Thinking About Starting An Online Business?

Are you thinking about starting an online business? You want to get away from the online marketplaces and start focusing on your own website?

Well you’re in luck! Starting a website and building it is easier then you think. First things first you need is a domain name!

Here are Five Tips on selecting a successful domain name:

1. Brainstorm Five Keywords
When you first begin your domain name search, it helps to have 5 terms or phrases in mind that best describe the domain you’re seeking. Once you have this list, you can start to pair them or add prefixes & suffixes to create good domain ideas. For example, if you’re launching a Bean Bag related domain, you might start with words like, â€œbean bag, chair, sac, rocker, lounger” then play around until you can find a good match.

2. Select a Dot Com (.com) Domain Name
If a person is surfing around looking for a website, and they know its name, most people will try widget.com, before widget.net or .org, etc. So for the website owner who wants their site to be found, the rule is: if at all possible, get a .com domain name. Trust me on this; itâ€™s a must if you want a long term successful business.

3. Make Your Domain Name Easy to Type
If a domain name requires considerable attention to type correctly, due to spelling, length or the use of un-memorable words or sounds, you’ve lost a good portion of your branding and marketing value. I’ve even heard usability folks tout the value of having the letters include easy-to-type letters (which I interpret as avoiding “q,” “z,” “x,” “c,” and “p”).

4. Make it Short
Should you choose a short or long domain name? Most people may argue that a short domain name is better than a long domain name. Well, I agree. A shorter domain name is usually easier to remember. Of course, it depends on the situation. For example, â€œIAmADatingCoach.comâ€ is a better choice compared to â€œIAADC.comâ€ since the former is easier to remember. Yet, you wonâ€™t want to choose â€œIAmADatingCoachWhoHasTaughtThousandsOfStudentsSuccessfully.comâ€. People wonâ€™t remember such a long domain name and even if they do, it would be a chore to type. Short names are easy to type and easy to remember. They also allow for more characters in the URL in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) and a better fit on business cards and other offline media. Short is good. 🙂

5. Make it Easy to Spell
Make sure it passes the phone test, if you were to say the domain name of your website to a friend over the phone, would your friend be able to spell it correctly the first time without your having to spell it for them? If not, youâ€™ve failed the phone test and should likely try a different domain name. Also, be careful about double letters. Take CyberRodeo, for example. Their domain uses a double R, as you might expect, but there is an uncertainty there. The two Râ€™s together look a bit strange if written without capitalization, and a good name will not force the user to assume anything about the name. If you must have a double letter, the best solution is to buy both versions of the domain.

Once you select a domain you want to use, go to NameCheap and register your name ASAP! NameCheap is a well established trusted domain register and web host. I use them for a lot of my domains.

Once you’ve done that, you’re ready for web hosting and I’ll talk about that with my next post!