Create Domain Names - Finding and Choosing Domain Names that Work

You've seen them.

Super long domain names with each word hyphenated. Pure ugliness! Plus, not very memorable. How dp you create domain names that are keyword rich and memorable?

Whether registering a brand new domain name or buying a domain from someone else consider the following elements to create quality domain names:

- No hyphens. Nine times out of ten hyphens make a domain name too long. Users are not used to typing hyphens in domain names. So though your website might "essays-for-everybody", users will inevitably type it in as "essaysforeverybody". Most websites have "type-in" traffic. Make it easy for users who remember your basic domain name to type it directly into their browser.

- No meaningless words. Unless it is part of your domain name, avoid "the, a,an, r, are, is, us, me" and the whole assortment of various articles, conjunctions, be verbs and pronouns.

- Choose proper word order. Make sure your Dog Pet Store website has a domain of "dogpetstore" not "storedogpet". Let it make sense to readers.

- Don't get fancy. Unless you've got tons of marketing experience and the money to hire smart marketers, avoid creating brand based domain names that won't be of much value if your website fails. For example, if Jeff Bezos had failed with Amazon.com, at least he possessed a one word domain name that had some meaning. It, in and of itself, could have been very valuable.

- Don't overuse adjectives. "greatmarvelousfabulousdogpetstore" is not as clear and efficient as "dogpetstore".

These few examples should give you some idea about the nature of valuable domain names. When creating your domain name keep these tips in mind and not only create a good domain name, but get your website off to a good start.

Paul Flyer writes about domain names on his Recommended Web Tools website. For more information on choosing, registering and managing domain names, download his free ebook, The Domain Name Handbook at http://www.recommendedwebtools.com/index.php/domain-name-handbook/