6 Tips to Choosing A Good Domain Name

What is a domain name and how does it work?

Domain name is a unique address that can be used on the Internet. It’s what you see in the address bar after the “www.” in your web browser and it’s what comes after the @ sign in an email address. Domain names consist of two parts. For example, in ”cashdove.com” the “.com” represents what is known as the top level domain (TLD) and “cashdove” represents the second level domain and is the actual name. The same name, which can be up to 63 characters long, can be used with different TLDs, such as .com, .org and .net. There are also country specific Top Level Domains, such as .ng for Nigerian and .co.uk for United Kingdom. When a domain name is used in a web address, ‘www’ is usually put in front of it to indicate that typing that name into your web browser will take you to a website. Domain name hold­ers can set up a website with that address and also use it for email addresses. When you are a domain name holder you get to decide what is in front of the @-sign in the email address.

Steps in Choosing a powerful Domain Name

Choosing a domain name can be often is a frustrating and challenging task. It’s not uncommon to feel that all the good names are taken. Nevertheless, with a little creativity it is possible to choose a great domain name that will make you proud for years to come. And while there is no “one way” to choose a domain name, I offer some simple steps for those feeling overwhelmed by the task. Just followed the steps and you will choose a nice domain name.

Step 1 – Use your industry in your domain name

Let me preface this post by saying that some of the biggest and most successful businesses online did not follow this step. Names like Amazon, Flickr and Monster have been extremely successful. Though, the goal of this step is to help a business create a domain name that will stand on its own, not one that requires a large advertising budget to promote. The best practice is to name your industry in the domain you choose. If you sell knives, “knives” should be in your domain name. This not only helps customers identify immediately with your product, it will also help search engine optimization as users type that keyword into their browser. Also be sure not to stuff your name full of keywords. Example wesellkniveandspoon.com (oh my God) this looks spammy and is a huge turn-off to Internet users. Besides good link building will help you rank for additional keywords later in your SEO campaign.

Step 2 – Put in your geographic location

These are part of mistake most people made, when choosing a domain name, let’s do the maths together. A guy that sell domain name for whole Africa uses this type of domain name Nigeriandomain.com. usadomain.com isn’t this disgusting?? U sell for Africa u should use something like web4africa.com africadomain.com are you really getting me?? Am not asking you not to use geographical location in your domain but if you serve only one geographic location then you can go ahead and add it to your domain name, example nigeriatech.com lagosmeet.com or use it instead of your brand. This will not only make it more likely for the people within that location to click on your site, but it will also make it less likely for people you don’t serve to click on your site.

Step 3 – Make it easy to remember Stay away from plural words unless you can get both the singular and plural domain name.

If you only get the plural, you may lose traffic to someone who registered the singular form. Also, if the “perfect name” is already taken, it is tempting to add “my,” “the” or “your” to the beginning. This can cause a less professional look and you may end up losing some traffic to your competitor without these modifiers in their name. don’t use something only you can remember, because you won’t want to use a name that is easy to remember but a bitter juice to your customer, and don’t use your name as your domain name unless u are a celebrity to the whole world, and I don’t think you are.

Step 4 – Make it easy to say

Oh My GOD can u imagine a friend of mine register a domain name, I ask guy what is your domain name, then he reply with smile on his face, its fridaydonmicheal20101.com lets think the same way, if I was force to type the name that particular day, did u think I will the next day?? Because too long, un pronounceable, difficult to hear.. Stay away from names that use hyphens, numbers, slang and homonyms. This may help you get a name you might not have otherwise received, but it makes it difficult for people to remember your domain name and you will lose traffic. Besides, just imagine having to tell people what your domain name is. Names laced with hyphens or numbers get tiring. Just consider why mark change from thefacebook.com to Facebook.com because if believe there is a different... And why didn’t he use his name I mean markzukerberg.com……. I think you should know why now?

Step 5 – Keep it to a handful of words Obviously,

the shorter your name, the easier it is to remember. In fact, there is really no reason your name should be longer than five words. Sometimes you may need to introduce a second keyword, such as “usedcars” or “naijatalks,” to clarify what types of products you sell. In addition, you may need to be specific in your location, and add that to your domain name. In some cases, your domain name could end up three, four or even five words. But never go longer than you can pronounced with a breathe You may tempted to use an acronym. But acronyms don’t help you with keywords or do anything for branding. Basically, you would be ignoring steps two through four. Plus, they can often be difficult to remember.

Step 6 – Make sure you love it

This is your brand, your website. Imagine it on business cards and on billboards. Imagine telling people every day the name of your website. Be sure it makes you proud. Because I don’t think using a name like namebrandnothinghere.com will give u pride because I may have fallen asleep before you finish telling me.. If it doesn’t give you pride then keep on brainstorming and go through these steps again. Keep brainstorming keywords and creative branding words. Eventually, you will stumble upon something that excites you. If it excites you make sure I excite your customer….