1. Keyword oriented or a unique domain name? If your website is going to have a crucial role to play in your business, then it is important to have an adequately researched keyword incorporated within the brand name. Use the most searched-for term in search engine queries, within your domain name. Prior to launching your online business, you should do some research through website tools to find out which keywords register the most number of traffic during a month. For example, if you want to make a website based on advising people, you will find that the keyword help is normally typed in the search engine query window a lot more frequently than the word aid. If your domain name includes targeted keywords, than you will get higher rankings in the search engines like Google and Yahoo. You should bear in mind that, apart from having the targeted keyword in your domain name, you should also have keywords in other parts of your site as well.

2. Use a company name only if you are famous: That is right. If your company name overwhelms the basic product name, then by all means go for the company name as your domain name. For example, people normally use the term Xerox rather than photocopy and if you are Xerox, then you should go for Xerox as a domain name because of the sheer popularity of the brand name. This is usually not the case, so using a keyword-rich domain name is a better move for most people. To be on the right side of balancing your business well, you should buy a set of two domain names, one that represents your business/brand name, and another that represents keywords or key phrases.

3. Keep your domain name short: The shorter your domain name, the more memorable it is. If your domain name has an every-day lingo, the better it is! More often than not, you may find that a simple two-word domain name is already taken. The alternative in this case, is to put a hyphen (-) to your targeted keyword and then add the other word. SEO experts are of the belief that hyphenating two or more words makes a long domain name more search engine friendly. The flip side is that people do not tend to write words with hyphens naturally, and there is a chance that if someone has recommended your site to a friend, the friend may find himself going to a competitor’s site. So one has to understand and undergo a lot of study while choosing a domain name. After all, it is one prominent thing that can dictate the flow of your business. Also, you should avoid putting numbers like 4 instead of for in your domain name. It will only lead to confusion.

4. Dot.com only: If you intend to have a website for commercial or business reasons, then by all means go for a website which ends in extension .com. The domain name companies will market other options like .org, .us, .net, etc. However, by all means try stick to .com for better mass appeal.

5. Register similar domain names: If you believe that in the future you are going to have a huge amount of people visiting your website through word-of-mouth advertising, then you should consider registering similar domain names that direct to your main URL (e.g. www.datinginformation.com and www.datinginfo.com). There are cyber-squatters who register domain names in the hope that they will be selling them for a profit to someone who really needs that domain name. Before they do this, you should register the domain names if you think that such a possibility can occur.

6. Be patient: You should not choose a domain name in minutes merely just to get it done and over with. A hasty decision may cost you a lot. It is better to invest time in research and arrive at the right kind of domain name. You should also discuss the comprehensibility and usage of the domain name with friends, neighbors and well wishers to find how simple and commonplace it really is.

Due to such fact, this article is written with an attempt to enlighten the minds of those who are acting as blind and deaf to the true test in getting a domain name that you won’t regret.

So if you are interested to know some ways that will help you in getting a domain name that is right and good, you should then know that one of the best moves is to think first as many keywords and key phrases as you can. Accordingly, this is the first move that most people take in getting a domain name for a website. Phrases are said to be much better than single words alone. Today, 67 characters are the maximum number of characters allowed in getting a domain name. But even if the 67 long domain names are allowed today, it is still much better that you keep your domain name shorter, to avoid certain confusion and mistakes.

If you are getting a domain name for a new web site, you should then begin by jotting down what your web site will be about, maybe in a paragraph or two. Knowing the intent and the content of the web site will greatly contribute in getting a domain name that is right and good. So it is just a nice thing to consider that you address the essentials of what your web site will be about. And once that you have decided on the content of your web site, it is now time for getting a domain name search program to help you in your desire of getting a domain name.

In some instances, when you have the desire of getting a domain name for an existing web site, it is necessary that to know that your alternatives will be more likely limited than if you are beginning from scratch. In such case, there are times that if your domain name is very generic, there is a great possibility that you will find one or many other web sites that are already using it, and the matching domain name long since gone. So if such case happens, with your desire for getting a domain name that is right, you should then decide whether you will make a bid to purchase the domain name that you love, look for another option, or to use the brainstorming ideas before getting a domain name.

And right now, there are new rules in getting a domain name with regards to the 67 characters. Other domain name holders choose to have long domain names for some profits, but most resources recommend shorter domain names. So if such confusion happen in you, it is better that before getting a domain name, you do some brainstorming and so register the chosen domain names while you still can.

This can be quite frustrating as you seek out a domain name for yourself to build a website for. But at the end of the day in a first-come first-served world, we must try and find another way to find that great domain name.

There are several tools that can be very handy when it comes to looking for a domain name. I discuss these tools in another article. Here we will discuss what makes a good domain name.

To brand or not to brand?

Brading is a key element in traditional “offline” marketing. Having a unique, catchy name does wonders for any business. However when it comes to an online presence, you might just be better off with a domain name that is rich in keywords.

Search engines primarily work on keywords as you may know. You enter a search term or “keywords” and the search engine produces results based on their formulas and the websites they believe to be the best fit for your search.

Now, there are many Search Engine Optimisation techniques that can be used by anyone on any site. The same techniques could be applied to a lot of sites, so my question is what could possibly be the 1 thing that is unique and could separate one site from the other? Of course, domain names!

I prefer to have keywords in the domain names that I own because this is what could give me the edge over competitors. Of course it’s not so important if your website is a personal one and you are not looking to make any money from it. But if you are selling something or wanting to make money off your website, I would strongly recommend using keywords in your domain names. Just to prove it, go to Google.com and search for “domain name”. You will see in the results that any occurrence of the words “domain” or “name” is actually in bold. So Google is definitely looking out for your search terms and highlighting them for you.

On the other hand, branding is still a strong concept online as well. If you find that catchy name (such as….hmmm Google?) and market it well, then you could be well on your way to word-of-mouth fame in no time!

If your business name is available, register it. You can always register keyword rich domain names to draw the traffic, and redirect them to your business name domain.

Hyphens or no hyphens?

Another common topic of discussion is whether to use hyphens in your domain names. I own mixtures of both hyphenated and non-hyphenated names. There is nothing wrong with hyphens. In fact, for search engines you are helping them by separating words that could be read differently. Here is one example: mikesmithstables.com

This domain could belong to a horse trainer “Mike Smith”, as a website for his racing stables, or it could also be read as “Mike Smith’s Tables”. So there is definitely nothing wrong with hyphenation, as it would actually help to distinguish where the words end in the above example. The only small problem you will run into is word of mouth advertising where people will have to call out the hyphens. But believe me, you want all your traffic to come from search engines because it’s free and the volumes are enormous.

What about using abbreviations?

If your preferred name was something like flowerstoyou.com but it was taken, but you see flowers2you.com is available, should you take it? There are several common abbreviations or variations of certain words that are almost commonly accepted, particularly in cyberspace. Thanks also SMS messaging, we are no used to the use of “2″ instead of “to”, “4″ instead of “for” etc. Whether you choose to use such variations in your domain name is totally up 2 u (ok I was trying to be funny..).

Don’t forget however that word of mouth advertising will always require the person making the recommendation to remind people of the substitute.