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| How to Pick the Perfect Domain
Name |
| Posted: 28-03-2006 | Views: 158 |
| Author: Adrian Mullan |
What makes the perfect domain
name?
Well, it has to be:
1. Relatively short
2. Simple to remember
3. Easy to spell
I was speaking to a customer recently who had a business
called 'Otway Valley Trading Company'.
The domain name he wanted was:
www.otwayvalleytradingcompany.com
Can you spot some of the problems with this domain name?
Here's a few:
1. It's too long:
Having to type a long domain name into your browser is
annoying and also increases the chances of your customers
making a spelling mistake.
2. Too many keywords:
Having 4 keywords (Otway Valley Trading Company) makes
it hard for customers to remember the name of the site.
Try to stick to one or two keywords in your domain name.
3. Easy to misspell:
The word 'otway' can be easily confused for 'ottway'.
4. Makes the email address too long:
An email address for this domain name would look like
this:
sales@otwayvalleytradingcompany.com
... that's a mouthful for anyone to remember.
Picking a Good Domain Name:
1) The shorter the better
Having a short and snappy domain name makes it easier
for your customer to remember your website address, and
easier to type into their Internet browser.
2) Go for something catchy
Keep in mind that your domain name doesn't have to be
boring. In fact, if you can come up with something catchy
- it's a great way to distinguish your business from the
competition - just ask the people at Yahoo!.
3) Avoid using hyphens
We've found that hyphens in domain names tend to confuse
people.
Sometimes you'll see websites that have a hyphen separating
keywords (e.g. ace-accounting.com). This is almost always
because the preferred name (aceaccounting.com) has already
been registered by someone else.
If the domain you want is already being used by someone
else, then you're better off coming up with an alternative
name then using hyphens.
4) Avoid using numbers
If possible, try avoiding the use of numbers in your domain
name, as this can also lead to confusion (e.g. was that
3phones.com or threephones.com ?).
But if you have to use a number, make sure you register
both the written and numerical versions of your domain
name (3phones.com and threephones.com).
5) Grab a thesaurus
If you're struggling for inspiration or finding it difficult
to come up with a name that hasn't already been taken
- grab a thesaurus (or visit Thesaurus.com)
Say you run an adventure tour company and you want to
register excitingadventures.com - but somebody has already
registered the domain name.
Lookup the word 'exciting' at Thesaurus.com and you can
quickly find an alternative like 'breathtaking, sensational
or fascinating'.
And don't be afraid to use a little imagination - companies
like Google and Yahoo! have benefited a lot by having
a unique web address.
Adrian Mullan is the author of 'The Internet Demystified'
and founder of WebDummy.com - a popular Internet marketing resource for
small business owners.
This article is
free for republishing
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/ |
| Adrian Mullan is the author of 'The
Internet Demystified' and founder of WebDummy.com - a popular Internet marketing resource for
small business owners. |
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