How to choose a Domain Name: 7 tips for choosing a Domain Name

Here are a 7 quick tips to keep in mind when you register a domain:

  1. Use “.com”
  2. Don’t use hyphens
  3. Use an easy to spell domain
  4. Make sure your domain passes the phone test – say it to someone and have them tell you what they would type in (i.e. “my email address is [email protected]”) Remember, you might say Donuts4You.com, but some people will hear DonutsForYou.com. Trust me, you don’t want to have to say, “… ‘Donuts’, the number 4, ‘you’ dot com…” every time you give out your email address.
  5. Keep it short
  6. Use proper spelling (verify with spellchecker)
  7. Don’t spend a lot, registering a new domain shouldn’t cost you more than $10/year. Also, renewing your domains shouldn’t cost you more than $10/year. Don’t fall for the $30 renewal garbage that you’ll get in the mail.
  8. Consider registering other similar domains in addition to your primary domain time, such as; other TLDs (.net, .org, .us, .biz), singular/plural versions (If you only registered GoldenDonuts.com, you can bet someone will register GoldenDonut.com and get some web traffic from your work)

Need help getting started?
Brainstorm a little: write down all the words that come to mind when you think of your business (from the customer perspective.) Use a thesaurus to expand that list of words. Start searching for available domains using different word combinations from your list.

If the domain you really want is already taken, you may have to pay hundreds (or thousands) to get it. Even if the person that currently owns it isn’t using it.

When using your domain in print, consider capitalizing the beginning of words to make it more readable, for example thebestdonutshopintheworld.com vs. TheBestDonutShopInTheWorld.com