Learning how to choose a domain name is very important whether you’re looking for a domain name for your business or for a personal website or blog. Don’t be fooled; a bad domain name can hurt your business. Whether you’ve picked a name that doesn’t fit or you didn’t realize that certain letters don’t play well next to each other, you may find yourself in a heap of trouble if you don’t take the time to give domain name selection some thought ahead of time. The best marketers go with simple domain names that not only describe what they do but also help them stand out.

Here’s a quick list of items to keep in mind to help you with choosing the best domain name.

• Know What You’re About: You want to pick a domain name that reflects what you do. Visitors should be able to determine exactly what kind of site you are by just looking at your URL. If they’re confused and unsure you’ll meet their needs, they won’t click through.
• Once You Know What You’re About, Be Broad: You sell cookies and are elated to find that www.justcookies.com is available. This may be a great match for you right now, but what’ happens in a couple years when you decide to expand and sell cakes, cupcakes and other pastries as well? When picking a domain name, be sure you leave yourself a little room.
• Be Memorable: A great domain is one that helps brand you. It should be unique, easy to type, easier to remember and give your visitors something to associate you with. Whatever domain you choose will forever affect how visitors perceive and value you or your company.
• Keep it Simple: Part of being remembered is to pick a domain name that is as straightforward and effortless as possible. Avoid hyphens, no slang, watch out for the number ‘0’ (often mistaken for the letter ‘O’) and make sure it is easy to type.
• Consider How It Looks: Your domain name should be visually appealing. Doubling up on letters like epiccookies.com can be confusing for visitors. You may also want to be aware of how your words will look when smashed together. A quick way to test if your domain has commercial appeal is if you think that it would look good on a billboard.
• Use Keywords When Possible: Fitting your site’s keywords into your domain is always nice if you can do it. However don’t lose sleep over it if you can’t and definitely never pick an irrelevant or awkward domain name just because you can squeeze a word in.
• Search Dropped Domains: Dropped domains have recently changed from registered to unregistered status. Often, a company will go out of business, not be able to afford the registration renewal fee or just forget to renew their domain name. When this happens a domain is dropped and available for anyone to pick up.
• The Extension Acquisition: If you have a commercial site, it is really important to snag up all the major extensions. You don’t want to take MichellesMarvelousCookies.com and MichellesMarvelousCookies.net only to let someone else pick up the .org and .biz. That’s a crisis waiting to happen!
• Brainstorm: If you have a business partner or close friend, use them to bounce ideas off of. Start by thinking of your ideal domain name and then throw out as many related words and combination of words as possible. You’re bound to have a flash of genius and find a great name.
• Start Now: Last but not least. Start choosing a domain name now, before someone else snatches it up!!