9 Tips To Find The Perfect Domain Name For Your Website

Before I get to the tips let me say a few things.

First, domain names are very important to your success. Luckily, they’re still extremely cheap to buy so if you pick the wrong domain name early on it’s not going to become one of those budget-busting mistakes that can kill your business. Just pick another domain name and keep moving.

Secondly, the days of finding simple, short, and concise domain names are long gone but that doesn’t mean that you can’t find that perfect domain name that can help you make big bucks online as an internet marketer. So don’t get discouraged when you first jump in and find that all one-word domains and most two-word domains are already taken or for sale for thousands of dollars.

Nine Pro Tips To Choosing Winning Domain Names

1. Research which search terms and phrases people are using now in your market

Use Google Keyword Planner (which has replaced the Google Keyword Tool) or another service to determine what phrases and keywords people are searching for now to locate your niche products and services. Jot down 5-7 keywords and phrases that can help you determine your domain name.

2. Include niche keywords in your domain name

Search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo) like keywords in the domain name to let searchers know at a glance what the site’s content is about. There is much debate about whether its better to have keywords at the beginning of the domain name instead of at the end (i.e dogtrainingexperts.com vs. bestdogtraining.com) but I have yet to see enough evidence to convince me either way. Just make sure they’re in there somewhere.

3. Choose a dot.com name

Dot.com is still the place to be. People automatically type in “whatever keyword they’re looking for”.com out of habit and only look elsewhere if they cannot find it there. It will take more work to find a good .com name but they’re still out there. More on this later.

4. Keep the name as short as possible

I know. That’s rich coming from a dude using the very, very short domain name highpayingaffiliateprograms.com right? There are exceptions. In my case, my domain name tells visitors exactly what they’ll find here. But as a general rule a shorter domain name is better. Which leads me to…

5. Narrow and specific is better than broad and general

Choose a name that narrows down your topic to your sub-niche if possible. For example, if you plan to sell affiliate products such as furniture targeting women buyers don’t choose a broad domain name such as bestfurnituredeals.com. Instead select something like furnitureforwomen.com. Lame example I know but I think you get the point.

6. Avoid hyphens or numbers in your domain

Not necessarily because they don’t rank well but because people have trouble including them when they’re looking for you. Make it as easy as possible for people to find you and your site.

7. Make it easy to spell

If your chosen niche is selling xylophones then I guess you’re shit out of luck. Other than that make sure people can spell it right the first time. When you tell someone what your domain name is they should be able to type it in right the very first time.

8. Be very careful not to violate copyrighted names or brands

Be very careful if you plan on using a brand name of an affiliate product or service. Most companies will not allow this and in fact can be illegal. When in doubt contact the company first and ask them if you can use it.

9. Buy expired domains: Buy expired domains where you can find amazing seasoned domain deals. Click here to learn how to find expired domains.

Additional Domain Name Tips 

A. Try to secure yourname.com if you can. This is usually impossible for anyone with a common name like Smith or Jones but see what you can find. Yourname.com is a great place to tell people more about you or link out to your other domain names and social media sites.

If you own a business you’ll want to try to secure yourcompanyname.com as well. Like personal names this may not be possible but see what’s available. If you can’t get yourcompanyname.com at least try to find a domain that describes your area of business or niche.

B. Don’t be afraid to buy a domain name if one exists that is perfect for your website. You’re running a business so expect to have some expenses and you might have to drop a few bones on a great domain name if you can’t find one any other way.

C. Domain names do have an impact on SEO (search engine optimization). Keywords are still beneficial to SEO in your domain names since they have a positive effect on click-through-rates for searchers. Plus they help the search engines quickly identify what your site is about and they even help you by highlighting those keywords in the search results.

D. When you find the perfect .com domain name you might want to consider buying the other domain extensions related to it such as .net, .org, and .name, etc. This will keep others from buying them and creating confusion about which domain extension your site is located. Forward these other domain extensions to your primary .com site. So if someone types in yoursite.net it will forward to yoursite.com.

Many smart marketers even take it a step further and buy domains that others can use to spread negative information about their products or services. For example: yoursitesucks.com, yoursitescam.com, yournamesucks.com. In fact, I’ve even seen politicians do this to keep unscrupulous people from trolling them and spreading misinformation about them.

E. Lastly, don’t follow the latest domain name trends. Trends come and go and your goal should be to make your website relevant and timeless. One trendy example I can remember is when everyone was buying domains such as best insert-your-market-or-product-here.com sites. That trend worked well in the search engines for awhile until Google sniffed it out and put an end to it just like they will the next trend.

Follow the simple tips above and don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. In fact, one of the best strategies online is to do the exact opposite of what the herd is doing. This makes you stand out and you may find other people copying your strategy after a while. But that’s another topic for another day.

Are you ready to choose your first domain name and build your first website?

Go here to learn how.