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Domain name is the address of your website or blog, So you must know how to choose it wisely. Choosing a domain name is almost the same as choosing a name for your company. It is because a website is also a business if you know how to do it. Having a right domain according to your business plays an important role. If your domain name is catchy and easy to remember, people are more likely to visit your website. It also showcases your website in one word and very important for branding purpose. People make perception about your website, and domain name also affects search engine ranking. So you should consider following tips before buying a domain name.
Also see: Best Web Hosting
Tips to select a good domain name
1. Keywords:
Select 5-10 important keywords to your niche and try to generate the domain name which includes any of those keywords. And check the availability of domain name. The keyword is the most important part as it will help you in SEO for that keyword. Always use the main keyword of your website’s in the domain name. It defines your website. A good domain must have keywords.
Having keyword in domain name is good. But never try to have more than 1 keyword. It can take you into trouble.
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Update: After Google rolled out EMD Update, having the keyword in the domain may be harmful if you are not doing proper branding. And keyword the in domain is not as much required now. It should be in URL. So, while writing the post, you can add keyword in your permalink. If you take a look at most popular websites, you will find that they do not have the keyword in the domain but they easy to remember the word. For example: Mashable, recode etc.
2. Easy to pronounce, type and remember:
The domain should be easy to pronounce and remember. If your visitors can not learn the name in 1st go, you are loosing visits and hence business. Try to avoid typical domain names. A good name is also easy to type. Domain name must be easy remember, pronounce and spell. Avoid using names with ambiguous spelling. For example, I used Quick Web Resources for my domain. It is easy to pronounce, remember and write.
3. Keep it short
The length of the domain matters a lot. So, always try to make it as short as possible. The short domain name is the less risk of mistyping or misspelling it.
If you are buying a domain name for your blog, then try to think about your niche. If you are creating a blog with multiple niche, then try to avoid name including any keyword. In this case try to think a name for your blog and then buy the domain according to it.
4. Do not use hyphen:
Always avoid using hyphen in domain names. These are hard to remember and not help much. Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type.
5. Copyright Infringement:
Do not use those words in your blog which are violating any existing brand copyright policies. There are some brands which do not allow you to use their name in any domain name. For example, use of iPad, iphone, Google, oracle, Microsoft will take you into trouble. Try to think that can be your brand.
You can use free tool EstiBot.com to check if the chosen domain name accidentally includes a trademark. This additional step avoids any legal trouble in future. This tool will tell you if your selected name matches an existing trademark.
6. Prefer .com
Many people can argue that running after .com is not important and we have lots of TLDs to use. Yes, Google also gives other TLDs equal importance but I still recommend to go with .com. The primary reason is that .com is most recognized and most accessible TLD. If they just know your brand name, they will try to find it with the .com domain.
Google also gives country level domain less priority on global searches. If .com domain is unavailable, go with .net, .co or .info like domains that are recognizable for global searches.
I also have a tech blog Techlomedia. It is accessible on techlomedia.in domain, but people still look for techlomedia.com. I have a good ranking on Google, but Google still gives it less priority on global searches. it also creates trouble when people add techlomedia.com on business emails and I miss important emails.
5. Use domain name suggestion tools:
If you are not sure, you can take help of domain name suggestion tools. These tools will guide you and suggest you some best name according to your need. You just need to enter a word and it will show you matching results. You can pick any name you find suitable for your blog.
Read: Top 5 domain name suggestion tools
6. Check if social profiles are available
If you are going to make a website, you will also create social media profile for your blog or website. So, it is always recommended to check if social profiles are available for selected name. You can use the free tool Namechk. Enter the domain name and it will tell you if the social profiles are available or not.
If profiles with same username on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram are not available, you should try to consider another name.
How to check if a domain name is available?
Selecting a unique word is easy but finding it available is not. There are over 350 million registered domains and the count is increasing day by day. The one you can think is most probably already taken. So, you not just need to select a name but also check if the selected name is available.
To check if a domain name is available, you can use Instant Domain Search free tool. Enter the domain name in search box and it will tell you if the domain name is available or not.
Where To Purchase A Domain Name
There are lots of domain registrars. You can select any as per the pricing and interest. Domain name registrars are accredited by ICANN. I personally recommend GoDaddy and BigRock. I do my purchases from these two domain registrars.
Follow these simple just before going to register domain name for your website. Not just have a domain name, have a good domain name. Now if you are thinking to use WordPress, you can explore the WordPress section of our blog. We have hundreds of tutorials on WordPress We have also posted about WordPress themes. If you want something to be built by a developer, you can hire us.
What are your opinions about a domain name? Share your views via comments.
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