Do Your Domain Name Research
Once youve narrowed your search down to a few candidates, you can use a research tool to determine if its available.
However, just because the domain name is available doesnt mean someone else doesnt have a valid claim to it. To be safe, youll want to perform a trademark search before making your choice.
Its also best to make sure you can secure appropriate social media handles. If you cant get an exact match, try finding something that makes sense with your domain name.
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Avoid Hyphens Numbers And Doubled Letters
Each of these elements is another hurdle for users to attempt to jump just to access your website. It’s not exactly intuitive to keep these characters in mind, and doubled letters can make the domain name messy and hard to read.
Not to mention, all of these elements are susceptible to becoming typos as users try to search the internet for your business website. If you’re sharing your website via word-of-mouth to clients, it’s also much harder to convey the domain name clearly when it is jumbled with hyphens, numbers, and the same letters back-to-back.
Make Sure Its Easy To Remember
Dont forget that word of mouth and search engine marketing both depend on how easy it is to remember your domain name. You dont want to be that company with the incredible website whose name no one can ever remember when the time comes to tell a friend about it. From an SEO point of view, there are a lot of advantages to following best branding practices. Ignoring them, on the other hand, will jeopardize your long-term results.
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Acquire An Aged Domain To Jump Ahead
No doubt this sounds contradictory to my previous recommendation.
But wait, hear me out.
As I shared above, domain age is not a ranking signal, but factors like backlinks and page rank most definitely are.
You can accelerate your rankings and traffic by acquiring an old domain or website. It may already have some of these factors in place:
- Relevant backlinks.
Even a little boost in each of these areas can jump-start your domain.
Several websites exist like Expired Domains, Moonsy, and Flippa to help you find aged domains.
These sites will show you how each expired domain measures up for metrics like Domain Authority, Trust Flow, referring domains, and traffic, which can help you narrow down to a domain you like.
But before putting in a bid, its essential to dig deeper.
Firstly, its important to check for traffic trends.
Basically you want a domain with a consistent or growing volume of organic traffic and ranking keywords:
If traffic is in decline, then that could be a sign the website is impacted by negative SEO, or worse still has gotten penalized.
If you find an organic traffic graph like so, then its probably a domain to be avoided.
Secondly, you should ensure the websites backlinks are relevant and clean.
For checking the relevance of links, I like to use Majestic.com.
Im interested in the anchor text. This should be related to the business you are in.
As well, as the topical trust flow which should be passed from categories similar to your line of trade.
Common Characteristics Of Outstanding Domain Names
When it comes to retail, youve probably heard that its all about location, location, location. A great location can help set you up for success just for the simple benefit of accessibility. On the web, your little parcel of real estate or business address is essentially your domain name. A great domain name can be the catalyst to a successful online presence.
But what makes a great domain name and how do you identify them? What should you be looking for in a great domain name? Of course it should be relevant to your real business name, but what else? Here are a few things to look for:
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Dont Sweat It Too Much If Your Perfect Domain Name Is Taken And Cant Be Obtained
Okay, so as much as domain names do matter, and having the right one can mean the world to you, if you cant get your hands on what you want , dont sweat it too much.
First of all, something thats more important than anything else even than the domain name itself is to actually get the idea behind your website or business right. If you dedicate yourself to executing that idea and do it deliberately, the lack of that perfect domain name wont hold you back.
Secondly, domain names can be changed later on. Even if you dont have the right domain today, you can always get it later, and then just redirect your website to it.
For example, that is what Sumo a suite of online marketing tools did not that long ago. The domain name they started with was sumome.com, but then, after a while, when they got enough funding, they bought the domain they really wanted sumo.com. In their case, that domain switch was kind of expensive. Their new sumo.com domain actually cost $1.5 million. But dont worry, yours doesnt have to be this expensive. Sumo has actually turned out to be the 83rd most expensive domain name ever.
Keep It Short Memorable And On
Bigger is not always better, especially when it comes to domain names. Shorter names are simpler to remember and type for your visitors.
Also, its easier to stand out when theres less to read. So try to keep it a maximum of two to three words, hovering around 6-14 characters.
Unfortunately, the short, catchy domain name you want was taken a time ago and sold for thousands of dollars. Try these domain hacks if your domain name isnt available while focusing on keeping the name in sync with your brand.
3. Avoid hyphens, numbers, and doubled letters
Hyphens, numbers, and doubled letters all serve as snags for people trying to reach your website directly. Its not exactly instinctive to keep these characters in mind, is it? Neither is it mobile-typing friendly.
Having these elements means inviting typos and user frustration. Especially if youre hoping to rely on word-of-mouth, it could be harder to convey the domain name when its made up of hyphens, numbers, or doubled letters for no good reason.
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What If The Dot Com Domain Is Already Registered
Dot com is the prime version in the United States.
If someone else already has a site on the .com and only .net or .org are available, unless its a keyword domain, then maybe it isnt worth it to spend the time developing a site that someone else owns the dot com version.
If someone is simply hanging on to the domain and not doing anything with it, its possibly OK.
But site visitors really like to see that dot com in the URL.
Country Code Top Level Domain
Country code top-level domains are domains that are specific to a country.
Domains in the .ca, and the .uk registry are ccTLDs.
Site visitors tend to prefer ccTLDs that are specific to their country.
So if your clients are in Australia, it might make sense to use the .au version of the domain.
Traditionally, ccTLD domains tended to convert a higher rate within their respective countries.
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How Does Our Domain Name Generator Work
Nameboy is the original domain name generator started in 1999. Our domain name generator analyzes the keywords you entered in our domain name search tool and suggests the best domain name ideas for your business.
Our artificial intelligence algorithm combines common words, random words, prefixes, suffixes, and the search keywords to make domain name suggestions that are suitable for your needs.
In our opinion, most other domain name generators in the market are fake because they dont actually check domain name availability. Instead, theyre just random word mesh tools that waste your time.
Nameboy on the other hand actually checks domain name availability status, so you can save time and find a good domain name idea thats actually available to register.
Aside from the main .com domain, our domain search results also include other popular domain extensions like: .net, .co, .org, .info, .blog, .biz, and more. This allows you to find top ideas for your industry or website name.
Our users often use Nameboy as a business name generator, catchy website name generator, startup company name generator, online store name generator, URL generator, and sometimes just for simple domain name availability search. We believe that weve built the best domain name generator in the market that shows top ideas, faster.
Go ahead and give it a try!
When you find the cool domain name that you like, we recommend that you register the domain name immediately, so no one else can take it.
Opt For A Unique Domain Extension
Youll notice that we have .com.au at the end of our brand name this is perfect for us as it has the prestige and universal appeal of .com suffix but with the nationalised Australia suffix too. This shows our global standing but our national approach too. With more and more unique extensions coming thick and fast from .nyc to .guru there are a wide variety of options open to you if you want to go that route.
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Characteristics Of A Good Domain Name For Your Website
Internet market today has flooded with websites, and choosing the best domain for a website is proving to be much more difficult than naming a child these days.
With millions of domains already registered on the Internet, finding the best name for a new site is getting painful with each passing day, but as they say, theres no shortage of ideas if you have a different perspective.
You do not need to get a better domain than any other site all you need is a different name.
A domain name is really critical while designing a website, as it not only represents your site before public, but also provides for a better optimization in search engines.
Ill share with you a few points to help you pick a good domain name, and efficient, and aid you build up your website.
Select A Domain Name That Is Intuitive
A KILLER domain name gives people a clear sense of what a website is about.
And that matters a lot, especially in search results.
Lets say youve just searched for cupcakes and you get the following results:
Which evokes cupcakes the most?
A good domain name hints at what a website does and resonates powerfully with its target audience.
And those two things together can influence click-through-rate A LOT!
Here are some domains that get it right:
- filofax.com Trendy personal organizers.
- Trustworthy, etc,
You can then pop your chosen attributes into a thesaurus to uncover synonyms:
Through this process you should come up with a number of ideas for your domain name.
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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.
Choose A Domain That Is Predictable To Type
Even if you nail brand-ability and pronounceability
If your domain name is not predictable to type, it will fail.
That means, no weird spellings.
Take this domain for instance:
Naymz
- Is it pronounceable? Just about.
- Is it easy to type? No.
Aside from avoiding hard-to-spell names, steer clear of domain names with double letters.
For example, a domain like ChessSetter.com is going to be prone to typos, and as a result, will inevitably lose traffic.
Another essential consideration is being friendly to type on mobile.
Accounting only for current levels of device usage, at least half of the people navigating to your domain are very likely using a mobile device to get there.
First, youve got to consider the dreaded auto-correct function.
And second, choose a domain that is friendly for use on mobile-device keyboards.
What do I mean by that?
Take Sean Sis website seo-hacker.com.
Its a short, catchy domain, but on mobile devices, it requires you to switch between keywords:
And that can cause mistypes, and a whole load of frustration.
So, when youre considering a domain name, first try it out on your mobile phone.
The result should be ridiculously easy to type domain, even for technophobes.
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Qualities Of A Great Domain Name
Whether youre starting a new company or expanding your companys reach by creating an online presence, you will need a domain name.
Your domain name will be your companys unique address on the Internet. Its also, typically, the first thing that people see.
Your domain name will become an important part of your brand, which is why it should be chosen with careful thought and consideration. You should know the qualities that make up a great domain name. The list, below, will help you get started in the process of choosing the best domain name for your business.
Use The Right Extension
In general, .com domains do better in terms of search engine optimization and are the most familiar to users. Its still the most established and credible domain name extension. So all things considered, go for the .com extension if its available.
Other common top-level domain extensions include .net, .co, .org, .net, .io, etc., which you can consider if the .com domain extension isnt available.
If youre a SaaS startup, for instance, you can consider .io which is a country code top-level domain thats popular with modern software startups and browser games/apps.
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Check The Domains History
Whether you purchase a domain as new or second hand.
Its critical you check the domains history.
Why check new domains, you ask?
Because, some new domains have been registered before.
And, if you pick a domain thats been penalized, your ranking chances are screwed before you start.
Since the early days of SEO, theres been an issue with penalties sticking to domains even when their owners change.
Heres how it occurs:
A spammer uses a domain and it gets penalized.
The domain no longer ranks.
Because the domain is now un-rankable the spammer lets the domain registration drop and the domain becomes available to new purchasers.
A new owner registers the domain and discovers its impossible to rank due the penalty imposed.
This is a situation you should avoid at all costs.
Before registering any domain, its smart to visit Archive.org and learn if the domain has been used before.
Archive.org will show you snapshots of the domain in the past:
You want to ensure the domain has a kosher past .
Because, once a domain is banned its very difficult to recover.
Aside from checking Archive.org you should also check if the domain has pages indexed within SERPs.
For that, simply do a site-colon search in Google:
Again, you are looking to see if any of the pages indexed point to a shady past.
If you find anything dodgy, you are best advised to pick another domain name.