Although a seemingly simple task, choosing a domain name can be a little more complicated than you may have anticipated. Often the most simple domain name that directly reflects the name of your business has already been purchased by someone else.
So before you jump into the next steps of your site, I suggest a brainstorming session with friends, family or colleagues to come up with a list of potential domain names, thus guaranteeing one available for you to purchase.
A caveat here is that sometimes domain names have been purchased with the intent to re-sell them for a profit. So, if you have a domain name that is extremely important to you to have, but it appears it is not available, check the domain to see if there is a "live" site there. If the site does not appear to represent an actual business, organization or individual, it may be available for purchase, but it will most likely cost a lot more than traditional domain prices. So, brainstorming a long list of potential domains may save you a nice chunk of money.
In your brainstorming session, consider everything related to your business, variations on your business name, abbreviations and the like.
Come up with the most comprehensive list that you can, considering the domain name itself is an important marketing tool and reflection of your business.
Then, keep these three things in mind when crafting your list:
1. Keep it short and easy to remember.
Ideally it should be a name that you can relate to someone verbally and expect they will remember it when they next sit in front of a computer. It should also be easy for anyone to type into a browser address line.
2. Consider important keywords for your business.
You may want to invest your time and money into SEO/SEM efforts in the future, and a domain name that relates to the keywords pertinent to your business gets you off to a great start in this realm.
What are important keywords for your business? While in the brainstorming mode, develop a quick list of all possible words someone may type into a Search Engine to find your service or product. For example a landscaping company may consider words like: lawn care, landscaping, mowing services, yard design, yard care, etc.
Any of those terms that you consider to be an important search term for your business should be considered when creating your list of potential domain names.
3. Primarily consider .com or .net domains.
A .com domain is by far the most popular and the easiest to remember for any business.
Generally .org domains are reserved for organizations and not-for-profit agencies so stay away from those. You can certainly consider a .biz domain as it may make your desired domain available, but consider that most folks will think .com and type that into their browser and could be viewing your competition instead of your site.
Once you've whittled down your list of appropriate domains to 10 or 20 that you really like, contact me or your web host to find out which domain is available for you.
Your domain should be used in your signature line of all emails, and on every marketing material you create, so make sure your domain name is something to be proud of!
