How thoroughly should you think about your domain name? Is it really that important?
If you have a quality website and business, people will visit your site no matter what the domain is, right?
Well, not so fast…
You see, your domain name is the key element of your website. It can make or break you, so it’s crucial to choose a domain name that works for your business.
But wait, why is your domain name so important?
- It’s your “first impression”. Your URL is the first thing your visitors will see. A good domain name can make a positive and lasting impression, while a bad domain name can send visitors running.
- It affects SEO. While exact match domains (EMDs) are no longer a necessity, keywords in your domain name can still help your SEO ranking.
- It defines your brand. We’ll talk about this in a minute – your domain name is a branding opportunity! The right domain name can increase brand recognition.
These elements are only a few of the many reasons why your domain name is so important.
How do you choose the right domain name? That’s precisely what we’re going to share with you today.
Important factors of choosing a domain name:
- Use .com, .org or .net (most popular ones)
- Brandable over generic
- Shorter is better
- Easy to type
- Easy to pronounce
- Avoid hyphens and numbers
- Consider using a keyword that reflects your website
- Think long-term over short term
- Check if it’s not trademarked
- Use domain name generators when stuck
How to Choose the Perfect Domain Name
1. Use The Right Domain Name Extensions (.com, .org, .net)
When you choose your domain name extension, you can be sure of one thing: “.com” is still the best.
According to research from Domain Name Stat, 43% of all domains have the “.com” extension.
Why? Well, “.com” is the most familiar and easiest to remember.
While there are many successful websites with a “.net” and “.org”, your website will probably do better if it has a “.com” extension. It’s the safest bet.
Our advice: Go with .com. If that’s taken, try .net or .org. If these are taken too, you’d be better off brainstorming a new domain name. And oh! – Avoid those weird extensions like “.club”, “.space”, “.pizza” and so on.
2. Brandable Over Generic
Creative and brandable are always better than generic.
Remember: Your domain name is how visitors will find, remember, and share your company on the web. It is the foundation of your brand.
Here’s the main difference between a brandable and generic domain name:
A brandable domain name is unique and stands out from the competition, while a generic domain name is usually stuffed with keywords and unmemorable.
For example, do you know the difference between Healthinsurance.net, Newhealthinsurance.com, or Healthinsurancesort.com? Probably not, right?
These are horribly generic. They don’t have any meaning. You won’t hear anyone talking about how awesome “Insurance.com” is. Variations of the word “insurance” will increase the competition and make it blend in even more.
Sites like UnitedHealthCareOnline.com and Anthem.com stand out because they stand for something. When people hear those domain names, there is a trust factor there.
Here’s how to find a more brandable domain name:
- Create new words. You can make up your own catchy, new words. That’s what Google, Bing, and Yahoo did.
- Use existing words. You can use a thesaurus to find interesting words that fit your brand.
- Use domain name generators. These tools can help you create a unique, brandable domain name from your initial domain ideas and keywords. (We’ll highlight some of our favorite domain name generators later in this post.)
3. Short Is Better Than Long
In general, when it comes to the length of your domain, shorter is better.
According to research from DataGenetics.com, a blog by Nick Berry, the most common name length is approximately 12 characters.
(Popularity, in this case, refers to the amount of web traffic the site receives.)
All of this data shows that you should keep your domain name concise.
Aim for 6-14 characters – and remember the shorter, the better. Most likely the shorter domain names are taken a LONG time ago and sold for thousands of dollars. If you can’t find something short, make it brandable.
Our own site – websitesetup.org is exactly 12 characters.
4. Make Sure It’s Easy To Type
Think of some of the most popular websites in the world. What comes to mind?
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yahoo, CNN…
One big thing they have in common is that they’re all easy to spell.
Your visitors should be able to type your domain name without a problem. If you have to explain the spelling more than once for it to be understood, it’s too complicated!
The last thing you want is for the potential visitors to mistype your domain and end up on a different website!
Here’s an easy way to test this…
Tell 10 people your potential domain name and ask them to spell it. If more than a few people struggle to spell it, you need to simplify it.
5. Make Sure It’s Easy To Pronounce
As easily as your domain name rolls off the tips of your fingers, it should roll off the tip of your tongue.
This makes it easier for visitors to share your domain name by word-of-mouth and makes it easier for you to share your site with friends and potential customers.
You can test this the same way as with the “spelling”.
Write your domain name on a piece of paper and ask 10 people to pronounce it. If more than a few people struggle to pronounce it, you should simplify it.
Here’s what to keep in mind: You want your domain name to be passed along easily by you and others. The only way for that to be possible is if it’s 1) easy to spell and 2) easy to pronounce.
6. Avoid Hyphens And Numbers
Remember how your domain name should be easy to spell and pronounce? Hyphens and numbers make it more difficult.
Imagine explaining Facebook if it had a hyphen in there…
“Have you seen this new site Face-Book? There’s a hyphen in there by the way, between the ‘Face’ and the ‘Book.’”
Facebook might not have spread so quickly if that was the case.
The bottom line? Your domain name should be smooth and punchy – hyphens and numbers get in the way of that.
Stick to the letters!
7. Consider Using “Niche” Keywords That Reflect Your Website
Our website mainly about web development or helping people to create a website. Hence we chose to add a name that reflects all of it – “website”. Obviously website.com (or .org, .net) was no longer available, we simply chose “WebsiteSetup”.
Keywords can help to improve your SEO – you need to tread carefully here! If you try to awkwardly stuff keywords into your domain, it comes across as generic (like we talked about before).
If you choose to use keywords, put the keywords at the beginning of your domain. That’s where they’ll be the most powerful for your ranking.
You can find keywords with tools like Google Keyword Planner and Keywordtool.io.
8. Think Long-Term Over Short-Term
Are you ready to marry your domain? You should be because it will be one of the biggest elements that define your business and brand for years.
If you decide to change the domain in the future, it will cost you money, branding, and SEO rankings. In short – it’s a huge pain!
When you’re choosing your domain, think long-term.
For example, if your company helps businesses optimize their websites for SEO, you could choose a domain name like, “OptimizedSEO.com”
If you think there’s a chance you might expand to more general digital marketing services in the future, like email marketing, PPC, etc. then it might be wise to reconsider your domain name.
You don’t want to pin yourself down to a certain niche if you think you might expand out of that niche.
Therefore, keep your long-term vision in mind when picking your domain name.
9. Check If It’s Not Trademarked Or Already Used
Before you move forward with a specific domain name, check to see if the name is available on social media sites, as well as if there are any trademarks already registered to the name.
To build your brand, it’s ideal to have the same name across your domain and social networks. This builds familiarity and makes it easy for your visitors, fans, and customers to find you around the web.
Avoid legal issues; you should stay away from names that already have trademarks.
How can you quickly check social networks and trademarks for your potential domain name?
It’s quite easy with a tool like Knowem. Search your potential domain name – it’ll show you if it’s available throughout over 25 popular social networks and if there are any trademarks already registered to the name.
If it’s taken, consider tweaking it so that you can create original social media profiles.
10. Use Domain Name Generators When Stuck
At this point, you should have at least a general idea of some possible words to put in your domain. Some of those words may already be taken, trademarked, or just don’t have the “sound” you’re looking for.
That’s where domain name generators come into play. These generators can turn your ideas into fresh, available domains.
Here are some of our favorite domain name generators to try out:
- Wordoid This tool allows you to plug in a word; it will come up with ideas that either contain that word, begin with that word or end with that word.
- Lean Domain Search This tool matches your keyword with other keywords and generates a list of available domains.
- DomainHole This tool allows you to search keywords, find expired domains, generate new names, and more.
Where Should You Register Your Domain Name?
If you don’t know where to register your domain name, we recommend choosing another guide of ours – How to Register a Domain Name (+ tips for getting it for FREE)
Your domain name will have a significant impact on the success and potential of your website. Make sure to put some careful thought into choosing yours.
Barbara Lovejoy
This is a very good article! Somehow discovered your website, so I’ll ask a question about my current domain, which is the title I’ve been using for my website, biz cards, and my overall business.
I have a small, one-person Life Coaching, Speaking, and Workshop practice, and also plan to post my articles on my website. This website is mainly for folks to refer to, to get more info about me and my services–I’m not trying to attract folks to my site through search engines.
My underlying purpose/mission is to help people experience more joy in their life, as a conscious choice, no matter what the circumstances are, and remove their blocks to joy.
Here’s my domain name, etc.: ClaimJoy.com
A tag line I often use after that for talks, programs, etc. is as follows:
Claim Joy…no matter what!
My question: Do you think this works well to fit the main criteria you mention in your wonderful article? It seems to be a good brand name, says what I’m about, and also a call to action.
Most other choices I like, such as “ChooseJoy”, or “LiveYourJoy” or “PathToJoy, are already taken.
And I was thinking of switching to ClaimYourJoy to make it more personal, but someone recently took it.
Thanks so much for your input!
Barbara Lovejoy
PS: I’ve still been using my other domain, which is my name, for my email address, because I didn’t want to bother with adding on another one. And I also like folks to have my full name when I send an email.
If I add it at some point, then I’d probably make it: [redacted]—which would be more consistent for building my brand.
Do you think this email would be best?
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Barbara, thanks for the excellent and detailed question! Honestly, I think your domain name is good. It’s short, memorable, and meaningful. While I would have liked claimyourjoy better (just for its rhythm), I think claimjoy.com is completely fine. I also like the way your new email address would look (which I have removed so that it can’t be scraped by spammers). So, in short, I think you have a winner.
Khaled Alhadary
If I am choosing a domain name, SEO wise is it better to have the search words first or the company name first? does it matter?
eg. ABCbeachhotel.com OR beachhotelABC.com
Pablo Fernandez
my experience says its better to go for the website name first and see if the business name is available too. Both must be available. It’s not easy since the name is really important.
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Khaled, I don’t think it matters. I would focus on what sounds better and is easier to remember.
Matthew
Hello I know using your name for a personal portfolio like website is generally a good idea i.e johnsmith.com, how about using your initials or 1 initial, say for the example which would you recommend over the full name for john luke smith – jlsmith.com or jsmith.com ? Thanks
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Matthew, my tendency would be to just go with the full name or maybe do something like johnlsmith.com. For most people that I have see who use their name as their URL, they use the full name. It’s also easier to remember than initials in my opinion.
dani
Awesome post. I would love to start a personal development/self-care site aimed at empaths, caregivers, basically, people who spend the majority of their time helping others while putting themselves on the backburner. How’s the domain name meemode.com sound?
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Dani, meemode.com sounds fine. However, keep in mind that this is purely a brand name since it doesn’t have any meaning in itself.
Ruth
Your article is SO helpful. I have created a website for my daughter (learning HTML and CSS in the process!) but struggling now for the best domain name. She is trying to create a business for soft tissue massage and therapy. So the website will not be an e-commerce site. Will be for marketing her services. I registered kateBrydon.co.uk but having read more into SEO am rethinking. Do you think therapywithkate.net would work, or therapywithkate.co.uk? .com has gone.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Ruth, I think you should go either one way or the other, meaning either use your daughter’s name or a brand name and combine it with a meaningful SEO title that explains her business or get a domain that is descriptive of the business like softtissuetherapy.co.uk or similar. therapywithkate seems a little vague. Users know neither who Kate is nor what kind of therapy she offers from the URL.
daphna daily
hi nick, thank you so much for this article. i feel less alone with this! it would be a huge support if you could help me with choosing the right domain name for my website.
i am a coach, i call it FOCUS-IN. it is based on a technique called FOCUSING. my dame is Daily and my first name starts with D. so those are the options:
dailyfocusin.com (then it sounds like focusing so i guess people will have issues with the spelling?)
dailyfocus-in.com (dash is according to you a no!)
dailyfocus.com (isn’t it too generic? it can be also ddailyfocus.com)
ddailyfocusing.com (then i use the technique name and not mine. on my home page the title is FOCUS-IN mind-body coaching)
remark: the FOCUS-IN is quite important to me.
thank you so much in advance for your support!
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey there Daphna, thanks for the detailed question. I would definitely stay away from the double d solution (ddailyxxx). This will just confuse visitors. I also don’t think putting a hyphen in there is a good solution. If FOCUS-IN is important to you, you can try to establish it as your brand though I agree that people will tend to put a “g” at the end if you include it in your domain. If you want to run with it, dailyfocusin.com sounds like the best option to me. Overall, I think dailyfocus.com would be easiest to remember.
Hope this helps!
Shira
Someone told me that a website ending in .org indicates a non-profit organization and would require a 501c3. Is this true?
WebsiteSetup Editorial
Not true, while it is often used by non-profits, there’s no rule that restricts anyone else from using .org domains for commercial sites.
Ali Brown
Hi,
Thank you for this great article.
I want to start a blog as a Freelance Writer, but I am not sure about how to call it.
I had a concept in mind which is to document my journey as a Freelance Writer. I would share everything that I am learning, my successes and failures. So I thought about a domain name: freelancewriterjourney.com or thewriterjourney.com.
Reading your article, I realize that it might be too long and perhaps spammy. But at the same time having a domain name which states what the audience can expect on the blog seems essential.
Any advice, please?
Regards,
WebsiteSetup Editorial
Having a relevant domain to the content is great, but I wouldn’t say it’s essential. It’s much better to focus on a domain name that’s easy to pronounce and memorable. With that said, the first domain name you mentioned is definitely too long but the second one seems promising. Try playing around with variations of it until you find something that’s available.
Ankappa
Which will be a better domain name for my website which is about English learning through the Kannada language (kannadaenglish.com or Englis.in)? Or please suggest any other.
(Kannada is a local language in India. Main purpose of this website is to teach basic English for Kannada students. This website will be local. Global users are not expected. I feel Kannadaenglish.com will be better option. But need your suggestions)
WebsiteSetup Editorial
I agree that kannadaenglish.com is the better option here, you could also go with kannadaenglish.in since it will be a local site.
Maud
Hi Nick,
Thank you for this article that helps a lot! What do you think about domains finishing with .coffee or .cafe ? Which of them would you use ? It will be for a commercial space.
Thanks for your help!
Nick Schäferhoff
We generally advise to stick to more conservative TLDs like .com, .net., or similar. However, I have seen endings like .pizza, etc. used more commonly so I think you can give it a go. As for which ending, I think that depends a little on the rest of your domain but, in general, I would prefer .cafe because it’s shorter and looks more pleasant in my opinion.
Nihara
Hi Nick,
Loved your post. Helped in to zero in on 2 names but still confused.
I have an Interior Design Business and name of my firm is IOSIS which means transform.
I have a Youtube Channel: Interior Iosis By Nihara
Now i am Confused between:
1) Interior by Nihara.com
2)Interior iosis.com
Nick Schäferhoff
Personally, I find interiorbynihara.com easier to remember but a little long. If iosis is a normal word in your target language, interioriosis.com is probably the better choice. However, seeing it written down like that I realize that it’s a little hard on the eyes because the same letters repeat a lot. Have you considered interior-iosis.com?
Jay
Hi Nick,
It is great that you have pulled together such a useful post and subsequently been so responsive to comments!
Domain name is something I’ve been weighing up a lot recently. I’ve long had the nickname of the Black Jew (due to being frugal, nothing to do with religion) and so had initially chosen the domain name BlackJewTravels. I have since received some feedback that such a name can be deemed as offensive. Very little feedback, but it is something still…
Abbreviating the title to BJtravels doesn’t work for obvious reasons lol and using my alternative nickname of J1 poses the issue of confusion for people spelling the URL.
Am I overthinking this, and would you consider the name to be acceptable as-is? Or alternatively, would you suggest that something along the lines of [censored], although longer, would be a safer and more appropriate domain name to take on?
Thanks a lot in advance, whether you get around to responding or not!
Nick Schäferhoff
I don’t know where you are based but I can tell you that in much of the English-speaking world the word “Jew” itself has quite problematic undertones. These days, you would usually speak of Jewish people/persons or say that someone is Jewish. In addition to that, using Jewish people as a stand-in for frugality is pretty offensive as this is a stereotype often used to discriminate against the Jewish population. For both reasons, I would strongly discourage you from using it as part of your business name and also reconsider if that is a nickname you want to continue using for yourself.
Jay
Thanks for the feedback, Nick.
With the way that the world is heading at the moment, I decided that it may be unnecessarily problematic to use either Jew or Black in my name. Although there was no intent on being offensive, I have decided to play it safe and bought a new domain to avoid any confusion.
Naomi Odoi
Hi Nick.
Thanks for your article, very informative.
I have recently used Wix website builder to create a site for my college assessment on social media module. I would like to upgrade this website to have a personal domain and use it to promote myself/career progression in the long term and finding a bit difficult to come up with a name. Was thinking of using NaomisZone.com , NaomisBuzzworld.com, NaomisCareerProgression.com, Naomiscareerinterests.com, NaomiOdoiOyster.com
Any suggestions/pointers will be very appreciated.
Many thanks
Naomi
Nick Schäferhoff
How about simply using your name? I think that would be the best for a portfolio or personal website.
Rob Brennan
Nick
Are there global restrictions on registering names or can you choose one that is already taken in say USA and change the extension to .co.uk? Is trademarking only valid in the country you registered it?
Thanks
Rob
Nick Schäferhoff
This is a very complicated issue that I am not really qualified to give advice on. I can tell you that domains are not automatically trademarks and, therefore, not necessarily protected in every country of the world. However, to get a real answer on this, I recommend you talk to a lawyer.
Ronaldo Cayanan
Hi Nick,
Hope things are well.
I have a registered limited company (REAJ LTD) here in Alberta, Canada. I would like to start an online business using Shopify platform and become a professional seller of products i.e. household, sports, gadgets, etc. It would be highly appreciate if you could provide me your honest opinion or suggests in terms of store name and domain name to use in shopify.
Example:
Domain Name: reajltd.com
Store Name: Online Merchandiser or The Merchandiser
Again, thanks for your help!
Thanks
Ronaldo
Nick Schäferhoff
You would not commonly include the legal entity (Ltd., LLC, etc.) in your domain name unless it is somehow part of your brand (e.g. the record label “Murder Inc.”). So, that’s probably not a good idea. In addition, your store name suggestions seem generic and not very memorable. The store name should either be a brand name (think “Adidas”, “Siemens”, “Nike”) or something that describes what you do/offer (e.g. “Reaj Kitchen Interiors”). Otherwise, it’s unlikely anyone will remember the name or find you online.
Niru
Nick,
Great info!
For a company that teaches photography and takes people around the world to photograph wildlife, landscape and people etc, what name would you pick?
I am thinking of naming it Photo Journeys Worldwide.
I own PhotoJWW.com and the FB/IG/TW with the same handle. I also own JourneysWorldwide.com and the LLC is registered as Journeys Worldwide, LLC. Please help me to come up with a good name. Thanks!
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Niru, I’m sorry, I can’t help you pick a name for your company. However, for the domain, I would stay away from abbreviations. JourneysWorldwide.com is definitely a better address than PhotoJWW.com. The second one is so much harder to remember and doesn’t look very nice either.
Richard
Is the domain name REALLY that important fo SEO? I googled ‘choosing domain’ and found this post. I clicked on the title of the post (which is what is highlighted in bold in the results) before I even knew your domain name. No one is going to Google websitesetup.org because no one knows you exist until they find you based on the content they were looking for.
I ask this because I wanted a website for my business but can’t use the domain name I would prefer so was thinking of different options.
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Richard, as mentioned, having keywords in your domain is no longer as important or powerful as it used to be. What’s more important is that your URL is recognizable and easy to remember. If you create top-notch content, Google will rank it even if it’s under a seemingly unrelated domain. At the same time, it doesn’t hurt to have keywords in the domain (as long as it doesn’t sound spammy), especially for local SEO (think bestpizzanewyork.com). Hope this answers your questions!
Hannan Khan
Hi, Please can you help me to decide a Domain for my Mag/Blog with mixed content. I want to know if the domain giveupthepost.com would be good for me as it is a pun of give up the ghost.
Thanking you,
Hannan Khan
Nick Schäferhoff
I love it! I’m a sucker for puns. Go for it!
Jeet
Hi Nick,
This is awesome info and thanks for sharing it. Appreciate it! It seems I got it on time. All short domains are gone and mine seem longer (which I know you’d not recommend). As a beginner affiliate marketer, I’m just beginning to promote a platform that provides high-quality software tools and educational content for affiliate and aspiring affiliate marketers. As per your advice, I want to include, if possible, keywords like “affiliate” and “marketing” in my domain and for SEO purposes. However, they get longer:
lurnaffiliatemarketing.com (I’m not sure a work “lurn” to include or not)
startaffiliatemarketing.com
affiliatemarketinghero.org (I’m not getting .com)
I’ll appreciate your advice, which would be a world to me.
Thanks in advance, Nick!
Nick Schäferhoff
I actually like affiliatemarketinghero.org the best. It’s long but snappy. Among those three, I would go for that one.
Marek
Thanks for this article! Super helpful 🙂
I’m planning to set up a website offering courses teaching people academic writing. But following what you mentioned in the article, I’m thinking that perhaps I might expand in the future to academic presentations as well, so perhaps it’s better to include academic English in the domain name. Both academicwriting.com and academicenglish.com are already taken. So I was thinking about betteracademicenglish.com or academicenglishboost.com
Admittedly, they’re both very long :/ Any suggestions would be much appreciated
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Marek, I’m not sure I’m a fan of either of those. Also, if you say you are not sure that you will limit yourself to academic writing, why not try to come up with a brand name that could function as an umbrella for different kinds of offerings? Maybe your full name?
Amy
Terrific informative site. Thank you for all the information. I am amazed you find the time to respond to readers!
I found your site on a search regarding domain names with too many characters. (Top of the search) I have several websites (and collect domain names like women collect shoes :). I have been trying to launch a new business platform based on my brand name. My current website for this can not be found when I search the terms for exactly what it is “Jewelry Night”. It has been up many months as createconnectnight.com (without the jewelry) Jewelrynight domain is taken, I bought the hyphenated version jewelry-night, but read to avoid hyphens as it may be considered spamming. My current site based on my brand (Create Connect) is createconnectnight.com . Createconnectjewelrynight is too long correct? Would you recommend ccjewelrynight.com or disregard my brand name and choose something more reflective of the business platform and the customers I am trying to reach who have never heard of my (local) brand name anyway. Like sipandmakejewelry.com. My platform is like the sip and paint industry, (paintnite) but with jewelry as the “canvas”. Thank you for your help in advance!
Nick Schäferhoff
Amy, glad you like the post and thanks for your comment! To be honest, I first had to look up sip and paint, since I had never heard of that. I guess not “Jewely Night” makes a lot more sense.
First of all, don’t try to force your brand name in there. The domains are already very long and you are better off including it in the site title like “Sip and Make Jewelry by Create Connect” or something similar. However, I would also make sure that “Sip and Paint” is not a protected trademark which you might be in violation with if you use a very similar name.
I don’t think jewelry-night.com is a bad idea (despite the hyphen), however, whoever owns jewelrynight.com seems to be doing something very similar to what you are planning. Therefore, in the interest of branding and standing out from the crowd, I would go with something else. I don’t have any concrete proposals at this point but I hope my input will help you come up with something else. And remember, the shorter, the better.
Brian VanRooy
Hello Nick,
It seems you have given out a lot of good advice, hopefully your can help me as well.
I have a staining business, SOS staining, with the web site, SOSstaining.com. A majority of my work has been assembly in addition to just staining. Naturally, I have changed my business name to SOS staining and assembly.
This leaves the web site SOSstaining.com. Do you think I should change it to SOSstainingandassembly.com?
As I write that name it seems way too long and hard to read. Also, If someone types in sosstaining, will they still be directed to my site?
Any advice would be appreciated as I am currently stuck on this major decision..
Thank you!
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Brian, I would refrain from using the longer URL. It’s too cumbersome to write. If people are still finding your business online and you rank well for assembly work, maybe you can just leave things as they are? Also, if you do change your URL and keep your old address, you can redirect it to the new location. That way, anyone who types in the old address will still land on your website.
Wendy Laurier
Hi! Wow! What a helpful site!
I have a new tribute band to Linda Ronstadt and need a website. My show is called “Heat Wave – A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt”.
For a domain, HeatWave.com is taken. HeatWaveTribute.com is taken. I’m staying away from Ronstadt for spelling reasons.
Here is what I’m looking at. What is your opinion? Thanks so much for your advice!
HeatWaveTribute.net (or .org)
Heat-Wave-Tribute.com
HeatWaveLindaTribute.com
Nick Schäferhoff
Hi Wendy, to be honest, I first had to google Linda Ronstadt and Heat Wave. Seems like it’s not my music generation.
As for your question, I would definitely go with one of the shorter versions and not include “Linda”. That makes it unnecessarily long. I would also prefer .net over .org. In addition, have you checked for heat-wave.com?
Marlenda Clark
Thank you for the wonderful article, Nick!! I am in the process of getting my photography business off the ground. The name of my business is M Clark Photography. Unfortunately, mclarkphotography.com is already taken. The domain mclarkphotography.net is abailable, but in keeping the name short, “photography” alone does not help the situation. For purposes of having a name that can be spelled easily, my first name knocks that out of the ballpark as my first name is Marlenda. Plus it does not help that it is also 8 letters long. My branding catchphrase is “Capturing moments…little slices of forever.” So, as an alternative, I am considering using just part of my branding catchphrase: slicesofforever.com. The main problem I see with this is there appears to be absolutely no connection between it and my photography. Additionally, I already established my facebook business page, part of my personal page, a year ago as mclarkphotography. What would you advise?
Thank you!!
Marlenda
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Marlenda, that’s a bit of a tough one. One the one hand, I am a big fan of keeping branding addresses consistent. That means, if all your social handles are mclarkphotography, it makes sense to use the same for your main URL, even if it’s with a .net ending.
On the other hand, if you really want a .com address, your name is unique enough to be useful – marlendaclark.com or marlenda-clark.com would absolutely work, in my opinion. Alternatively, maybe something like mclark-photos.com would be a possibility?
I also like slicesofforever.com, however, you are right that it is a bit unrelated. Plus, you might change your catchphrase at some point, so I’d advise against it.
Hope this helps! Let me know what you decide.
Jason Richardson
Hi Nick, I’m in the midst of re-vamping my website and wanting to change domain name. Business is growing quickly and think I it’s time to rename now while still early (I can forward my old domain to new domain). It’s an asphalt business, sealcoating, repairs, line painting, new pavement, etc. I’ve recently added concrete repairs and have done well in that sector of the market also…pretty diversified business. My company name is Line King (started out with line painting and asphalt sealing is reason for name), and have nice logo with a crown, people like the name and logo so would like to stick with that, it is becoming a brand name now.
Anyways, my current domain is “lksealcoating.com”, would to re-brand my company to “Line King Canada”, as that is where I am. I don’t want to pigeonhole my business to just sealcoating. I have a few domain options available, I trust your opinion, here they are:
– linekingcanada.ca
– linekingcanada.com
– lkcanada.ca
– lkcanada.com
Are the first 2 options too long? Your thoughts?
Thank you in advance.
Jason
Nick Schäferhoff
I would definitely write out “line king” in your domain and not shorten it to “lk” as it’s unclear what it means. Have you checked “lineking.ca” or “line-king.ca”? That way, you would have both the name and the appropriate domain ending in one and it’s shorter. If that doesn’t work, I am leaning toward “linekingcanada.com”. However, if it’s very common to use the local domain ending in your country, “linekingcanada.ca” might be the best solution.
Sean
Hello Nick,
Your tips have been quite helpful yet I still have some doubts. I want to create a website with content both for English as a foreign language students as well as for fellow language teachers. Thus, instead of including English in the name, I’ve been toying with “betterlanguagelearning.com” since it covers both targets. I like that the .com is available but worry the name is too long. I have a Youtube channel called “HutchmanEnglish”, but I’ve seen from your previous responses that you think using one’s own name is a poor branding strategy. I’ve also considered “languagelearning.expert” but I’ve seen you prefer to avoid unusual domain suffixes. Any thoughts?
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Sean, I agree with you that that URL is too long and I would think about finding something shorter. As for using your name, that can also work. It really depends on your marketing strategy.
For example, I know a bunch of bloggers who all use their full name as their domain and write on many different topics. For example, chrisguillebeau.com, seanogle.com, goinswriter.com (that last one is similar to hutchmanenglish.com, I would say). So, if you are planning to create a lot of content in the form of a blog, this can work as the domain name will be less central to determine the topic of your site.
As for languagelearning.expert, it’s a bit unusual, but I actually like it. It’s memorable enough so you could give it a shot.
Hope this helps!
matt
Hey Nick,
Love the article i have been struggling with this more and more. I currently have a website called moreinflow.com that i started writing about blogging and making money online. The problem is i really love learning about blogging. I find myself on your site plus other blogging websites like shoutmeloud or startbloggingonline. My question is what do you think about – in a domain name. I follow a blogger who has a blog named onemorecupof-coffee.com and his site seems to do very well. So i guess my questions are 1) Does moreinflow.com work as a website that i can pivot to talking about blogging? 2) Start a new website with “website” or “blog” in the name but use – between a word. my blog currently is still brand new so i can pivot it. I seem to always pick a blog and then blog about 20 topics which gets me no where. Starting a blog that has blog/website in the same will make me focus on just that.
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Matt, we also love to write about those topics so welcome to the show! Here are the answers for your questions:
1) I think using a dash (-) inside your domain name is no problem at all. It can actually make things easier to read. However, you should be consistent, so don’t only hyphenate one word but write everything else together as in your example.
2) Your domain can work for blogging as well, especially if you are planning to focus on teaching others how to get more visitors. But if you are not invested in the name, feel free to change it. Many big names in the “blogging about blogging” sphere actually have the word “blogging” or similar in their name, e.g. smartblogger.com, problogger.com, etc.
3) There is no need to include something like “website” or “blog” in your domain to describe what your site is about. People will figure out easily what kind of site it is. It’s more important that you include your site’s topic in the name or use a brand name that visitors can recognize you by in the long run as described in the post above.
In short, if you want to switch your focus and are not invested in your domain, feel free to change it. However, you can also start blogging on your current domain about the topic you want to to see if there is enough interest and then switch to another domain once you see that your idea holds water. Just don’t forget to set up proper redirects when you do. Good luck!
Mikey
Thanks for the awesome site! I tried posting this as a reply to your “How to choose a domain name” blog few days ago from my mobile device (and again just now), but the post doesn’t appear to be sticking… I’m trying to solidify my domain name, but was hoping to get your feedback. So as to not give up my actual desired domain name, I’ll substitute an example:
Say I’m looking for a domain for a business named “Clear Sight Home Inspection.” Not only does ClearSightHomeInspection.com seem too long, but there’s also a good chance for misspellings (site instead of sight, inspections (plural) rather than singular).
In these cases would you recommend shortening to something like, say:
1) cshomeinspection.com (keywords: home, inspection)
2) cshomeinspect.com
3) csinspection.com
4) csinspect.com (shortest)
5) … different recommendation?
I wasn’t sure how important it was to include keywords in the domain name versus trying to keep it short and simple.
Once I get the domain name nailed down, is there additional benefit to securing the exact same social media user names on FB and IG, or does matching up other platforms matter less?
Thanks for any insight!
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Mikey, out of the options you presented, I would go with cshomeinspection.com. Alternatively, maybe something like ch-home-inspection.com would also work though I think the first option looks better. While including keywords in the domain is not as important as it used to be, in a business like the one you describe, I think it makes sense. Just using your brand name (like clearsight.com) does not convey what you are actually doing and is not too memorable.
As for social platforms, of course, it’s nice to have the same handles there as your domain as far as that is possible. This way, customers only have to remember one thing. If it isn’t doable, I would see that at least all the social handles are the same to make things easier, even if they are not the same as the domain.
muhammad usman
Dear Sir/Madam,
We have registered a new company named as ACCURAM INSTRUMENTS. in which we want to sell our dental and surgical instruments . accuram.com is already taken. so kindly let me know which domain name will be suitable for us?
1- accuraminstruments.com
2-accuram-instruments.com
3-accuram-inst.com
4-accuraminst.com
Nick Schäferhoff
I personally think option 2 looks the best.
Chana Kaszemacher
I found your article very informative full of specific and useful advice. What most impressed me though is your willingness to help others as they consider domain names. Which brings me to write of my situation. Your guidance is appreciated. For years I have thought making a website for a blog geared toward people who are struggling with skepticism, intellectual doubt, troubling unanswered questions about faith, whose faith is not “working” for them. This is not a money maker idea. I want to share knowledge I have and to interact with my “client” audience with questions and answers. The wisdom in Torah which is the Tree of LIfe is my source to relieve their issues. I started with a Facebook page: Tree of Life Wisdom. So I want to stay with that in some way. I also have discovered that the people that I am trying to reach are seeking or searching for truth. I am trying to find a way to incorporate that also. So I have questions for you. The first is do you advise me to set up a website for this or to stay within the framework of Facebook? Second: If I go with a website/blog which of the following would be the best domain name? treeoflifewisdom.net (.com is not available, .info is also available) truthintreeoflife.com truthistreeoflife.com or treeoflifeistruth.com I have another one that i think is a bit of a tongue twister and cute but here it is onetruetreeoflife.com As of now all these domain names are available. I thank you in advance for any guidance you can offer.
Nick Schäferhoff
Hey Chana, first of all, you should think about what function a potential blog should fulfill. If you only want to converse with people about your topics, a forum-like Facebook page or group might be all you need. However, if you think you have enough to say about this topic that it would sustain a blog with regular posts, I think it’s a valid idea to build one.
As for the domain, I like treeoflifewisdom the most. It’s the easiest to remember. Have you checked whether the .org domain is available?