The Seven Steps To Finding a Great Domain Name

By: Sharon Hewitt
Submitted: 2007-01-17 13:08:10
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The most important step in starting your online presence is the selection of your domain name. While this task can appear difficult, you can find a great domain name as long as you take your time and follow a logical process. A great domain name is one that is short enough to be easy to remember, easy to spell correctly, and memorable. This will be your online brand, so take your time and use our tools and you'll soon have your own great domain name. We offer a seven step process for you to follow to get the best name available for your web site.

1.) Start with a list of names that immediately come to mind that you would like to have. If you already have an existing business, group or club name - put it on the list. Many of your first choices may not be available, but keep them on your list for now. Fortunately, there are now more Top Level Domain (TLD) alternatives such as .net, .biz, .us, .org or .info. The ".Biz" extension is still new, but will become more popular in time. Another alternate is to use the extensions that were made for some of the smaller countries such as ".cc" (Cocos Islands), or ".tv" (Tuvalu).

2.) When registering a domain name, use a company that offers free online tools to generate ideas for names. Start by searching for one of your top names or keywords. If the name is not available, you will get a list of recommended alternative names including other extensions, dashes and popular prefixes and suffixes. This can be a great source of ideas and can save you considerable time if you are looking for a very competitive phrase.

3.) Use Keyword rich domain names - Assemble a list of action keywords that can serve as a domain name or use a combination of keywords (example: killbugsfast.com). Choosing the right combination of keywords can help in your marketing efforts - both online and offline.

4.) Prefixes - One popular approach is to add a prefix in the beginning of a more generic name, as in eToys.com or eGreetings.com. Additional common prefixes to consider are e, z, my, and Ez.

5.) Suffixes - If you have an existing business, this can be very effective. Two good extensions are Online and Direct ( ex: MerrilLynchDirect.com). The more powerful your brand is, the more effective this option can be.

6.) Consider adding a Dash. Some names can be very effective with the use of a dash. If the website is primarily to be found via search engines, then the dash can be used very well. For search engine purposes, you can use a number of keywords separated by dashes. For most businesses, we recommend that you limit the use of dashes (no more than one), as you should use the address on your business cards, in your email signature and all of your advertising campaigns.

7.) Creative combination words - Get creative and use action words that can be partially combined to create a new word. Brainstorm by using a combination of your sites keywords. A great example of this is a senior care provider named Evergive.

Remember this will be your brand, so take your time, make a complete list, Follow these seven steps and you should have a list of names to choose a great domain name.

To get an idea of good keywords, we recommend an online tool that was created by Digital Point Solutions and can be located at the following link: http://www.economywebdomains.com/domain-resources-search-engine-optimization.htm

Sharon Hewitt is founder and President of Economy Web Domains. For more information about registering your own domain name, or getting affordable web hosting, visit the website http://www.economywebdomains.com/

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Article source: Expert Articles

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