7 things to Remember while Choosing a Domain NameWritten by Abdulrehman on May 31st, 2008
I went through a hard-time in choosing a domain name for my blog. There are some tips that I could offer you people in onech.
#1 - Should I choose a ‘.com’ suffix?
I don’t know why there is a craze of getting a ‘.com’ domain. I do not recommend any such thing. What should matter to you is the domain name not the suffix and if you have chosen a domain name which is not available with a ‘.com’ suffix then do not hesitate in searching for availability for other famous suffixes like net, org, us, etc. It could save you from picking a worthless domain. However, I would recommend that if you choose a domain name that does not have a ‘.com’ suffix then whenever you tell anyone about it don’t just tell them the domain name but the whole web address, because people usually think that all domains have a ‘.com’ suffix and might just go to the wrong website.
#2 - Making the domain suffix a part of the domain name
This is a very effective way of making a domain easy to remember and could actually help in the promotion of a website. It is something that will make your blog/Website stand out from others. A very good example of such domains is the website del.icio.us, where the word is actually delicious but is divided into [subdomain].[domain].[suffix]. However, this is in very rare cases where words have to be compared with suffixes and rarely it makes such a combination.
#3 - The domain should match your content
I think that the domain should always be matching the main idea of your website/blog. For example, just because the domain toys.com is available doesn’t mean that you pick it for a ‘Make money online’ Blog. This also helps in Search engine optimization as if some content of the website matches some keywords, the domain name if matching the theme could help your website to be in top results on search engines.
#4 - Keep it short!
Make sure that the shorter the domain you choose the more easy it will be for people to access it (If you’re expecting them to use it without clicking a link). It can help them to remember the domain. An example can be seen of this blog, the domain is 3arn.net . This is at a total 7 letters with a dot in it and so with the use of just 8 buttons, you’re on this blog.
#5 - Let the domain name be a keyword
This is very important if your website is about a particular thing, for example if it is about iPods then you should go to a search for the most relevant and most searched keyword to this and then use that as the domain. This way you’ll be having many chances of getting good search results.
#6 - Let the domain be your name
I’ve particularly seen this in many blogs, and if you are also making a blog which is actually mainly about yourself and you’re mentioning yourself in every post, then this can be a very effective way of choosing a domain, if your name is short. By the way it will also get you fame as each and everyone who visits your blog will certainly get to know your name.
#7 - Make a new word
I would only advise this in the case that your website is going to be really big, by big I mean websites like technorati, myspace, facebook. If the website is going to be big enough that you’ll need to hire staff then I would advise you to make a new word keeping in mind that it should be easy to remember and fun to use.
Keep these 7 things in mind and hopefully you’ll be able to choose domain name that could be worth more than you buy it for (You actually realize that later). Best of Luck!
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I went through a hard-time in choosing a domain name for my blog. There are some tips that I could offer you people in onech.
#1 - Should I choose a ‘.com’ suffix?
I don’t know why there is a craze of getting a ‘.com’ domain. I do not recommend any such thing. What should matter to you is the domain name not the suffix and if you have chosen a domain name which is not available with a ‘.com’ suffix then do not hesitate in searching for availability for other famous suffixes like net, org, us, etc. It could save you from picking a worthless domain. However, I would recommend that if you choose a domain name that does not have a ‘.com’ suffix then whenever you tell anyone about it don’t just tell them the domain name but the whole web address, because people usually think that all domains have a ‘.com’ suffix and might just go to the wrong website.
#2 - Making the domain suffix a part of the domain name
This is a very effective way of making a domain easy to remember and could actually help in the promotion of a website. It is something that will make your blog/Website stand out from others. A very good example of such domains is the website del.icio.us, where the word is actually delicious but is divided into [subdomain].[domain].[suffix]. However, this is in very rare cases where words have to be compared with suffixes and rarely it makes such a combination.
#3 - The domain should match your content
I think that the domain should always be matching the main idea of your website/blog. For example, just because the domain toys.com is available doesn’t mean that you pick it for a ‘Make money online’ Blog. This also helps in Search engine optimization as if some content of the website matches some keywords, the domain name if matching the theme could help your website to be in top results on search engines.
#4 - Keep it short!
Make sure that the shorter the domain you choose the more easy it will be for people to access it (If you’re expecting them to use it without clicking a link). It can help them to remember the domain. An example can be seen of this blog, the domain is 3arn.net . This is at a total 7 letters with a dot in it and so with the use of just 8 buttons, you’re on this blog.
#5 - Let the domain name be a keyword
This is very important if your website is about a particular thing, for example if it is about iPods then you should go to a search for the most relevant and most searched keyword to this and then use that as the domain. This way you’ll be having many chances of getting good search results.
#6 - Let the domain be your name
I’ve particularly seen this in many blogs, and if you are also making a blog which is actually mainly about yourself and you’re mentioning yourself in every post, then this can be a very effective way of choosing a domain, if your name is short. By the way it will also get you fame as each and everyone who visits your blog will certainly get to know your name.
#7 - Make a new word
I would only advise this in the case that your website is going to be really big, by big I mean websites like technorati, myspace, facebook. If the website is going to be big enough that you’ll need to hire staff then I would advise you to make a new word keeping in mind that it should be easy to remember and fun to use.
Keep these 7 things in mind and hopefully you’ll be able to choose domain name that could be worth more than you buy it for (You actually realize that later). Best of Luck!
I am Abdulrehman Agha, the guy behind 3arn.Net. I am 16 years old, study in grade 10 and live in Pakistan. I started this blog in the hope of making money on the internet, sharing my computer experiences and proving that despite many barriers, one can make money on the internet.
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Great Tips! But You missed one thing. Your domain name should be easily pronouncable; for instance if you are on a phone and want to tell it out to your friend.
There were a few more of them, but i cant recall them at the moment.
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“…people usually think that all domains have a ‘.com’ suffix and might just go to the wrong website.”
Which is exactly WHY you should pick a domain with a “.com” suffix. Less technical internet users will never remember anything but “.com”.
How many times have you had to tell people your domain “3arn.net” then spend a minute or two explaining it to them “Three arn dot net. Like the word earn, but with a three instead of an ‘e’. No, not dot com, dot net. It’s like ‘learn to earn on the net.’ Yeah, but with a three.” I bet it has happened a lot.
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Dear Abdul, firstly I would like to thank you for one reason that your site was the first which I saw to get some tips to remember while selecting a domain name. Considering a surfer’s need your website serves the purpose. And I thanyou for that. Further I would agree with the first comment on your tips about the name of your site as well as .com issue. Even if you have been a certified Internet Technology expert, being a user of Internet for the past 14 years and a media professional I found it hard to pronounce your website address. Secondly .com being an first, old, established and popular extension it comes automatically while refering any website’s name. I hope it will take considerable amount of time for net users for being spontaneous to use specific extension while surfing purpous centric sites. I feel your balanced reply to visitor’s comment will motivate them to come again and again. All the best for your website and you! Khudahafiz!
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Point #5 is very important. The search engines really seem to reward sites whose primary keyword is in their domain name, and especially so when the domain name exactly matches the primary keyword.
Unfortunately, its very unlikely these days you can get a new domain name that exactly matches your keyword. But another thing the search engines seem to reward in their rankings is age. Sometimes its very helpful to buy and aged domain, even if it doesn’t exactly match your keyword, as long as contains even part of it.
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Abdul,you simply have some extraordinarily great way of getting your ideas across and i must admit that the experience of browsing through your blog is like pealing the layers from the back of onion to get at the core of certain truth!I am a first-time writer with a book MORGAN V published under strange circumstances[Raider Publishing,New York]and your articles makes me quite determined to start a blog to state some of the viciously controversial subjects my publisher had expurgated unilaterally from that book.
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I like ajaxdomain.com - works great!
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Thanks for the info - don’t forget to post about the Australian domain name industry - it’s really starting to take off… Thanks again
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Really great content, I learnt a lot from reading this.
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good read, solid stuff, thanks for sharing this.
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