Billy Irish

What to Avoid when Choosing a Domain Name



Posted: Tuesday, October 19, 2010

by Billy Irish
BillyIrish.com

It can be tough to find the perfect domain name. With millions of people making websites every day the number of available .com names are at a premium. It is very common to have a fantastic domain name in mind only to find, when you go to buy it, that it's already been picked up by someone else. When this happens it can be tempting to pull a few tricks with a domain to get close to what you want but most of the time this will backfire on you. There are a couple of general rules that can guide you on what to avoid when picking a domain name.

1) The Hyphen. I'm sure you've seen this one. If you have your mind set on the .com version of tinyredhats but someone already has it you may be tempted to try tiny-red-hats. There are conflicting feelings on this tactic but I'd suggest you avoid it. For one the regular version is already out there and secondly it's hard to say and explain to people. Rethink your approach.

2) Numbers. At the surface numbers can seem like a good idea in a domain name but think about it for a second. When you, or someone else, is talking about your website they will have to explain it. For example let's say you get the .com version of 7thingsilike. The seven has to be explained like this, "Hey you should check out 7thingsilikethe seven is a number, not spelled out." Minor point? Maybe but an important one to consider. Word of mouth is still an important part of any websites traffic and the easier it is to say, spell and remember the better off you are.

3) Getting clever. When your top pick, or several top picks, for a domain on a specific topic are taken you will probably some up with a few alternative and clever variations on the name. This can work really well or turn out very badly. For example you are looking to get the .com version of doggytricks but it's taken. You think about it and figure that "doggitricks" sounds the same so why not? For one it makes little sense when looking at it and secondly when anyone hears the name they will assume it's spelled with a y and visit that site instead.

It's not easy to get the perfect domain name but it's better to have a solid, easy to say, spell and remember .com name than one that is hard to say, spell and remember.
Visit BillyIrish.com for tips on creating, managing and getting the most from your small business website. Bill has been working for and running small businesses his entire life and helps others increase profits and sales from their small business websites. Get some small business website help!

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