How To Choose A Domain Name
Choosing a domain name is a very important part of making your web site. It will tell potential visitors whether you are professional, legitimate, and among other things, worthy of their time. Choose your domain name wisely.
Length Of A Domain Name
The length of domains is not the most vital aspect to consider, however it should be noted that long ones present small issues which are an inconvenience to visitors.
Many people are quite lazy, and if your domain name is too long then people will not even attempt to type it into their address bar. Additionally, if people want to take note of it on a piece of paper to remember it for later or recommend it to a friend, shorter domains are definitely preferable. Additionally, a shorter domain name is easier for people to remember for later, which could most certainly work in your favor.
On the flip side, if it is too short it may not give people enough information about your site. It's highly doubtful that this will be an issue, though. Shorter domains are rarely available anyway. But if your website is about making money, you would probably be better off making it "makingmoney.com" as opposed to "money.com". You want it to be short, but still convey what your site is about and be memorable. Three words is probably the maximum amount you would want to use.
Hyphens In Domain Names
Hyphens may be used in domain names, but should be avoided if possible. They're valuable to use if you're set on having a certain name but yours is already taken, but hyphens in domains are generally not advisable. The extra effort a person has to make to press the hyphen key at the top of their keyboard may be enough to scare away a few potential visitors. It's also harder for people to remember hyphens, so they may end up at somebody else's web site when they try to come back.
Domain Name = Web Site Name
If at all possible, your domain name should be the same as the name of your web site. It will make it easier for repeat visitors to find your web site again, for one thing. But additionally, psychologists who study memory say that repetition is key. The more somebody repeats the name of your site/the domain name, the more likely it is that they will remember it. If they see it when they click on a link, then see it in the address bar, then see it in the title bar, then see it in your logo, then see it somewhere in your body, you've got a good chance they're going to remember you.
Which Top-Level Domain To Use
So you've got the domain name picked, but do you make it .com, .org, .net, .info, .com.au, or what?
First of all, if your target audience is in a specific country, you should definitely use that country's TLD. For example, if your website is catering to Russians, you should use .ru, or if your website is for a mostly German audience it should be .de.
As for the .com's and the .org's, it's a mix between personal preference and what your site is.
If your site is a non-profit organization, .org is what you're supposed to use. If your site is informational only, you're supposed to use .info. If your site is a company web site, you're supposed to use .com. However, aside from .edu for schools and educational organizations, and .gov for government agencies, the majority of TLDs are open to whoever registers them no matter what their site is about. Generally, .com is easier for a person to remember, because the majority of sites people visit are .com's. It's usually a safe bet for any web site, especially if you're trying to make money via affiliate links.
Sometimes your desired domains will be taken with .com, but not with .org or .us or something. If you really want your desired domain and don't care too much about the TLD, this is a good time to use one of the other TLDs.
If you're planning on your web site being pretty successful, you may also consider registering your domain name with multiple TLDs. If you register example.com you might want to register example.org and example.us, too, to avoid somebody creating a web site at one of those domains which could damage your success or anything else. Many of the larger websites do this in order to redirect people who make typos when typing the URL into their address bar.
Got Your Domain Name Idea Ready?
If you've got some domains in mind already, or even just one, skip to our section about where to register a domain name and register one now!
