Passionate and positive were two of my most favorite words.
When I was thinking about my first ever domain name, I thought I made a smart choice by combining both words into one name.
I didn’t know a thing about domain name registry so I went ahead and agreed to have my web hosting provider purchase my domain name for me.
“Passiotive.com? Well what does it mean?” A friend asked as I told her about my new site.
And right then and there, I got my first real lesson in choosing a domain name:
It’s okay to be unique but choose something that’s easy to understand from the beginning.
Needless to say, I abandoned that domain name and chalked up the $13 I spent to my wallet and to experience. Imagine how I slapped my head when I found other domain registrars that only charged $10 or even less for a domain.
I went on to register other domain names but this time I was more careful about the names I chose and where I registered them.
If you’ve made a mistake in choosing a domain name, take heart. Ten dollars is a relatively low price to pay to correct it.
If you’re in the process of getting a domain, read this. You may pick up something useful that would help you choose the right one for you.
When choosing a domain, make it easy
You can choose to do this test yourself or you can try running your domain name through a few trusted friends and see how they respond based on the points below. If you answer “No” to any of these points, then you may want to consider changing your domain or choosing another one.
Remember though that these are just guidelines. You can choose to follow them or not, ultimately you have to trust your judgment about what domain is best for you.
Is it easy to understand? You’ll want a domain name that represents what your blog is about and people will “get it” right away or with very little explanation.
For example: SimpleMom.net is a blog aimed for moms who want to live simply.
Is it easy to remember? You’ll want a domain name that’s memorable or catchy. One word domain names are best and they take quite a bit of a brainstorm. Otherwise, a domain with three words are still good, two words are better.
For example: You’d be lucky to find a one word domain name like shopping site Motherhood.com. But if you play around a little or add a few adjectives or words you can go with fulfillingmotherhood.com or motherhoodjournals.com (these two are actually available.)
Is it easy to type? Generally, domains with numbers and hyphens are harder to type than straight words. Avoid putting numbers in your domain name unless they are an integral part of your brand or blog like 5MinutesforMom.com. Also avoid hyphens but if you must absolutely use it (for example, to get a .com), try to limit it to one.
For example: Entrepreneurs-journey.com is an established blog about entrepreneurship and marketing. His domain is quite difficult to type but since he has worked smart to build his blog since 2005, his domain has become a household name in his niche despite the hyphen.
Is it easy to spell? Playing around with words to get a unique domain name is a good idea. Make sure though that the one you come up with is still easy to pronounce and spell.
For example: Gizmodo.com is one of the top gadget blogs on the web. Even if they played around with the word gizmo, the domain is still easy to spell.
When I was thinking about my first ever domain name, I thought I made a smart choice by combining both words into one name.
I didn’t know a thing about domain name registry so I went ahead and agreed to have my web hosting provider purchase my domain name for me.
“Passiotive.com? Well what does it mean?” A friend asked as I told her about my new site.
And right then and there, I got my first real lesson in choosing a domain name:
It’s okay to be unique but choose something that’s easy to understand from the beginning.
Needless to say, I abandoned that domain name and chalked up the $13 I spent to my wallet and to experience. Imagine how I slapped my head when I found other domain registrars that only charged $10 or even less for a domain.
I went on to register other domain names but this time I was more careful about the names I chose and where I registered them.
If you’ve made a mistake in choosing a domain name, take heart. Ten dollars is a relatively low price to pay to correct it.
If you’re in the process of getting a domain, read this. You may pick up something useful that would help you choose the right one for you.
When choosing a domain, make it easy
You can choose to do this test yourself or you can try running your domain name through a few trusted friends and see how they respond based on the points below. If you answer “No” to any of these points, then you may want to consider changing your domain or choosing another one.
Remember though that these are just guidelines. You can choose to follow them or not, ultimately you have to trust your judgment about what domain is best for you.
Is it easy to understand? You’ll want a domain name that represents what your blog is about and people will “get it” right away or with very little explanation.
For example: SimpleMom.net is a blog aimed for moms who want to live simply.
Is it easy to remember? You’ll want a domain name that’s memorable or catchy. One word domain names are best and they take quite a bit of a brainstorm. Otherwise, a domain with three words are still good, two words are better.
For example: You’d be lucky to find a one word domain name like shopping site Motherhood.com. But if you play around a little or add a few adjectives or words you can go with fulfillingmotherhood.com or motherhoodjournals.com (these two are actually available.)
Is it easy to type? Generally, domains with numbers and hyphens are harder to type than straight words. Avoid putting numbers in your domain name unless they are an integral part of your brand or blog like 5MinutesforMom.com. Also avoid hyphens but if you must absolutely use it (for example, to get a .com), try to limit it to one.
For example: Entrepreneurs-journey.com is an established blog about entrepreneurship and marketing. His domain is quite difficult to type but since he has worked smart to build his blog since 2005, his domain has become a household name in his niche despite the hyphen.
Is it easy to spell? Playing around with words to get a unique domain name is a good idea. Make sure though that the one you come up with is still easy to pronounce and spell.
For example: Gizmodo.com is one of the top gadget blogs on the web. Even if they played around with the word gizmo, the domain is still easy to spell.
No comments:
Post a Comment