1. Brandable Over Generic

Creative and brandable are always better than generic.

Remember: Your domain name is how visitors will find, remember, and share your company on the web. It is the foundation of your brand.

Here’s the main difference between a brandable and generic domain name:

A brandable domain name is unique and stands out from the competition, while a generic domain name is usually stuffed with keywords and unmemorable.

2. Keep It Concise

In general, when it comes to the length of your domain, shorter is better.

According to research from Gaebler.com, a magazine for entrepreneurs, the top-5 websites have approximately 6 characters in their domain name.

As you move down through the list of the top 1 million domain names, there is a direct correlation between domain name length and popularity.

3. Easy to Type

Think of some of the most popular websites in the world. What comes to mind?

Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yahoo, CNN…

One big thing they have in common is that they’re all easy to spell.

Your visitors should be able to type your domain name without a problem. If you have to explain the spelling more than once for it to be understood, then it’s too complicated.

4. Easy to Pronounce

As easy as your domain name rolls off the tips of your fingers, it should roll off the tip of your tongue.

This makes it easier for visitors to share your domain name by word of mouth, and makes it easier for you to share your site with friends and potential customers.

5. Avoid Hyphens and Numbers

Remember how your domain name should be easy to spell and pronounce? Well, hyphens and numbers make both of these things more difficult.

Imagine explaining Facebook if it had a hyphen in there…

6. Consider Using Keywords

Keywords can help improve your SEO – but you need to tread carefully here. If you try to awkwardly stuff keywords into your domain, it comes across as generic (like we talked about before).

If you do choose to use keywords, put the keywords at the beginning of your domain. That’s where they’ll be the most powerful for your ranking.

You can find keywords with tools like Google Keyword Planner and Keywordtool.io.

7. Think Long-Term

Think long-termAre you ready to marry your domain? You should be, because it will be one of the biggest elements that defines your business and brand for years.

Plus, if you decide to change the domain in the future, it will cost you money, branding, and SEO rankings. In short, it’s a huge pain.

8. Check Availability on Social Media Sites and Trademarks

Before you move forward with a specific domain name, check to see if the name is available on social media sites, as well as if there are any trademarks already registered to the name.

To build your brand, it’s ideal to have the same name across your domain and social networks. This builds familiarity and makes it easy for your visitors, fans, and customers to find you around the web.

9. Use the Right Domain Name Extension

com vs net vs orgWhen you choose your domain name extension, you can be sure of one thing: “.com” is still the best.

According to research from Registrar Stats, 75% of domains have the “.com” extension, second is “.net” and third is “.org”

Why? Well, “.com” is more familiar and easier to remember.

10. Use a Domain Name Generator to Gather Ideas

Okay, so by this point you should have at least a general idea of some possible words to put in your domain. But, some of those words may already be taken, trademarked, or just don’t have the “sound” you’re looking for.

That’s where domain name generators come into play. These generators can turn your ideas into fresh, available domains.