Choose a domain name

Choosing the right domain name can mean the difference between success and failure in the online marketplace

You can choose to go for a domain name that people easily can remember and associate with the business you are doing (like microsoft.com) or you can choose a domain name that consists of your main keywords for example usedcomputers.com or onlinedating.com.

Some people think that it is better to have a domain that people would directly type in the address bar. For some domain names this is correct, like brand domain names (e.g. bmw.com, apple.com, adidas.com, etc.). But ask yourself how many times people will ‘guess’ your domain name when typing it in the address bar?

If you are in a certain business with a relative high competition (in my example ‘used computers’) then always go for the keywords domain name.
When people use a search engine to find a business like you, they will type keywords in the search bar. If your domain name consists one or more keywords (or even an exact match), then your site will have an advantage above sites that doesn’t have exact keyword domain names. In fact Google places a relevancy bonus on your site. (*).

E.g. if you google for “used computers” then the first (organic) result is “www.usedcomputer.com” and somewhere else you see  www.usedcomputershop.com, see what I mean?
Of course there are other factors that will determine your ranking, but exact domain words will give your site extra boost.

As an example I created not long ago a site about so-called SEO nightmares. Yes, they do exists .
I registered this site with the name: seonightmares.com It’s not a big site and it is not very well known. But if you type “SEO nightmares” in Google or Yahoo, I probably will be on the top. This is an example why exact keyword domain names are so powerful.

Some tips on choosing a domain name:

• Use a .com. It’s the name everyone associates with the Internet.
• Use the fewest letters possible to describe what you do.
• Do not use numbers in your domain name
• Avoid using hyphens. Your (Google) relevance bonus will not count when your keywords are separated with hyphens.
  • usedcomputers.com is NOT the same as used-computers.com
• Check your preferred domain name at http://www.whois.net/ to see if it is still available.
• Register your domain name at a web host (you also need a web host) sometimes it’s much cheaper for a combination account (domain name plus web host service, like godaddy.com) and sometimes your domain name is for free when register at a web host (like webmasters.com)

If you want to learn more details about choosing the right domain name, then I suggest you strongly to become a member of the SEOBook Training Centre. Among the ever growing list of topics, you can read very good advice about choosing the right domain name.