Good Domain Names – How To Choose One ?

Once you have picked your niche, the next step is to pick a good domain name for your new affiliate website. I use GoDaddy to register my domain names. GoDaddy is a reputable domain name registration company (industry leader). You can get a domain name for around $10.

photo credit: quinn.anya

A lot of people assume that all the good domain names are taken. This assumption is true to some extent but not totally.

The short four letter word domain names are all almost gone but you can still get a good domain name – put some thought and time and you will definitely end up with a good domain name.

Here are some places that can help you find the right domain name for your website:

Determine What Your Site Is About: If your site is about cars, then ‘cars’ is your primary keyword. If your site is about ‘making bread’ then ‘making bread’ becomes your primary keyword. Search on GoDaddy and find out if your ‘primary keyword.com’ is available. 99% of the time your primary keyword will not be available. But don’t despair…

List of Keywords: The tool I use for all keyword research is Wordtracker. Wordtracker shows you the keyword phrases (related to a primary keyword) that internet users are using. Example: if your site is about cars then using wordtracker you find out that ‘all about cars’ has a lot of searches. You then hop on to GoDaddy and find out if ‘allaboutcars’com’ – If it is then it is a good domain name for your site.

GoDaddy Suggestions: When you search for a domain name on GoDaddy, if your domain name is not available they will give you a few suggestions – These suggestions are usually good – Check them out and see if any meets your criteria. Some suggested domain names are premium ones and you have to pay a hefty price for premium ones – I always give the premium ones a miss because I believe I can get a good domain name without paying extra.

Before you select your domain name, make sure it meets the following criteria:

• Has to be easy to remember.
• No complex spellings in the domain name.
• Short domain names are preferable. If its long name then make sure it is easy to remember.
• Make sure your domain name does not have any hyphens in it. It is easy for the users to forget the hyphen when typing (and land on your competitor’s page).
• Try to stay away from numbers in the domain name as well.
• Stick with .com names…This is what most internet users are used to. However if your website is country specific then go with that country’s extension.
• Don’t infringe on anyone’s copyright. Visit Copyright records and make sure you are not stepping into anyone’s shoes.
• And finally don’t buy expensive domain names from domain name brokers – especially when you are starting out.

The domain name I picked for my new site has the primary keyword in it. But not the exact word – I had to add another word at the end of keyword – The two words together are easy to remember and conveys the message as to what my site is about.

Get started now – do your research and find a good domain name, register it and get working on setting up your affiliate site.

Best,