt you in the future.
That’s why it’s helpful to hold a few things in your mind before you get started and as you are going through the method.
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I got a lot of benefit from your important and experienced suggestions for the selections of a good name for a website, as specific name gives much better upgrading results in search engines.
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I would like to keep it short and should have something related to my website niche
One more thing I would to include is selecting a domain name as per the demographics we will be targeting. If I’m thinking of doing business in Australia from my new website, I would go for a .com.au domain name
this is a wonderful post. Thank you.
I have recently created a tool to help find good domain names called SuggestDomainNames.com
I hope it helps you guys too.
Twitter: sureshpeterss
says:
hey awesome post dude
adding a keyword in your post will surely boost ur seo results. so i wrote a post , 21+ ways to find a creative domain
http://softwarebuzzer.com/2011/04/20-ways-to-find-creative-domain-names/
check this surely will help you guys
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Great tips! Domain names basically should have that “catchy” factor. They should be short, easy to spell, and often contain descriptive keywords.