This article is not just about how to pick a domain name, but how to pick a good domain name. Yes, it would be cool to have a snappy, multi-million dollar, successful website address and company named after your cat Fluffy. However, several factors must be taken into account before picking a domain name or website URL.
First, does your domain name pass the telephone test? This means, if you were to simply say the name of your site over the phone, would the person on the other end know how to spell your website without you having to spell it for them? Therefore, the name of a site could be BasketSEO.com and not BazzketSEO.com, DaBasketSEO.com, BasketSEOz.com, BaascetSE0.com, etc.
Second, if the .com for your desired name is not available for your commercial company, don’t settle for the .net, .org., .me, .us, .biz, etc. If you spend all your time marketing for your .net, a significant portion of your traffic that is trying to get to your page will type in .com on accident. So, while you are marketing and advertising for your .net site, you are also marketing to whoever owns the .com version of your domain name as well and losing traffic in the process!
Finally, branding is great, but don’t underestimate the value of using actual keyword phrases that people search for into the domain name of your company. For example, if someone is searching for SEO and types SEO into Google and our site, www.BasketSEO.com comes up in the search listings, then the “SEO” part of our domain will come up in bold. Seeing what you type into Google’s search box come up in bold in the domain name of a listing draws people to want to click on it. Have your SEO specialist come up with a list of keyword phrases people search for in your industry to give you ideas on a great, practical domain name.
When you are ready to buy your domain name and do a search, be ready to buy it on the spot. Simply waiting a couple hours could result in someone else buying that domain name before you and trying to sell it back to you for a premium or worse, using it to make a competing company.
