How to choose a domain name

Most websites are associated with a domain name. The concept is simple, it is much easier to remember a name like google.com rather than its IP address 216.239.51.99. Highly desirable domains names are becoming more and more difficult to acquire, especially with favored extensions like .com and .net. With major industries like domain trading, traders are rapidly devouring desirable domain names.

Domain extensions

Currently certain extensions are more desirable than others and some extensions are intended to categorize. For example, the .org extension is traditionally used to categorize non-profit organizations. Likewise a .gov extension is intended to categorize government websites. There are country extensions as well such as .ca (Canada) or .jp (Japan) in an attempt to organize registrations by nation.

Ideally a domain name should be short and not easily misspelled. Preferably, target top level domain (TLD) extensions from the original Internet specification such as .com, .net, .edu, or .org. Be sure the extension is appropriate to what the website is about. A .org extension may be appropriate for a church but not for a florist. For highly desirable domain names a .biz or other less popular extension may be a reasonable trade off. For example, google.biz would be much better than googlebestdarnsite.com.

For the general public .com is still the favored and most sought out extension. Being one of the original Internet specifications, this may still lead users to assume a .com extension. This may be true today but I believe this may easily change in the future. As .biz and other extensions become more and more popular, I suspect users will be more apt to note the extension for specific sites. So while you may not get that .com or .net you were hoping for, that .biz may not be as far behind as you think. The most important thing goes back to the basic principal of domain names, make it easy to remember.

Domain naming

A domain name that specifically names a business may be ideal. However, specifics like bestbuy.com are becoming much more difficult to acquire. You may be doing business as Toms Hardware, but may discover tomshardware.com and all desirable extensions are all ready taken. Another option may be to pair a key word with a random word or even pair two random words. For example, snapfish.com is a popular online photo service. Short, two words not easily misspelled, and a .com extension. While snap may be associated with a photo service the word fish doesn't exactly fit in, except in the world of domain naming. Random pairing of this sort is becoming more difficult as well but offers a better chance of scoring a valuable domain name. Target desirable words, short, appealing, and not easily misspelled. For example, anhinga could easily be misspelled and would not be an ideal domain name unless the site was specifically about anhingas.

Domain trading

As mentioned earlier, domain trading is a major industry. There are many domain auction sites where you may be able to acquire your preferred domain name. Domain trading sites offer thousands of domains for sale to be purchased directly or through an auction. Domain names are often appraised, trading sites may have a huge listing for under $1,000. More desirable domain names in the multi thousand dollar range. In rare cases a domain may sell for tens of thousands in U.S. dollars, and in very rare cases more than one million U.S. dollars. As you can see, with registration fees for a new domain often less than $10 the domain trading market is growing very rapidly. If you have a very specific domain you wish to acquire you may be able to look up the current registrant in a "whois" database and make an offer. 

Domain searching

Be patient, take some time to do a thorough domain name search. Consider all the possible variants that may be appropriate. The challenge of finding a great domain may take many hours but could be well worth the effort. Remember the principal of domain names in the first place, making it easy for your audience to remember how to get to your site.