Choosing the Right Domain Name

Domain names are to websites as book covers are to novels.  If they are not interesting enough, or don’t properly convey what a website is about, visitor will have no desire to enter them in their browsers.  Yet, excessive creativity doesn’t make for a good domain name either.  Why is this so?  It’s because if a domain name is creative but not keyword-rich, search engine bots won’t be able to index it in search engine listings.  So, ultimately, your domainname must be both catchy yet search engine optimized.  This article will explain how you can achieve both objectives.

First and foremost you will need to find a popular search engine keyword that can be incorporated into your domain name.  A keyword analyzer can help you in this task.  These can be found pretty easily with a basic search engine query.  When you find one, enter in a keyword that best summarizes the purpose of your website.  The keyword analyzer will return different versions of this keyword.  If the more specific instances can also fit within the nature of your website, choose one.  This is because when it comes to search engine optimization, more specific keywords are better since they are less likely to be used by other webmasters. 

Now you can start selecting your actual domain name.  Most domain name companies will allow you to see whether or not your domain name is available.  If it is not available, it will return a list of recommended domain names.  Take advantage of this tool by first entering your selected keyword.  If your keyword as a domain name is not available, consider the suggestions the domain name company gives.  If the main keyword is still included in these suggestions and it ends with .com, consider it.  Otherwise, you will have to be more creative.

For example, you can use ‘filler’ words, numbers or phrases within your domain name to still include your selected keyword.  Fillers could be ‘a,’ ‘an’ or ‘the.’  Search engines tend to not look at these words, so you still have a good shot at getting indexed while having a domain name that is memorable and catchy.  You can also consider fillers at the end of a phrase, such as ‘101’. 

What if you do these things and you still can’t get .com?  Well, there are some situations where it is better to stick with a lesser-used extension because the keyword is just that popular.  Extensions that still get noticed include .net, .biz and .org.  Additionally, you can also consider using country or state-based extensions if you don’t mind international or local-based marketing.  It’s better to be number 1 in France’s version of Google than to be number 200 or worse in America’s version of Google. 

In conclusion, choosing a domain name that will get the right buzz from both humans and search engines doesn’t have to be hard.  The keyword analyzer will help you with 90% of your domain name, while your wit with fillers can help you the other 10%.  And, if after an immense amount of pondering, you still can’t get the .com, you can opt for other extensions.