Lesson Two: 7 Rules on how to choose domain name

Rule 1: Choose a domain name relevant to your NICHE

Your first step to build your website or online business is to select your Niche. Niche is basically a market or something you are interested in. Without a niche, you are like walking into a forest without a compass or navigation.

With that being said, once you have selected your niche, you should try to think of names that reflects the things you are selling or reviewing. For example, Barenakedscam.com came from an idea of reviewing scams. Scams are suppose to be exposed and the best way to expose it is by stripping it naked. You get the idea.

 So if you have the intention to sell baby diaper, instead of names like “babydiaper.com” (which is already taken), you can think of names like “babylovediaper.com” which is still available as at 26 March 2014.

I would highly recommend you to search your domain name with namecheap because it is a reliable registrar which do not try to upsell you a bunch of useless “extras”.

Rule 2: Think of a Domain name that is easily remembered

This is easier said than done. You have to be creative to first think of a name which is easily remembered like “hungrygowhere.com” and second to make sure the domain name is available.

I would suggest that you type out a list of domain names you can think of and do a bulk domain name search with namecheap to be efficient.

Remember, selecting a domain name shouldn’t take you a long time, your time and attention should be focused on building your contents for your website instead.

Rule 3: Brandable Domain name or Keyword rich domain name

Are you worried that your website rank will be lowered in search engines if it doesn’t have a keyword in it? Fear not! Search engines do not work that way anymore. For example, “howtoeathealthy.com” (Keyword rich domain name) used to be able to have first page rankings if someone types “How to eat healthy” in Google, but not anymore.

Your website contents are going to be the key to top rankings in search engines, so I suggest that you choose a brandable domain name like “Eathealthywithjack.com”. This way, you will be able to create brand out of your domain name.

Rule 4: Type of Domain to buy

There are so many types of domain to buy, to list a few popular ones: “.com”, “.net”, “.biz”, “.org”, “.info”. So how do you choose the right type of domain to purchase? Most of us will be familiar with “.com” but is it the best?

Yes! Definitely! Not because everyone say so. It is because “.com” rank best with most search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. Secondly, “.com” is generally easier to remember than any other types of domain.

An alternative to “.com” will be “.org” due to its “Rankability” with search engines.

Rule 5: Do not use weird characters in your domain name

By weird I mean numbers and hypens should be avoided at all cost. Domain names with numbers or hypens are hard to remember. Will you remember “howtoavoidscam.com” or “how2avoidscam.com” or “howtoavoid-scam.com”? The answer is obviously the first.

Of course there are no hard and fast rules. If you feel that there really is a need for all the weird characters, please do not restraint yourself from using it.

Rule 6: The shorter the better

Do not choose a domain name that is too long and complicated to remember. The worst thing that could happen is someone who tries revisit your website to buy a product but forgot your domain name.

However, in this day and age, most short tailed domain names have probably been swiped out of the available list. You have to be creative in generating your domain name ideas. The guide is to have a domain name with lesser than 5 words.

Rule 7: Do research on your selected domain name

Make sure that your domain name isn’t copyrighted  or trademarked by some other businesses or products. This will save you a lot headache and money from all the lawsuit that follow.

However, as long as you do not step out of the line to name your domain name like “macdonaldsux.com” or “nikeisbetterthanadidas.com” (domain names that reflect other famous brands), you should be fine.

Are you have troubles looking for a NICHE?

Fret not! I would suggest that you take this free course to find your own niche and start building your website around the Niche.

If you encounter any problems, please feel free to drop me a comment below and I will be glad to assist you in any way I can.