Just about any money-makin’ plan you might pick online requires that you start a web site. And if you’re like me, you’re starting new sites all the time.
So I wanted to share with you how I, as a copywriter, find the perfect domain name.
Pretty much every word in the dictionary is taken. There are plenty of two word combinations available… but the most obvious ones are usually taken. A lot of what’s left over doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense without good marketing.
MySpace.com, FaceBook.com and YouTube.com might seem like self explanatory domains to you now… but if you didn’t know what the sites were. They’d be a mystery.
Those two domains are a good example of what’s left.
BUT… those domain names aren’t bad at all. I just helped a client find the perfect domain name for his new product. It’s two words. Easy to remember. Easy to spell…
Well, why don’t I just go ahead and tell you my rules for selecting domain names.
1. They must be extremely easy to spell. Short words like… cat, hat, free are great. Stuff like “genius” isn’t good. You may think it’s easy to spell, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to mess up.
2. I like to avoid double vowels between words, and sometimes double consonants. For example, giveeasy.com is a domain name that I once considered, but that double “e” in the middle. It’s a little confusing. This can happen with consonants when double l’s or t’s get involved.
3. Less than 3 words. You can get away with breaking this rule every now and then. But in general, keep working ’til you find something that doesn’t take an hour to type in.
4. Benefit-laden. IF POSSIBLE, it’s great to have a domain name that states the benefit of your product or service. Why? Because the domain name can act like an ad for your site. It’s almost like a headline!
I bought a domain name a while back called snackawaypounds.com. Check out that benefit. Putting a benefit in the domain ALSO helps people remember the name.
Ok, those are my 4 biggest tips for selecting domain names. I could have said, always go for a .com. But you should know that.
