Name Your Domain
So, you have chosen a niche and now need to choose a name for your website. Some may advise you to do a keyword search to see how that domain name ranks. but there is more to it than that.
This used to be a good strategy but is no longer as relevant as it was. The search engines now find your website through the keywords and content that you write.
You want a name that is not too long and hopefully easy to remember. Think about all the “big guys”, Google, Yahoo, Bing, we’ve all heard of them and not a keyword in site!
Matt Cutts is a very well known figure in the Internet world, here is what he has to say about domain names and the pros and cons of having a keyword in it.
Another thing you may want to consider is the sequence of letters on a keyboard. This is a smaller matter but think about it. When you are typing the name you have chosen, how does it flow on your keyboard?
Tips for Name Selection
- Watch the Matt Cutts video!
- If choosing a keyword domain name, pick 5 or 6 keywords that relate to your niche to play around with.
- Be unique. You don’t want your traffic going to a more popular, all ready branded website.
- Choose a .com name preferably but .org is okay if you really love the name you have chosen and .com is not available.
- Flow on the keyboard, when you type, what are the keys hardest to reach? Typically P, Q, Z and X.
- Try to keep it short and easy to remember.
- Hyphens and numbers should be avoided if possible, makes it hard to deliver verbally.
- Pull up your domain search tool and have it handy while playing with your name, you’ll find out what is available. I recommend this site for your search tool.
- If you are worried about copyright infringement (doesn’t happen often), you can go to copyright.gov to search before you buy
Purchasing Your Domain Name
There are a number of places you can buy your domain name, the 2 that we’ve personally used are:
- Namecheap – free whois guard for a year. This guard prevents your private details, such as your address being displayed publicly. Usually the cheapest prices.
- GoDaddy – Slighty more expensive than Namecheap, but VERY cheap when they have their sales on!
If you need any more help choosing a domain name please leave a comment below or contact us.
Here you can find a step by step checklist for setting up your wordpress website.
