Choosing the perfect domain name for your website, can be challenging and frustrating, but it really doesn't need to be.
You'll definitely want to put some serious thought and consideration into it, but with the 7 tips I shared in the video below, I think you'll find much more clarity of how to go about this.
My favorite place to purchase domain names is namecheap.com . They seem to give the best user experience as well as include privacy for free with your domain name.
Branding
Keep in mind that as your business grows and you become the 'celebrity' you will probably want to own 'YourName.com" if it's not already taken. If your website is for a personal website or blog, it might be a good idea to start with that right from the git-go.
Remember for a lot of visitors to your website, it's the first impression they get of you. What do you want to be known for?
Long Term
Be careful you don't get too defined in your targeting that you can't expand in a year or two if you want to.
For example, if you are into website SEO services and you pick the name "websiteseo.com" what are you going to do if in 2 years from now you decide to add digital advertising to your portfolio?
Good idea to think and have a 5 to 10 year + plan in place for your business or brand before picking your domain name.
Easy to Type or Pronounce
Think of some of the most popular websites in the world. What comes to mind?
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yahoo, YouTube…
One big thing they have in common is that they’re all easy to spell.
Your visitors should be able to type your domain name without a problem. If you have to explain the spelling more than once for it to be understood, then it’s too complicated.
The last thing you want is for potential visitors to mistype your domain and end up on a different website!
Specific
Don't be too generic and vague about what you do if at all possible. if you can include a keyword for SEO purposes that would be great.
For example; https://troyerwebsites.com is a combination of branding (troyer) and specific (websites).
Shorter is Better
According to research from Gaebler.com, a magazine for entrepreneurs, the top-5 websites have approximately 6 characters in their domain name.
And in the top 100 websites, the longest domain is 17 characters.
Try to aim for 6-14 characters – and remember: the shorter, the better. Most likely the shorter domain names were taken a LONG time ago and maybe even sold for thousands of dollars. So if you can’t find something short, go for branding.
My own domain name jonastroyer.com has 12 characters.
Extension
When you choose your domain name extension, you can be sure of one thing: “.com” is still the best by far.
The second best option is .net and then .org . Tho .org is kinda reserved for non-profit organizations. There are many others available, but I'd only use them if your good domain is only available with these.
Don't Use Numbers
This is kinda common sense, as people won't know if you are using "1" or "One" or "Won" if they hear it like over the phone.
Also try to avoid special characters if you can. Also capital letters aren't really possible as the domain name will always default to lower case letters.
With a little thought and consideration, I think you can come up with a pretty good name. Play around with possible names and versions on namecheap.com.
If you want a little help getting your website setup and ready to use... complete with a free domain name, head over to Troyer Websites and checkout our packages. (anything from 1-page websites to Professional Membership sites)