MUST KNOW FACTORS/Tips: Before bye Domain Names

welcomewiki · #1 03-26-2011, 06:50 AM

When Choosing a Domain Name, Think About the Future

This post is part of the Friday Q&A section. If you want to ask a question just send it via the contact form.

Kaitlin asks:

I thought of a great blog name, but the .com is already taken by a pizza business. For clarity’s sake, let’s say the domain is BigSlice.com, and I want to start a blog that has nothing to do with pizza (a lifestyle blog) that’s called “Big Slice.” My question is: Would you ever buy a domain like BigSliceBlog.com if BigSlice.com isn’t available, or would you give up on the name?

The answer is no. I probably wouldn’t buy a domain like BigSliceBlog.com for one single reason: it limits the scope of what you can do with that site, and it also limits how far and wide you can expand it in the future.

Let me illustrate this point with a different example.

Suppose you want to start a blog about funny and humorous T-shirts. You decide you want to call it “T-shirt Spot”. That domain, however, is already taken, so you end up going with TshirtSpotBlog.com. Fast forward a couple of years and your blog is really popular, and every time you write about a specific T-shirt a lot of people end up buying it.

You figure it would be a good idea to transform the blog into an online store to sell the T-shirts, moving the blog itself to a sub-folder (e.g., domain.com/blog). It’s a great idea indeed, but you would have some problems branding the store because your domain is TshirtSpotBlog.com. In other words, you got trapped by your domain, which is limiting the scope of your site. Had you decided to use something more generic like TshirtSpot.com, you would now be able to expand the site in any direction.

If the domain you want is already registered, therefore, keep looking until you find something you are really happy with, because the domain is one of the few factors you won’t be able to change on your website.

Finally, remember that it’s also possible to buy registered domain names. You just need to contact the current owner and make an offer. Sometimes with as few as $200 you can buy great domain names, and this will be one of the best investments you can make.

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welcomewiki · #2 03-26-2011, 06:51 AM

12 Rules for Choosing the Right Domain Name

A long time ago, I wrote a post on domain name selection that's sorely in need of an update. Time to deliver...

For 99% of the projects we take on, a domain is already part of the equation. However, in some circumstances, we've been called on to provice advice for naming a domain, either for a new blog, a company launch or even just a friend's website. Below, I've listed 12 tips I find indispensable when helping people select a great domain name.

Brainstorm 5 Top Keywords
When you first begin your domain name search, it helps to have 5 terms or phrases in mind that best describe the domain you're seeking. Once you have this list, you can start to pair them or add prefixes & suffixes to create good domain ideas. For example, if you're launching a mortgage related domain, you might start with words like "mortage, finance, home equity, interest rate, house payment" then play around until you can find a good match.
Make the Domain Unique
Having your website confused with a popular site already owned by someone else is a recipe for disaster. Thus, I never choose domains that are simply the plural, hyphenated or misspelled version of an already established domain. I still believe that Flickr desperately needs to buy Flicker.com - I hear kids in their 20's tell parents in their 40's and 50's to see photos on Flickr and always envision that traffic going straight to the wrong domain.
Only Choose Dot-Com Available Domains
If you're not concerned with type-in traffic, branding or name recognition, you don't need to worry about this one. However, if you're at all serious about building a successful website over the long-term, you should be worried about all of these elements, and while directing traffic to a .net or .org (as SEOmoz does) is fine, owning and 301'ing the .com is critical. With the exception of the very tech-savvy, most people who use the web still make the automatic assumption that .com is all that's out there - don't make the mistake of locking out or losing traffic to these folks.
Make it Easy to Type
If a domain name requires considerable attention to type correctly, due to spelling, length or the use of un-memorable words or sounds, you've lost a good portion of your branding and marketing value. I've even heard usability folks toute the value of having the letters include easy-to-type letters (which I interpret as avoiding "q," "z," "x," "c," and "p").
Make it Easy to Remember
Remember that word-of-mouth and SERPs dominance marketing (where your domain consistently comes up for industry-related searches) both rely on the ease with which the domain can be called to mind. You don't want to be the company with the terrific website that no one can ever remember to tell their friends about because they can't remember the domain name.
Keep the Name as Short as Possible
Short names are easy to type and easy to remember (the previous two rules). They also allow for more characters in the URL in the SERPs and a better fit on business cards and other offline media.
Create and Fulfill Expectations
When someone hears about your domain name for the first time, they should be able to instantly and accurately guess at the type of content that might be found there. That's why I love domain names like Hotmail.com, CareerBuilder.com, AutoTrader.com and WebMD.com. Domains like Monster.com, Amazon.com and Zillow.com (whom I usually praise) required far more branding because of their un-intuitive names.
Avoid Copyright Infringement
This is a mistake that isn't made too often, but can **** a great domain and a great company when it does. To be sure you're not infringing on anyone's copyright with your site's name, visit copyright.gov and search before you buy.
Set Yourself Apart with a Brand
Using a unique moniker is a great way to build additional value with your domain name. A "brand" is more than just a combination of words, which is why names like mortgageforyourhome.com or shoesandboots.com aren't as compelling as branded names like bankrate.com or lendingtree.com. SEOmoz itself is a good example - "SEO" does a good job of explaining the industry we're in and creating expectations, while "moz" gives a web association, and an association with being free, open, and community-driven.
Reject Hyphens and Numbers
Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type. I'd suggest not using spelled-out or roman numerals in domains, as both can be confusing and mistaken for the other.
Don't Follow the Latest Trends
Website names that rely on odd mis-spellings (like many Web 2.0 style sites), multiple hyphens (like the SEO-optimized domains of the early 2000's), or uninspiring short adjectives (like "top...x," "best...x," "hot...x") aren't always the best choice. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but in the world of naming conventions in general, if everyone else is doing it, that doesn't mean it's a surefire strategy. Just look at all the people who named their businesses "AAA... x" over the last 50 years to be first in the phone book; how many Fortune 2000's are named "AAA company?"
Use an Ajax Domain Selection Tool
Websites like AJAXWhois and Domjax make it exceptionally easy to determine availability of a domain name - just remember that you don't have to buy through these services. You can find a name you like that's available, then go to your registrar of choice.

welcomewiki · #3 03-26-2011, 06:51 AM

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rmccarley | February 5th, 2007 New!
I say use caution with #5. Domain names, like telephone numbers, that are "easy to remember" are not written down. Then when the viewer wants to go to the site later... they can't remember. Easy to digest/Obviously related to who you are and what you do - so the viewer knows they are at the right site - is better advice IMO.
I made a multi-part article about domains you may be interested in.
BTW I had to login with IE because the add comment link isn't working in FF 1.5 for me. And as long as I'm complaining, being returned to the top of the page on login, to view comments, and then to add a comment is a bit annoying. Dig the new look and features though.

Edited by rmccarley on February 5th, 2007 at 12:01 am
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- JoelJonathan | May 15th, 2009 New!
  This is maybe true sometimes but I think as long as the domain name is "easy to remember" and has a strong anchor to the site category then a lot of these problems go away.
  For example, if you can choose a domain name that is a generic keyword domain name then that site is anchored in the person's mind as being an authority for that particular niche.
  This will make it much more easy to remember when the viewer wants to go to the site later. (i.e. "what was that domain name of that Seattle mortgage broker that he was telling me to go to - oh yea, duh, SeattleMortgage.com").
  Ok, maybe I could have thought of a better example but you get the idea
  My partner and I recently came up with a tool for finding these type of domain names and we have a database of available keyword domain names if you wanted to check them out. The tool uses real time data from Google to find available domain names. Let me know what you think.
  
  Edited by rebecca on May 18th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
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B-Scan | February 5th, 2007 New!
3. Only Choose Dot-Com Available Domains
Add-on 3rd (for non-US): Buy your ccTLD domain, because many people will type it. But don't forget .com if it's available.
If you have more than one language on your site, buy ccTLD for each language. More work for link building, but later results are better for local SERP's.

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- LisaMyers | February 5th, 2007 New!
  Yeah let's not forget the non US sites. In the UK it's vital to have the .co.uk as well as the .com
  In fact I would make this one of the decisive factors for choosing a domain, if you have a UK site and your desired domain name is not available in both .co.uk and .com i wouldn't buy it. It's highly adviseable to get both!
  
  Edited by LisaMyers on February 5th, 2007 at 3:31 am
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  - Jane Copland | February 5th, 2007 New!
    This is especially true when dealing with people who can't help but tick the "search pages from (country)" ****on when they're searching for something. I was surprised how many people do this, not realising how many results they're filtering out.
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    - stever | February 6th, 2007 New!
      Jane, I think the last time I went through my logs on this, the number was about 15-20%.
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Mintyman | February 5th, 2007 New!
I still hold my head in my hands when I see all the companies that formed around the millenium with '2000' in their name and domain.
In the same ilk, these same companies are usually ones that have personal email addresses on stationary, vans etc as the main point of contact e.g. FictionalPlumber@btclick.com
Is it really too difficult to use the domain name they own?
Ok, i'll get down from my soapbox now.

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cKdisco | February 5th, 2007 New!
Great rundown, Rand.
I haven't see the domain selection tools that you mention, but they seem pretty cool. However, my personal fav is InstantDomainSearch. It's superfast and there's little clutter.

Edited by caseyhen on April 26th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
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- Sean Maguire | November 18th, 2007 New!
  I agree. I think instantdomainsearch.com is the best available as it's dynamic.
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welcomewiki · #4 03-26-2011, 06:52 AM

Mark Alves | February 5th, 2007 New!
Another handy domain selection tool is pcnames.com, although the URL's non-intuitive name violates rule #7.
Edited by Mark Alves on February 5th, 2007 at 11:59 am
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SEO Practices | February 5th, 2007 New!
I've wonder why well known companies got domain names like: Yahoo, Google, flickr, squidoo, etc, those names don't make any sense, and yet are well branded names now, they don't follow rule number 5 Rand.

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- lorisa | February 5th, 2007 New!
  I think for the big players, sometimes getting a completely unique name (in many cases, coining a new word entirely) works because they have the money and marketing savvy to make it well known. They don't have to hold to the rules that we little people do.
  As far as this goes:
  "I still believe that Flickr desperately needs to buy Flicker.com - I hear kids in their 20's tell parents in their 40's and 50's to see photos on Flickr and always envision that traffic going straight to the wrong domain."
  Are you guys busy trying to buy www.drivel.com? You know, for when I tell my 60-year-old parents about the cool MythBusters tool & enchanting receipe for braised peasant?
  Also, did #9 of this post get cut off? Or is that just me?
  
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  - SEO Practices | February 5th, 2007 New!
    Thanks for replying lorisa, I believe you're right, they can do it for the uniqueness of the name, that would be the reason probably, though I would have call:
    Google.com - Search.com
    Yahoo.com - Explore.com
    Flickr.com - Pics.com
    Something like that, but of course this applies for us "little people", hope to be big one day!
    
    Edited by SEO Practices on February 5th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
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    - identity | February 6th, 2007 New!
      All rules are meant to be broken... it's just a matter of
      
      knowing them to begin with
      
      knowing when to break them
      
      knowing how to break them
      
      And realistically, with the rate that domain names are being obtained, you probably have to decide which rules you are willing to bend or break.
      I think you can always find an exception to every rule.
      In some cases, did some of these big names become what they are because of their unique name, or in spite of it? I think there will always be a bit of a trade off between branding and purpose, both on where you are today, where you want to be, and the odds of you getting there.
      Of course, given that domain names don't cost what they did a decade ago, there's no real reason not to grab both types of names now if they are available. Focus on the "what" domain now, and then when you hit it big, you can always transition everyone over to the "who" domain if you still wish.
      
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    - SEO Practices | February 6th, 2007 New!
      Thanks identity, it's clear to me, I'll keep focusing on the "what" for now.
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    - identity | February 6th, 2007 New!
      This biggest challenge is probably clients...
      we can make these decisions to break or follow rules, but it is often much harder to explain this to a client.
      Rightfully so, they often want to use their business name for their domain, which they should probably secure, but it may not always be the best domain to use.
      SEOmoz was perhaps highly unique in the ability to create a domain that captured the core business with a bit of philosophy, though I would also say that the "moz" part probably does not carry the meaning implied immediately with everyone. But as Rand has explained it above, it is also easily and quickly communicated.
      More importantly, it is distinctive and short at only 6 letters! And within the industry and even to a small extent the broader public, it has become a recognizable brand. Kudos!
      But for many clients, this may not be the case. They may benefit, especially if they aren't targeting a primarily local audience and already have strong name recognition (possibly leading to natural type-in traffic), to focus on the "what" based name.
      This probably isn't that much different than the brick-and-mortar world. Even businesses that wouldn't open up a store with some unknown and unconnected business name without a meaningful tagline, visual image or some kind of advertising, seem to forget this when they launch a website.
      
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  - eSherpa | February 6th, 2007 New!
    I agree, coining a new word gives a company a great brand recognition advantage (think Kodak).
    But even the big guys make mistakes "coining" a word that is simply two common/blah words put together. I can never remember if there is a sale at Petco or Petsmart this weekend. But maybe it's just me.
    
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welcomewiki · #5 03-26-2011, 06:54 AM

seoteam | February 6th, 2007 New!
Cool post rand. I am sure this info will go over well for my web hosting clients!!!
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Oatmeal | February 6th, 2007 New!
One of our kind readers should submit this to digg
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- identity | February 6th, 2007 New!
  I didn't start it, but I gave it the 12th digg on a topic of 12 Rules... does that win anything? a vacation package? a new car? a lifetime premium membership to SEOmoz
  
  ...okay, maybe next time... but you can't blame a guy for trying!
  
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rebecca | February 6th, 2007 New!
SEOmoz itself is a good example - "SEO" does a good job of explaining the industry we're in and creating expectations, while "moz" gives a web association, and an association with being free, open, and community-driven.
I don't necessarily agree here. SEOmoz is a good example to people in the SEO industry, but anyone outside this relatively small niche stares at me with a blank face when I try to explain what the company's name is, how to say it, what it means, and what I do. Businesses like Search Engine Land and Marketing Pilgrim are easier to understand by non-SEO folks.

Edited by rebecca on February 6th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
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- KT99 | January 16th, 2009 New!
  I think you misunderstand! The reason they stare is because you look so nice.
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  - rebecca | January 16th, 2009 New!
    Haha, you brown noser. :D
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    - KT99 | April 24th, 2009 New!
      Excuse me! My whole face is brown from working hard in the sun.
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ciaran | February 7th, 2007 New!
3. Only Choose Dot-Com Available Domains
... except for the billions of us who aren't based in the US. As a British company we are actually now thinking about having the .co.uk as the primary domain, although we would of course want to own the .com as well.....

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ciaran | February 7th, 2007 New!
I should also add that I think this is a great post - and one that gets ignored even by the biggest companies.

One of the big UK banks launched an online arm called More Th Except that you can't have a URL with the character <, so the URL of this online bank is actually morethan.com - and no one thought of this?!

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Sorvoja | February 7th, 2007 New!
Great post, I must add that it is important to own the domain across all international TLD's. Unless you have a copyright it would be bad to have someone start a competing site at a .info or .biz domain, you should also registrer important country domains. Like .us or .ca if you are a North American company only trading mainly in the US and Canada.

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solro | February 7th, 2007 New!
Getting the jump on the market can be really important and I wouldn't always take your hyphen advice. I'd rather have a better domain with hyphens that exactly applies to what I want, then to have to pick something more obscure because the non-hyphen versions aren't available. For this one I'll provide an example.
I relatively recently bought the dns social-media-optimization.org along with a collection of relates dns social-media-(keywordhere).org to be developed later on. I think the hyphenated names are more valuable then choosing a nonhyphen alternative to make it easier to "say over the phone or give a link and have them visit the right spot."
In my particular example the hyphenated domain will be easier to succufully develope a site that create self reinforcing link authority. Especially if I title the Site the SAME thing as the domain name. All the link anchor text will include the EXact keywords I want to come up on and so does the url. So if I throw up a good source of information on the topic, take out all commercial aspects temporarily I'll pick a bunch of good links with perfect anchor text.

Edited by solro on February 7th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
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Ross Hill | February 25th, 2007 New!
In my experience when I say Flickr most people ask how it is spelt, but I don't disagree with you at all.
utube.com got pushed offline when youtube.com was exploding in the media.
In an interesting twist the Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corporation seem to have been talked into pimpin their site because there is now a search bar which goes to spammy pages, and the links at the top of their site link to casinos and free mp3s!

Edited by Ross Hill on February 25th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
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ViperChill | May 6th, 2008 New!
Great post, I've been looking at getting some new domains lately and found this especially useful!
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swaro | May 22nd, 2008 New!
You don't copyright domain names, you trademark them. The correct site to search for a registered trademark is uspto.gov - however, the US recognizes "common law" trademarks, so a mark does not need to be registered to have trademark rights. Trademark law is complicated and contains many grey areas, but there is no easy way to search for prior usage of a common law trademark. A good trademark search will run several hundred dollars.
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KT99 | January 16th, 2009 New!
I don't think type-in traffic should really be considered anymore unless you have a huge budget and are willing to buy a very expensive domain. Otherwise, the difference would be negligible in all likelihood. Branding on the other hand should be tops on the list of those who want to turn the domain into a viable website.
I really like the point about hard to type letters. I'd imagine it could make a sizeable difference for some (Z being the worst one for me)
Buy or sell domains for free and no commission at Domain Offerings

Edited by KT99 on January 16th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
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andrewmoquin | April 26th, 2009 New!
Finding a decent domain name is todays marketplace can be extremely frustrating, but as said, don’t spend forever worrying about your domain name. Pick one and focus your time and efforts on the product/services/content on offer.
Although descriptive domain names may help in the short term, I think better managed content and link building is still king. That being said, webmasters and site owners have to be smart about protecting their brand. Cybersquatters will often register misspellings, plural forms, and hyphenated variants of your bread and ****er domain name.
Nice blog! Thanks for the post.

Edited by rebecca on April 27th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
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Kilian G | April 27th, 2009 New!
Nice blog! Thanks, Regarding an easy associated name, according to todays' algorithms of google it is a good idea to choice names like
1 jobs.com
2 bookstore.com
3 auctions.com
4 publish-text.com
5 share-photos.com ..
Since searching on the above in key words is easier it gives a good ranking - this combined with link building etc. But I think there is a correlation between a more hard to learn name with unassociated words - when you've once made the effort and learned the association it is solid and stuck, I think all of us have heard of these more than the above?
1 Monster.com
2 Amazon.com
3 ebay.com
4 twitter.com
5 flickr.com ..

Good blog and nice tips. Thanks for the post.//K

Edited by Kilian G on April 27th, 2009 at 3:38 am
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roonster | July 16th, 2009 New!
i disagree. the name doesn't have to be short and doesn't need a .com extension. everyone knows all the .coms are taken and you'll have a much higher success rate with a longer name. just look at boingboing.net! here's an article by a naming expert, who i believe was just featured in inc magazine, about choosing an available url: http://onthe****on.wordpress.com/200...finding-a-url/ worth a look. cheers!
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- JoelJonathan | July 16th, 2009 New!
  "the name doesn't have to be short and doesn't need a .com extension."
  Sure, it doesn't have to be either of these things but shorter is obviously better everything else being equal because it's easier to remember, easier to brand, easier to type, etc etc.
  Having a .com extension is better than any other extension (ccTLD's in foreign countries excluded) because people expect the .com to be the authority default TLD for commercial websites.
  Also, there is some evidence that the search engines place a quality weighting on .com's vs. say .net or .info or .biz (as they should if their efforts are to mimic human behaviour and return quality results - i.e. which extension do you think is spammy vs. trustworthy: .com or .info? Exactly.)
  "everyone knows all the .coms are taken and you'll have a much higher success rate with a longer name."
  Sorry, you are wrong. There are plenty of even exact match keyword .com domain names available to hand register IF you know what you are doing. (As far as your "much higher success rate with a longer name" comment I am hoping that you mean a much higher success rate finding an available domain name to hand register and not that you mean having better SEO/marketing success with a longer domain name because that would be just silly - although pretty close to right in line with your earlier statements).
  "just look at boingboing.net!"
  Gotta love hearing isolated examples given as "proof" of some kind of broad theory.
  "here's an article by a naming expert, who i believe was just featured in inc magazine, about choosing an available url"
  Sorry, even though I hate to disparage the domaining and SEO geniuses who are masquerading as full time editors over at INC Magazine - they chose to quote a "naming expert" in their article who doesn't know what they are talking about.
  
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claytowne | February 5th, 2010 New!
Number 1, branstorming keywords, has some merit but is very limited. Most succesful internet brands don't have a single keyword in them:
Google, Yahoo, Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, Craigslist, and YouTube all lack keywords.
Following rule #1 they should be called:
GoodSearchEngine, BigPortalSite, SendLittleNotes, CollegeStudentCentral, MakeOnlineDiary, FreeClassifieds and ShareYourVideos.
I wrote about it more on my post Avoiding the Keyword Domain Name Trap
But overall, a good list of rules to follow.

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- JoelJonathan | February 5th, 2010 New!
  Haha and they also are all technology related sites with large budgets that they can spend on branding.
  Let me ask you a question:
  If you were going to start a free classifieds site right now would you rather have the domain name ClaysList.com or FreeClassifieds.com?
  
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  - claytowne | February 7th, 2010 New!
    Niether. Clayslist would be a wannabe also-ran name and FreeClassifieds is doomed for being unbrandable (I mean doomed in the sense of being a market leader)
    I would pick somehting unique and brandable. Have no idea what that would be but hat's the whole point. You can't predict the future but there's a good bet that a company with a genric keyword domain name won't be a market leader. So it's best to pick some else if that's your goal. If you just want to take a tiny slice of a over saturated market with slim margins (selling celectronics for example) then yes, pick a keyword domain because it will give a slight adavantage in search matches. If you have no brand and don't care about building one then get the keyword domain.
    On a side note: At one time the sites mentioned above didn't have big budgets and name recognition. They were all struggling startups (except for maybe YouTube which had huge backing right out the gate) But I bet if they went with the generic keyword domain they would have changed their name eventualy or faded away. Even CocaCola and Nike were nobodies at one point. Start small, but think big.
    
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    - JoelJonathan | February 7th, 2010 New!
      Ehh, I would disagree with "doomed" since there are many market leaders who use the category ****er generic keyword domain (i.e. Hotels.com, Cars.com, etc. etc.).
      I am a big fan of unique and brandable as well but I am an even bigger fan of owning the category ****er generic keyword domain for your market if you can get it or at the very least trying for a keyword rich domain which would be your main keyword + something brandable (i.e. SEO + moz = seomoz.org instead of just FishkinsMozzers.org or whatever that makes the general purpose of the site unintelligible at first glance like many pure brandable domains).
      You do make a good point that many of those companies you mentioned did not have the big budgets when they first started out. That being said, this comment of yours: "But I bet if they went with the generic keyword domain they would have changed their name eventualy or faded away." is at best an odd off the cuff prediction that you wrote without thinking through first and at worst one of the most ridiculous predictions that I have ever heard - you have to admit
      
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    - claytowne | February 13th, 2010 New!
      True, a sweeping generalzation, and perhaps not the most elequant statement, but I stand by it's essence. Generic domain/company names are a big problem for branding and make it very difficult to be a category leader. Most generics aren't category ****ers, the ones that achieve it are the excpetion, and I believe the name is the main thing holding them back. I wouldn't mind owning one (a really good genric) but I don't think I would ever use it except for SEO purposes. Or maybe just sell it to someone for a pretty penny. Marketing a generic is not a good strategy for the future.
      
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    - SmellyChris | March 30th, 2010 New!
      This is my first post... short-time reader, long-winded poster.
      
      Having a generic domain's good for SEO but mostly bad for branding unless you can get that one or two keywords that specifically relate to what you're offering i.e. the Hotels.com example offering hotel bookings.
      
      Having a nonsense domain name such as google.com is good for branding now, but is it future-proof?
      
      Google; Amazon; Yahoo and Monster.
      
      The internet is now full of websites named like this, and, because of this, the market place is somewhat saturated This has meant domain names have evolved.
      
      The new and successful ones: Twitter; Digg; Facebook and Reddit have certain connotations which allows the user to envisage what they might be used for:
      
      - Face - Faces - People - Communicating
      book - stored information
      
      - Twitter = "to utter a succession of small, tremulous sounds”
      
      - Digg... journalists dig up dirt and
      
      - reddit (read it) - people to feel they like others have read something and then encourages them to share it with their peers. Humans are, after all, social animals.
      
      Don't quote me on the above; I'm just talking more or less...
      
      Now the internet is now an inherent part of our popular culture; you can even use internet brands to create new internet domain names...
      
      I suggest the next social networking webiste to be: WikiPeople, unless that's some kind of trademark infringement or does that make the people you think of being on there looking like a certain hairy Star Wars character... hmm.
      
      ... I digress...
      
      The best domain name would obviously be if you could incorporate what your brand's about with some sort of description within it. Of course, a lot of these are now taken. But, if you could figure out one AND have it a .com, you'd dramatically increase your chances of success in whatever you're trying to achieve...
      
      Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, in my opinion, you're both correct, Joel and claytown. You just need to try (if possible) to combine both approaches.
      
      If the branding doesn't work, you can stick to the SEO and you'd, at least, still have something to work with.
      
      If I may, I'd like to point out one example of a company that, according to wikipedia, has been around for since 1975: their website is: autotrader.co.uk.
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Online Casinos | June 7th, 2010 New!
You need to have an exciting domain name that users want to click on as people do not often remember your website anyway. If you choose to make your domain brandable you need to be aware of the investment to establish this.

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partcomputer_parthum | October 23rd, 2010 New!
I stumbled upon a service called Domometer which seems to check most of the points listed in this article, uniqueness, memorability etc. It's located at www.domometer.com, hope someone finds it useful.
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TechieGeek | October 26th, 2010 New!
I want to get myself a new domain soon because my site's current name sucks. I read your other post about an exact match so I'll be doing that. Thanks Rand.

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Himasha | March 18th, 2011 New!
Even I already have chosen my domain now I am in a little worry about it because it seems I’m missing my attention from the people in the first line.
My domain is www.trizb.com and it is an Educational Resource Website. Specially designed to meet my country (Sri Lanka) needs.
I have chosen my name to be stand unique. But not for SEO I feel now.
So even I have gone some far I feel to change the name to something related.

Is it good doing that at this stage? If so what type of name can you suggest will work for me with that site structure..

Since I am a beginner I appreciate your support.

Thanks a lot.

MUST KNOW FACTORS/Tips: Before bye Domain Names

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