How To Choose A Good Domain Name

Best Places To Buy A Domain

After considering all of the above points, Now you need to buy your domain name.

There are many sites that offer you a cheap domain name for about 0.99$.

You can search for some domain name sites like GoDaddy, or Namecheap

These are two examples for best places to buy the domain name.

Try to find out if there is any running offers for a free domain.

Avoid Using Doubled Letters

Using doubled letters in a domain name is practically asking for typos. Doubled letters are hard to read and even harder to type correctly.

If mistakes happen often enough, you may end up with someone typosquatting and stealing your traffic. Plus, having to spend even a few seconds longer than necessary trying to figure out how to spell your domain is an unnecessary distraction.

Tips For A Good Domain Name

A domain name should be clear and contain as few technical restrictions as possible. A good domain name:

• does not infringe any names or trademarks already registered by another party
• cannot be confused with another domain name. A name that is very similar to another name may lead to misunderstandings.
• matches your company name, auxiliary company name or trademark
• is distinctive and reflects your subject or service
• sounds clear also when spoken and pronounced in different languages. Replacing letters å, ä and ö with a and o, for instance, may change the name’s meaning into something unflattering. Keep in mind the technical requirements concerning the Finnish and Sami native characters as well as hyphen-minus.

It is very important to verify that the fi-domain name is lawful before registering it. If your domain name infringes someone else’s protected name or trademark, you can lose your domain name.Traficom can remove an fi-domain name from the domain name register at the request of the owner of a protected name or trademark if the domain name is identical or similar to the protected name or trademark.

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Why Your Domain Name Matters

Your domain name is as much a part of your brand as your business name or logo. Even if youve nailed your branding in every other respect, if theres something about your domain name that puts potential customers off, theyll likely go elsewhere.

The opposite is also true. If your web address is accurate and as fun to say as it is to use, people will be eager to check it out and share it. First impressions matter, and sometimes your domain is the initial experience people will have of your brand.

Its also not easy to change your domain name after your site is online. You can do it, but it can be time-consuming and does have consequences. It can lead to a loss of traffic and unnecessary downtime. In other words, life will be a lot easier if you take your time now and come up with a name you love.

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Avoid Hyphens And Numbers

Remember how your domain name should be easy to spell and pronounce? Hyphens and numbers make it more difficult.

Imagine explaining Facebook if it had a hyphen in there

Have you seen this new site Face-Book? Theres a hyphen in there by the way, between the Face and the Book.

Facebook might not have spread so quickly if that was the case.

The bottom line? Your domain name should be smooth and punchy hyphens and numbers get in the way of that.

Stick to the letters!

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Is The Website Name Trademarked

Another concern that many people face when choosing their domain name is the name availability. If the name that you want is trademarked elsewhere, you are out of luck and the name is off-limited, the property of the company that purchased rights to the name. Check current trademarks using Justia or another trusted website. Do not attempt to use a domain name that is trademarked already. The right domain name is out there if the name you want is taken already.

Use A Thesaurus For Domain Name Ideas

Okay, so no matter what I say about picking a domain name thats brandable, simple, has a good ring to it, is easy to memorize, and so on and so forth, the fact of the matter is that coming up with a truly good name is hard.

Sometimes, youll easily go through tens of different terms before you settle on that perfect one, while other times nothing will seem good enough. In that case, Thesaurus.com can be the secret weapon in your arsenal.

The site will help you find synonyms and also provide quick definitions to help you not to make a silly mistake by building your domain name around a word with a meaning youve misunderstood.

Note: As I mentioned above, its not advisable to just go with a standard, dictionary word as your domain name, even if it comes from a thesaurus. Always add some modifiers to it, or turn it into something original by changing a few letters here and there.

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The Last Word On Choosing A Good Domain Name

So you should now have a good idea of what is involved in securing an appropriate domain name for your business or private use.

Once you have selected a few all that is left to do, is to actually register them which you can do online with either of these 2 options

1. Get a Free Domain With a Hosting Account For Your Website

To get a free domain name, go to this link where you can get your website set up as well as a free domain all for $5.75 per month

2. Buy a Cheap Domain Name

Search for a cheap domain, with or without hosting, below

Find a domain starting at $0.88

Keep It Simple To Speak

It is essential to keep your domain name easy to verbally speak. Word-of-mouth is a great way to get free exposure. If someone likes your website, they might tell their friends about it. You can make a lot of sales from these referrals. But if it is hard to say your domain name, you will get a lot less word-of-mouth traffic. This is not as hard as it sounds. Say your domain name out loud. Does it roll off your tongue? If not, consider changing it.

Another key to keeping your domain name easy to speak is to avoid the use of hyphens. Some people dont know what they are called, which will make it much harder for them to tell others how to get to your website verbally. Some people like to use complex words and phrases. This might make you sound fancy, but it wont get your sales. Simple is always better.

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Making Your Domain Name Your Business Name

This is one of the most popular routes business owners take when choosing their domain name. Before doing so however, you should ask yourself the following question

Do you have a strong brand in your niche and/or geographical location? If you do, you should feel comfortable simply buying a domain name like yourbusiness.ca.

For those who do not yet have great brand identity, you may want to choose from one of the next two options. .

Side-Note: If youre not sure how many people are searching for you on the search engines, use the Keyword Planner tool and search for your business names search volume.

Check If Its Not Trademarked Or Already Used

Before you move forward with a specific domain name, check to see if the name is available on social media sites, as well as if there are any trademarks already registered to the name.

To build your brand, its ideal to have the same name across your domain and social networks. This builds familiarity and makes it easy for your visitors, fans, and customers to find you around the web.

Avoid legal issues you should stay away from names that already have trademarks.

How can you quickly check social networks and trademarks for your potential domain name?

Its quite easy with a tool like Knowem. Search your potential domain name itll show you if its available throughout over 25 popular social networks and if there are any trademarks already registered to the name.

If its taken, consider tweaking it so that you can create original social media profiles.

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Check For Other Top Level Domains Like Cctld’s Or Shop

Sometimes you may find a desired name unavailable with the .com extension. If thats the case, dont stress. Here are a few other top level domain suffixes to consider:

A good option for brick-n-mortar businesses in a specific city, for example, .london or .boston.

• .country

A solid choice for retailers who want to reach international markets.

• .co

• .trade

A good choice for wholesalers or B2B ecommerce stores.

If youre selling in another country, like the UK or India, try to search for country code TLDs. For example, Suta, a Shopify merchant from Mumbai, uses the .in extension rather than .com. The domain name is still clean and memorable and can be found without thinking about it.

Make Sure Its Easy To Type

Think of some of the most popular websites in the world. What comes to mind?

Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yahoo, CNN

One big thing they have in common is that theyre 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, its too complicated!

The last thing you want is for the potential visitors to mistype your domain and end up on a different website!

Heres an easy way to test this

Tell 10 people your potential domain name and ask them to spell it. If more than a few people struggle to spell it, you need to simplify it.

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Check The Domain History Via Whois

Right after Wayback Machine, who.is is your other go-to tool for getting to know the history of a given domain name. This one is very useful for at least two reasons:

• First, you can see the current domain info stuff like who the owner is who the registrar is, and so on. Theres no point in me listing everything here just go to who.is, input your favorite website and see whats up.
• Second, who.is gives you access to a whois history report. This is a paid service $10 but the price tag is rather small in relation to what you get in return, which is all the whois data associated with a given domain name from the very beginning. This means that you can see what the domains history is, when it was registered, and how many times it potentially changed hands.

In the end, if youre considering getting an existing domain, which can be quite pricey, spending an additional $10 doesnt seem that brutal. Plus, it can save you headaches later on.

Easy To Spell Domain Name

Make sure your domain name is easy to spell. Because its the name of your business and people have to pronounce it.

Some businesses and organizations need to create videos and spell the domain/business name. So if the name is hard to spell, the people wont try to pronounce it. That means youre going to miss a lot of opportunities for word of mouth.

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Consider Experimenting With Non

As mentioned in No. 1, these days you can get yourself a multitude of different TLDs that werent available just a couple of years ago.

For example, you can get domain extensions such as: .shop, .club, .store, .blog, .design, .xyz, and so on. Also, you can experiment with some of the TLDs that were originally intended to be local TLDs, but, because of their unique appearance, can be used for various other purposes as well. These are domain extensions such as .is, .io, .fm, .it, .ly, .cc and others.

Just to give you an example of the latter, if it makes sense for your brand and intended name, you can try making it seem as though the whole domain, including the TLD, is one complete expression. You can achieve that by choosing your TLD creatively. For example, Microsoft Translator is available under translate.it thats the whole domain name and quite a creative use of the Italian TLD, .it.

However, the thing with these TLDs is that not every domain registrar offers them. Currently, GoDaddy gives you access to the largest catalogue.

Nevertheless, if youre after some specific TLD, its still smart to shop around with other registrars, too. Heres our other resource, where we talk about the top registrars in the market, plus some of the TLDs they offer.

How To Choose The Right Domain Name

Which is harder: Naming your kid or choosing a domain?

Sure, your bambino is stuck with the moniker you choose until they can get a judge to change it, but you wont need to reinvent the wheel to come up with something to call them. You can look to historical figures, literary characters, or even your favorite TV show for inspiration.

However, when it comes to a domain, youve got to make sure your digital baby is truly unique. No repeats allowed.

So what makes a good domain name?

Generally speaking, youll want something memorable, brandable, and easy for people to type and pronounce. Its also smart to avoid anything too long or overly specific. By following a few simple guidelines, you can pick out a name that helps to drive more traffic your way.

In this guide, Ill explain why your domain name matters and share 11 factors to consider when making this decision. Ill also discuss the best places to register a domain and how you can get a free one along with your web hosting. Lets get started!

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Avoid Numbers And Hyphens

Numbers and hyphens are often misunderstood people who hear your website address dont know if youre using a numeral or its spelled out or they misplace or forget the dash. If you need these in your domain, register the different variations to be safe.

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Pick A Domain Name Thats Flexible

Your domain name is one area where you dont want to paint yourself into a box. While you should be specific enough to attract an audience, you dont want to be so precise that theres no room for your website to grow.

For example, shutter.photography might be perfect for a photography blog. However, if you decide to write about other art forms as well, youll be stuck with an inaccurate domain name. So its smart to consider upfront how your site or business may expand over time.

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