Essential Tips to choose the best domain name for a website or blog

How to choose a domain name

How to think carefully about your domain name? It really is so important?

If you have a quality website or blog and business, people will visit your site, no matter what it is, right?

Well, not so fast

You see, your domain name is the key element in your website or blog. It can make or break you, so it's crucial to choose a domain name that works for your business.

However, we have not yet entered into depth on aspects to be taken into account when choosing your domain name ideal - in other words, how to actually go about choosing! Today we are going to change that. Here there are more than 20 essential tips to choose and register a domain name (in no particular order).

1. Always go for the .com

Let me say this: whenever possible, always go for a .com domain. Exhibit A: This Site.

Technically speaking, the .com is just one of the many domain name extensions (TLDs) that are available (more than TLD and other components of a domain name here). Some of the other popular options include, .net, .org, .co, .edu, .biz, or even things like .shop or .blog.

And while all those who like the tlds are tempting, getting the classic .com is almost always the best thing to do. Two reasons:

People are more familiar with .com domains than with any other thing; the default value will be to write '.com' in the address bar of your browser, and you probably don't remember your extension if it is very rare. All always imply a website or blog is a .com.

The TLD .com is used by ~47% of all website or blogs, data, he says. Maybe all wrong?

What all this means is that if your perfect .com is taken, then perhaps you should not forget that name totally or try to contact the current owner to see if they are willing to sell the domain for you. Warning! This could be costly. (We will talk about this in #13).

2. Sometimes don't go for the .com

Sorry. I know that I am doing things confusing, but please bear with me.

There are some exceptions to the rule: .com

Basically, if your website is designed to meet at a local audience, consider going to a local TLD. For example, the construction of a blog for the German market? About how a .of?

This will give users a little additional knowledge and increase their reliability, making it clear that these in your country (through the local TLD).

But even with that, you should not be limited only to that local domain name. You may want to expand your brand in the future and, if this happens, you don't want to discover that someone has already taken its .com.

Thus, at the end of the day, even if you want to attend a local market, can still benefit in the long term, obtaining the .com version. And, in the meantime, you can link the .com to your local domain, so, no matter the direction that someone visits, still end up on the same website or blog.

3. Consider the possibility of experimenting with non-traditional TLDs

As mentioned in the no. 1, these days you can become a multitude of different TLDs that were not available just a couple of years ago.

For example, you can obtain domain extensions such as .shop .club, .store, .blog, .design, .xyz, and so on. Also, you can experiment with some of the tlds that originally was intended local TLD, but due to its unique appearance, can be used for other purposes. These are all domain extensions such as .es, .io, .fm, .es, .Ly, .cc, and others.

Just to give you an example of this last, if it makes sense for your brand and your name, you can try to make it seem as if the entire domain, including the TLD, is a complete expression. You can achieve this, by choosing your TLD creatively. For example, Microsoft Translator is available to translate.it - that is all the domain name and a creative use of the Italians, TLD .it.

However, the thing with these TLD is each registrar of domains that do not offer them. Currently, GoDaddy Gives you access to the largest catalog.

GoDaddy Domain Auctions

If, however, after some specific TLD, still it is smart to buy some with other registrars, too. Here is our another resource, when we talk about the top of recorders on the market, in addition to some of the tlds that are offered.

4. Consider buying the other major TLDs as well

Have the extension of the primary domain name secured - either a .com or a local TLD - it is only the first step. Step two is to get all other popular TLD, and then adjust them to redirect to your main TLD.

For example, if your desired address is Blogging123.com, also consider the size of:
SeeMeBlogg.de
Blogs123.co
Blogging123.Net
Blogging123.Org
Blogs123.co.uk, etc.

While this will contribute to your domain name global bill at the end of the year, you are also to prevent possible problems further down the line. Mainly, you wouldn't want to end up competing with another site with the same domain name but ended in a different TLD.

Some other things you do not want to:

People who create fake sites - sites that look like yours, but they are not (intended to deceive people).

The people to record some of the missing tld and then try to sell them at a rate much higher.

Genuine visitors to mix your TLD and not being able to access your website or blog.

5. Choose a name that personally identifiable information

We all know that the brand is crucial to the long-term success, but that is exactly what makes a domain name personally identifiable information? There are many factors that come into play here, but the most important are the following:

A name personally identifiable information has no specific meaning (for example, 'Google' is not a word, "YouTube is not one either).

Is Unique - your competition does not use anything similar.

It is easy to memorize - not too extensive, without complex combinations of vowels.

It is easy to pronounce and dictate over the phone.

It seems worthy of trust - some names may be a bit dark by definition, for example,

WinTheLotteryToday.com can be too bold, but it sounds much better.

To make it easier for the process of searching for ideas, you can experiment with some combinations of real words and random suffixes, as I did with the previous example. The main objective here is to create a potential for the domain name to create brand value over time.

In other words, to the extent possible, make sure that the name has a nice ring to it. Should be fun to say aloud and not difficult to memorize immediately. Think about the tastes of Über: is short and aggressive, and there is no confusion as to how to spell - even when mentioned in passing in a conversation.

6. Keep it short, simple and predictable

Thus, we have already talked about brand-ability (if that's a word), but there are also some other features, more generally, of a domain name of quality. The big four:

Short - preferably with less than 15(-ish) characters, excluding the TLD

Simple - there are no hyphens, not underscores, without complicated words as part of the domain, or any other punctuation

Just words: avoid use numbers unless it is absolutely necessary (for example, if it is part of your brand name, such as 9gag.com)

Non-predictable- strange spellings (for example, if your name is Myke and you want to make part of your domain - how to MykeBlogs.com - every time people mistype as MikeBlogs.com.

Also, you can:

7. Buy the common misspellings of your domain

However, this can grow your annual domain bill even more, so it's your call.

In general, it is going to be quite safe if only focus on a couple of spelling errors more likely in the domain.

Once you have those who, send them back to your main domain name.

8. Use a thesaurus for the Domain Name Ideas

Well, so no matter what I say on the selection of a domain name that is identifiable, simple, has a good ring to it, is easy to memorize, and so on, the fact of the matter is that it comes with a good name is really difficult.

Sometimes, you can easily go through dozens of different terms before settling in that perfect, while at other times, nothing seemed good enough. In that case, Thesaurus.com An online can be the secret weapon in your arsenal.

The site will help you to find synonyms and also provide quick definitions to help you not to make a silly mistake through the creation of your domain name on one word with a meaning that has been misunderstood.

Note: As I mentioned earlier, it is not advisable to go with a standard, the Word dictionary as your domain name, even if it is a dictionary of synonyms. You always have to add some switches or convert it into something original by changing a few letters here and there.

9. Help some domain name generators

This is another type of aid that can be used if you find it difficult to come up with a good domain name, and therefore, by extension, the name of your business.

These tools are very simple to use, but also surprisingly helpful. All they need is a keyword of you - a seed of a keyword or key phrase (seed) - and, on the other hand, give you dozens or even hundreds of suggestions, full of valid domain names and available that you can register immediately.

The best such tools include:

LeanDomainSearch, created by the guys from Automattic (also known by WordPress.com). for example, this is what you get when searching for 'coffee':

LeanDomainSearch

Business name generator by Shopify works similarly to the previous one, and it also helps you to build a shop Shopify with the domain name of your choice.

Nameboy is a bit more old school - especially in its design, but it is still useful. This one needs more specific contribution and does a better job once you have a general direction you want to go ahead with your name on it.

10. Choose a domain name that you really can legally own

Infringe a trademark can mean a day really bad. And, although I realize that almost nobody registers a domain name with the intention of infringing on anything, those things happen from time to time.

Therefore, as a general rule, provided you have a good domain name idea and you are about to register, simply google the name and look through the whole of the first and the second page of results. You are looking for companies that already use this name and (apparently) operating in a niche market or similar.

If you find something, you will probably have to choose another domain name.

11. Don't worry too much if your domain name is taken perfectly

If the domain name you really desire is taken already, this is not the end of the world. Sometimes, you can still get their hands on it.

Here is what you can do:

If the domain name is not in use (there is no website or blog or domain is 'parked' - features only ads), then there is a good chance that the owner bought only to sell it later. You will probably be able to find some contact information in which he parked website. If there is no information, use the WHO.is and to obtain the e-mail address for the owner.

If there is a website in the domain, you can still try your luck and contact the owner asking if they are willing to sell the domain off. Low probability of success here, but still worth a try.

If the domain is completely empty and there is no contact information to be found, try to search through the known domain-flipping marketplaces, such as GoDaddy (the market), based on Sedo auctions, SnapNames, or Flippa.

Buy an existing domain name is a different process of buying a new one, so it requires some extra caution. We talked about in the no. 13.

One more note, domains buy someone hands cost money (the underlining is mine). Sometimes a good money! A safe estimate here would be a minimum of $250, but more like $1.000 or more.

If you cannot afford that luxury, don't worry too well. Which brings me to:

12. Don't worry too much if your domain name is taken and could not be obtained

Well, therefore as domain names do matter, and have the right one can mean the world to you if you can not get their hands on what you want is not available or the price is too high), don't worry too much.

In the first place, something that is more important than anything else, even that the domain name - is actually getting the idea behind your website or in the field of business. If you engage in the execution of that idea and do it deliberately, the lack of that domain name 'perfect' you don't stop.

Secondly, domain names can be changed later. Even if you do not have the right current domain name, you can always get later, and then only redirect to your website.

For example, this is what sumo - a suite of online marketing tools - it is not that long ago.

The domain name began with was sumome.com, but after a while, when they reached sufficient funds, which bought the domain I really wanted - sumo.com. In his case, which was a kind of domain switch expensive. Your new domain sumo.com actually cost 1.5 million dollars. But don't worry, yours doesn't have to be expensive. Sumo has, in fact, proved to be the most expensive 83 domain name ever.

13. Be careful when buying the existing domain names

As I have already mentioned a couple of points above, buy an existing domain name is a little different from the purchase of a new one. First, because it is not new, this means that it has a history. And you can never be completely sure of what is history.

On the bright side, the history of the domain can give a boost in Google you're not starting from scratch - Google already knows the domain.

But, on the other hand, if the domain has appeared any type of 'non-kosher' stuff (pornography, gambling content of spam, spam distribution), then it can be banned from Google completely.

Buy your domain from a marketplace like Flippa gives some security since each domain is validated by at least the most basic way. However, in order to make things a bit more secure, you must also perform the checks of its own.

In the first place, do a manual check to go to Google and search for:

Site:yourdomain.com

This will tell you if Google has indexed all the pages in that domain. Find anything is a good sign. It means that the domain is not prohibited. To find nothing doesn't have to be an ultimatum, in spite of everything.

If the domain is empty: there is no website or blog - there is nothing in Google to find in the first place.

However, if there is a website or blog, but Google cannot see (through the site:yourdomain.com phrase), this is a red flag.

You can also make checks through tools such as ismywebsitepenalized.com. bannedcheck.com and But also keep in mind that these things are not infallible. Consider them as helpers.

But we can still do more.

14. Verify the domain history through Wayback Machine

Note: This is worth checking, even if you are receiving (what do you think is) a new domain name. In some cases, the domain name that you are trying to register may have been recorded in the past, but then abandoned by the owner. It is good to have a look at what was on it.

There are a couple of ways in which you can search for a domain name in its history. One of the most popular, and one that is also within the scope of any person (read: not too technical), implies the Wayback Machine.

This is one of the first instruments of its kind. Simply put, allows you to enter a time machine, so to speak, and take a look at how any website used to look in the past.

And when I say "any website', which is not really any website or blog. But you can find most of the websites that had observed the traffic at any time. In our case, checking through the Wayback Machine allows us to see if the domain that interests us has never been used for anything important and, if so, whether it was or was not 'kosher'.

For example, if you search for this site, you will get the records dating back to 2013:

History

It is safe to assume that this site does not exist before and after (which is true). Clicking on any of the records, you get a snapshot of the site thereafter. Quite handy, isn't it?

2013

If you are buying an existing domain name, it would be a good idea to go to Wayback Machine and navigate through each month in the history of the domain, just to make sure that there was nothing shady going on at any point.

15. Verify the domain history through the WHO.is

Just after the Wayback Machine, which is the other go-tool to know the history of a particular domain name. This is very useful for at least two reasons:

First, you can see the current domain info - things like that the owner is (as long as they have no protection of ID - more on that later) - that the Registrar, and so on. There is no point in my everything listed here, simply go to the WHO.is your favorite website and see what happens.

Secondly, who.is it gives you access to a report of the history of "Whois". This is a paid service - $10 -, but the price is quite small in relation to what you get in return, which is what all the whois data associated with a given domain name from the beginning. This means you can see what is the history of the domain when it was registered, and how many times potentially changed hands.

In the end, if you're thinking of getting an existing domain, which can be quite expensive, an additional expenditure of $10 it does not appear that brutal. In addition, you can save headaches later.

16. Register its corresponding Social Media handles

The media of social communication is key these days, whether we like it or not.

The average human being connected to the Internet spends an hour on Facebook each day, and, in total, Facebook Gets 2 million hits per month. That is 000 million euros.

What I'm trying to say is: people are much more likely to check what is happening with your brand on Facebook that really visit your site. This is just one of the reasons why it is absolutely necessary to have your professional profile established on social media sites more popular.

Whenever possible, obtain the same handles as your domain name. If these are taken, be creative and use some suffixes or prefixes. Some options: Now, daily, HQ, get the app. For example.

17. Choose a recorder of trusted domains

The registrar of domains is a company that registers a domain name on your behalf, and then gives you full access to that domain name.

The key with registrars is to only use trusted companies and respectable. You really do not want to run in any domain in more problems down the line - when the mark on your website is already established and lose the domain would mean problems.

We always recommend registrars are:

Namecheap and GoDaddy (compared here)

SiteGround - our most recommended hosting company that also sells domain names.

18. Shop around to find the best price

Although all domain registrars offer the same product - register a domain name on your behalf - The prices can sometimes be very different. For this reason, it is always a good idea to shop around with different registrars and compare prices of a domain name that you want to obtain.

Just to give you an example, if you are looking for an extension of.CO domain - a popular option these days, you will find that the same domain will cost you:

$11.99 at GoDaddy
$6.88 in Namecheap
$32.50 At ENOM, and so on.

Now, I'm not saying that Namecheap is always the cheaper because it is not. The price is always dependent on the specific TLD you want, so you always have to go to a number of registrars and see what happens.

In addition, only a general note: Always keep your login credentials on the user panel of the recorder is very safe. If someone gains access to that panel, which will be able to transfer your domain to your account (read: steal).

Which brings me to:

19. Lock the domain so that it can't be stolen

Although it may seem strange at first, the kidnapping of domains really happens more often than you can imagine.

It's not going to boring technical details, your domain may be stolen through various means. More commonly, this implies or hack your password or convince you to publicize your password through a phishing attack, in addition to some other fun things.

Basically, if someone gains access to your user account from the recorder, they can do whatever they want with their domains.

Some domain registrars offer a feature in which you keep your domain in the secretary of state for the lock, which prevents any unauthorized attempt in the domain of the transfers. In this state, your registration information and DNS configuration cannot be changed until you unlock the domain name.

Fortunately, enabling this option is often very easy and only requires you to select a specific box in your user panel of the recorder. This is how it looks on SiteGround:

Registrar Lock SiteGround

20. Register your domain name always himself

It is a good idea to not let anyone (as an agency) register a domain name for you. Although it is slightly fewer complications that way (since someone does all the work), can lead to problems later.

If someone registers the domain name, you are giving them a expects more of you and your website or blog. If you ever want to depart from their services, you may experience problems in terms of not being too impatient to transfer the domain more and give you total control of the same.

Just to name a few bad things that can happen: they can take a long time to complete the transfer, it is possible that try to extort money from the fees to do that, or they may completely reject (based on some fine print in its initial agreement).

In addition, and perhaps most importantly, if the agency/person goes bankrupt or loses access to the registrar of domains for any reason, you could lose your domain name.

Long story short, always register your domains on their own. It is not so difficult anyway. Here is our step-by-step guide.

21. Consider enabling the protection of domain ID

In simple terms, the domain ID masks for protection of your personal contact information of someone who performs a whois search on your domain name.

By default, and under the rules of ICANN (the organization that regulates domain names), all domain names should be publicly visible contact information assigned to them - the same information that I had to provide during registration. This includes your name, address, phone number and email address.

Let me say this again, by default, all of this is visible to any person who puts his domain name through a tool such as the cited.es.

This is not perfect. In the first place, anyone can see this information, which means that your personal data are exposed. You're basically sacrificing part of your privacy for nothing in return.

As well, the way around this is to establish the protection of domain ID with your domain registrar (all of the domain registrars offer this). This is usually a payment function, though. The price can be around $1 per month. Here's how to do this with Namecheap:

Namecheap ID Protection

Once under the domain ID protection, the Whois details of your domain are replaced with the unique information from the Registrar.

22. Set your domain to auto-renew

Generally, when you register your new domain name, you can choose the registration period - the time interval during which the registrar maintains the active domain on your behalf. More commonly, all records of domain names for 12 or 24 months.

After this initial period, your domain name must be renewed (by another X months). Otherwise, becomes inactive. And then, after a short time, if you lose your window, the domain goes back to the pool of available domains, which means that no one will be able to register it.

What usually happens - in the case of someone they do in time with the renewal of its domain - is that the domain will be snatched by a domain broker or someone similar. Basically, between the ages of domains are valuable in the domain of the market, and in addition, there is a greater chance that the person who originally could not renew the domain will want to buy it at some point.

In the end, be sure to choose to renew your domain name automatically when the time comes. Almost all domain registrars offer this option

This is your look with Namecheap:

Automatic Renewal Namecheap

Go ahead and get your domain name!

Ugh, well, that was a great read! Even so, I don't want this list to be intimidating. Even reading through it once and then scoring the most important notions will give you more than enough knowledge to be able to get your domain name perfect and to do so safely.

To help you here is an indentation and maintain the version of everything that has been said previously:

Always go for the .com

Experiment with local TLD if it makes sense

Consider the possibility of experimenting with non-traditional TLDs (.design, .club, .Ly, .it, and others)

Consider buying the other major TLDs

Choose a name that personally identifiable information (single, easy to memorize, easy to pronounce, sounds reliable)

Keep it short, simple and predictable

Buy the common misspellings of your domain name

Use a thesaurus for the domain name ideas

Help some domain name generators

Choose a domain name can legally own

Don't worry if your perfect domain name - it makes contact with the owner to try to get it

Don't worry if your perfect domain name is taken and could not be obtained

Be careful when buying the existing domain names

Verify the domain history through Wayback Machine

Verify the domain history through the WHO.is

Choose a recorder of trusted domains

Shop around to find the best price

Lock the domain so that it can't be stolen

Always register your domain name for you

Consider enabling the protection of domain ID

Set your domain is automatically renew

Don't miss a thing? Thoughts?

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