| launching a new website, one of the decisions you | | | | keywords in. |
| have to make early on is what domain name to use. | | | | Odds are you’re going to have a hard time |
| This can be quite difficult and frustrating because as | | | | finding an available domain that meets those criteria |
| anyone who has tried can tell you, almost every | | | | without help. Here are some excellent sites that can |
| great name you can think of is already taken. | | | | make the process much more simple. |
| We have a few tips that can help you make it | | | | NameBoy – This site will let you enter a |
| through this process, but first, there are a few basic | | | | primary and secondary word and come up with |
| guidelines you should follow when choosing a domain. | | | | several dozen variations of those terms using |
| They are: | | | | synonyms and similar words. It will also check if each |
| Get a .com – You may be tempted to go | | | | one is available so you don’t have to. |
| with a different extension because there better | | | | MakeWords – If it’s a short unique |
| names available and there are several popular sites | | | | name to build a brand around that your after rather |
| using non-dotcom extensions, or because it’s | | | | than one that communicates the purpose of your |
| a f ew dollars cheaper – but don’t do | | | | site, give MakeWords a try. It will generate 20 |
| it. Regardless of how much you try to drill into the | | | | random names matching your criteria and let you |
| head of your visitors that the extension is .net, .org | | | | know which are available. |
| or any other extension – at the end of the | | | | WSMDomains – Thousands of .com domain |
| day, a fair percentage of them will type in .com | | | | names expire every single day because the owner |
| anyways and you’ll be giving up your hard | | | | chose not to renew it. WSM Domains provides a free |
| earned visitors to the competition. | | | | list of which domains are dropping by day which you |
| Focus on keywords – Your domain name is | | | | can search for keywords. It may take you a while to |
| one of the factors that goes into search engine | | | | find the right fit, but there are several to choose |
| rankings. Having your primary keyword(s) in your | | | | from for most industries every day. |
| domain will be a great help down the line to getting | | | | Sedo and Afternic – Many people register |
| your website in a better position in the search | | | | domains with the intent of reselling them for a profit. |
| engines, and is something you should shoot for if at | | | | These two sites are the primary marketplaces for |
| all possible. | | | | selling these domains. You will likely pay a couple |
| Keep it short – People have to be able to | | | | hundred to a couple thousand or more for any name |
| remember the name of your website and type it, | | | | you find on these sites, but when all else fails, they |
| it’s important to keep the name simple and | | | | provide a great way to find a good quality domain |
| short, even if it means you can’t fit your | | | | name. |