For Beginners: How to select your domain name

Domain names are similar to your business or house address. It is how you are found on the Internet. Without it, you do not exist, at least not on line. The biggest difference is that you get to create a name representing the services and/or products you provide.

With the changes in search engine protocols and algorithms, selecting a searchable domain name is important. The repeated suggestion is to use your keywords in your business name, domain name, and description of the site.

Domain name extensions are also of importance. The one’s most common, .com, .net, and .org come readily to mind when conducting a search, with .com the top of the list. The reason could be that it was the first extension available. The result is first come, first in mind.

Take your paper and pen, write out a list of words that relate to your business. This can include services and products. The name of your business is included on this list. Using a thesaurus look up each word. Make a note of phrases and words that grab your attention. Your page should be leaking onto the next page.

This may seem tedious and too much work. And you are correct. It can take an hour or so to do the research. I ask you to consider the long term, the time you invest now could pay of in huge dividends later. A great domain name vs a terrific domain name, makes all the difference to your bank account.

From the notes try a keyword search. I like Google’s keyword tool in Adsense. You do not have to have an Adsense account, but you may wish to set one up eventually. No worries, it is easy.

The keyword tool is not difficult to understand. Enter three or four words, to get started. If you do not have an account, the Captcha code needs to be entered. Click to begin the search. A list will appear with the keywords you entered and below that a long list of variations. Repeat these steps until you have completed your list.

The first column is the keyword or phrase; the second column is the competition for search, and the third column is the number of global monthly searches. The fourth column contains the number of local monthly searches.

Click the header Competition, the list will organize by High or Low. The first click lists the highly competitive keywords, the second will list the lowest competitive keywords. You want to look at the lowest. Next look at the global or local monthly searches. Make a list of the keywords with the highest searches and low competition.

From this list begin creating a variety of domain names. Next, use these phrases individually in the keyword search tool and repeat the steps to organize by low first. Select those that have a higher search rate. These steps will help you narrow your search for a domain name list.

Need help? Just wanna hash it out? Contact me, no fee consultations available. We can chat for a few minutes.

Next up is registering your domain name. For now, have a great day.