How to Choose a Domain Name

Whether it's being used for a personal or commercial website, a domain name--also known as a URL or web address--is a vital piece of information used to get visitors to your site. Carefully selecting your site's domain name is an important step, and one that warrants thoughtful consideration.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Keep your domain name the same as your website name. Thought it may seem obvious, it isn't always the case. Your domain name should match the name of your website to maintain consistency and keep it simple to remember in visitors' minds.
2. Make your domain name as specific as possible regarding your content versus choosing a very generic name, such as houses.com. More specific sites connect to more focused searches.
3. Choose a meaningful and memorable domain. Shorter or longer doesn't mean better here. For some, a shortened, abbreviated address could me more difficult to remember than the catchy name of a person, place, thing or business that is several words long.
4. Avoid adding a hyphen in your domain name. When web addresses are spoken aloud, the "hyphen" part can easily be forgotten. It's also easy to forget a hyphen when the name is being typed.
5. Get the .com extension on your domain name whenever possible. Many people assume that, if they don't know otherwise, the .com naturally comes to the end of the website. However, when searching for domain names, you may find that your ideal option(s) don't have the .com version available: only the .org, .net, etc. If you choose to take your ideal domain name with one of these other extensions, it is vital that you promote and market the site using it's full name, such as www.mywebsite.net.

Tips & Warnings

• Determine and purchase your specific domain site before starting your business or promoting your personal site in anyway. It will start you off on the right foot in terms of marketing.
• If you are comfortable using a site extension other than .com, you will likely find cheaper deals on the domain name of your choice.