How to choose good domain names ?
What are domain names?
Your website name ( Domain name ) is the location and the identity of your business in the internet world. A domain name is a name like ThePeopleOnline.com . By looking at a website you can not predict the size of the organization. Therefore website makes you look big and can do business throughout the world even when you are sleeping. Note that you do not have to be a company or organization to register a domain name. Any individual can do it too.
Once you have a clear idea about the website you are going to design then you have to consider about the domain name. Your domain name should reflect about the content or the business you are conducting. The name you give to your website has much to say about you.
Always try to pick a domain name that:
- is easy for Web users to remember and find
- suggests the nature of your product or service
- serves as a strong trademark so competitors won't be able to use a business name or domain name similar to it
Use the name people know you by. Don't abbreviate, unless the abbreviation is your company's trademark. Ask your co-workers, your customers, your friends, and your family what domain name they'd expect your company to have. Don't forget to include your domain name in your site's logo. And put your domain name on all company promotional materials such as business cards and stationary
Select alternate names
If your first domain name choice is not available, you can check the "whois" information box for the domain name, contact the person listed, and see if they're willing to sell it. If they want to sell, they will likely charge more than the $24.95 registration fee. An easier alternative is to register a variation of your first choice.
For example, if your company name is Mrs Smith's Cookies, but mrssmithscookies.com and the more obvious cookies.com are registered, try adding a small letter such as "e" to indicate that it's an online business. Or add the word online. Or add your location to attract local customers:
- ecookies.com
- cookiesonline.com
- cookiesNewYork.com
Alternatively, try registering a local domain name:
- mrsmithscookies.ca
- mrsmithscookies.uk
Use a little creativity, and you may find your alternative beats your original choice. Once you've got a list of alternatives for your online business, test them with your friends and colleagues to see which ones they like best. Make sure these names can be easily pronounced and spelled by your test audience. Then, rank them in order of popularity.
Consider spelling mistakes
Consider mistakes people will make when typing your web site address and how your domain name sounds when you have to read it over the phone to a customer. Explaining special characters, abbreviations, and spelling is awkward and doesn't make good business sense. Will customers accidentally make spelling mistakes? Will they use the plural form of a word instead of the singular form, or vice versa? Make a list of possible mistakes, and register additional domain names that incorporate these mistakes.
Register product names
When users search the Internet for a particular product or service they often search by product or service, rather than business name. To increase the chances of having your site found, register extra domain names that relate to your core business or products. If you owned the hypothetical company name of Widgets & Widgets co. but you sold an array of household products, you could register generic domain names relating to all aspects of household goods. You may be too late to snap up obvious domain names such as detergent.com or vacuum.com, but a little creative thinking into alternatives can be lucrative. These alternative domains can be easily linked to your main web site.