Selecting a Domain Name for Your Online Presence

You want traffic. Lots of it. So, what can a domain name do to get you the traffic your site deserves?

Granted that a domain name is but one piece of the puzzle to getting more traffic, but every little bit helps.

Listed below are some guidelines for the selection of good domain names.

 

Your Domain Name Should be Catchy, Short and/or Easy to Remember

Take a name like "KeliBooks.com".

Think you can remember it?

Maybe.

Now imagine that you have been surfing the web for the last hour looking for a certain book and have been encountering names like "Books-n-Such.com", "MyBooks.com" and "PrestigeBookshop.com".

Do you think "KeliBooks.com" will stand out?

I don't think so.

Now...how about a bookshop by the name of "Fatbrain.com"?

Bet you can remember it. It'll probably stick like a leech to your mind. I think you'd be hard pressed to forget it.

That's the kind of name you want for your site.

 

Make Sure it is Easy to Pronounce and Easy to Spell

General rule of thumb is that if you can tell somebody your domain without having to spell it out, you should be okay.

 

Try For a Generic Name

Generic names are names like:

Generic names are great because surfers may type it in without ever knowing about your site. More traffic for you. :)

Practically all generic names would already have been taken but you can try for generic names that may not be in common use but is very common within your field of business or expertise.

 

Avoid Trademarked Names

Where possible, you probably want to avoid the use of trademarked names as domain names. Although you may have a legitimate use for the names, a court case is surely the last thing you want to deal with, right?

More information:

http://www.isoc.org/isoc/whatis/conferences/inet/96/proceedings/f4/f4_2.htm - more about domain names and trademarks
http://www.uspto.gov/ - you can search for trademarks and more here

 

Try to Start the First Character of Your Domain Name With "A"

Not always possible but do it if you can. Or at least try to get the first character as close to "A" as possible. In fact, it would be even better if you can start with a digit.

Why the fuss with the letter "A"?

Well, it will elevate your listing in the directories. Under each category, sites starting with digits will be listed first, followed by an alphabetically ordered listing of the rest of the sites.

Sites starting with "A" will be very close to the top of the list. :)

 

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David Lim is the webmaster of QuittingYourJob.com, a business resource for the entrepreneur looking to start, or grow an online home-based business.

This article may be reprinted freely, provided this attribution box remains intact.
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