The choice of your unique address online could be the single most important decision you make.
Here’s why it’s important:
- It’s the most direct way for people to get to your site
- It will help or hurt your search rankings
- It’s the beginning and end of your branding
- It will stick with you for a long time, and changing it isn’t easy
Before you go out and buy the first name you think of, brainstorm and make a list. Many of the names you think of will already be taken, so you might have to come up with a lot of options you find a good one that’s available. If you’re of legal drinking age, a glass of wine or a 6-pack can help with this phase.
To test if a domain is available, go to your registrar and try to register it. For beginners, GoDaddy.com is a decent registrar to use. They’re cheap and they get the job done. If the name is available, go ahead and register it. This typically costs between $7-10 per year. I recommend just getting one year at a time, even though they’ll try to sell you more. That way, each year you can decide if it’s working for you and if it’s worth renewing.
Muy Importante: Make sure the email address you use to register the name is correct, valid, and you plan on keeping it active for a while. If your email address changes, make absolutely sure to update the email address on file with your registrar, or you risk loosing your domain. You could also have your site shut down and held ransom for large sums of cash if your contact info is not up to date.
Some suggestions of domains to try:
- YourName.com
- YourName.net (if the .com is taken)
- AUniqueThingYouDo.com
- YourCatchPhrase.com
- ADescriptionOfYourBusiness.com
- Nickname or combination of funky words
You want a domain that is:
- As short as possible
- Easy to spell
- Easy to say (imagine telling it to someone over the phone)
- Memorable
- Unique
- Self-explanatory
- Descriptive of the site content
- When possible, ends with a .com
- Currently available for purchase
Things to avoid:
- Long names
- Intentional misspellings (z instead of s, k instead of c, etc)
- Using-dashes-between-words
- .tv, .biz, .cc, etc. (they’re more expensive and less widely recognized)
- Domains that somebody else already owns
These are general rules of thumb designed to make your life easier and get you the best domain possible. In some cases, it makes sense to break the rules, but in general you’re better off if you can find a domain that fits within them.