A quality domain name is essential for branding and promoting your key projects. I registered my first domain name in 2000. Even back then, finding the right domain name for a project was a difficult task.
Finding a good brandable keyword in a domain name has become easier over the last few years has become easier due to the number of domain extensions available. The last time I checked, there are close to one million domain extensions available online. OK…perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration…but it does feel like that. The flavour of the month is .CO. It is the top level domain for Colombia, however since 2010, anyone can register a .co domain.
Domain registrars are pushing .co domains to customers as an alternative to .COM. It has been adopted by many large companies as a way for shortening URL’s. For example, Google uses g.co to shorten links. Despite my love for Colombia, I am not a big fan of the .CO domain extension as it is too similar to .COM. And from a branding point of view, .COM is still the best. Plus I believe that there is a real chance of internet users seeing the .CO extension as a URL shortening domain, rather than a destination.
Finding the right domain name can be a frustrating process. I have been reminded of this recently as I have been searching for the right domain name for an upcoming project. The problem is that:
- Every variation of a keyword is taken.
- 99% of the domains that are registered are not used as websites. They were purchased for resale.
- Sellers normally price domains unrealistically high.
- Many domain sellers do not respond to email queries about purchasing the domain.
Another problem is time. It is easy to spend days or even weeks searching for the right domain. Despite knowing the importance of a good domain name for a project you are going to invest in, I always feel like that my time could be better spent doing something else.
I have been using domain tools such as DomainsBot to make searching for domains easier. I have also been looking at different keywords using a thesaurus. There is a temptation for me to register an average domain at the moment and then rebrand later, however that is just creating unnecessary work for myself at a later date. It is better to get these things right from the start.
I don’t want to delve too much into what my project is. Despite not liking the .CO domain extension too much, the best domains I have found use that extension. Just my luck. If I cannot find a good brandable domain for my new project, I may end up doing a u-turn on .CO domains and embrace them with all my heart (Sam Sinton believes they are the best domain extension after .COM).
What has your experience been with registering domain names over the last two years?
Kevin
Of course, if you have a popular name (like AAA Plumbing), your first choice may not be available. If that’s the case, don’t worry — there are virtually endless domain variations available. Try a different domain extension like .NET, .BIZ or .CO instead of just .COM. Another tip is to add a local element to your name, such as AAAPlumbingPhoenix.com. This not only differentiates your business from others that may be located across the country, it can help improve your search engine results for local customers.
New generic domain extensions such as .APP, .BLOG, .SHOP or .WEB are coming soon! Browse the catalogue of web address alternatives .
Good idea. That will definitely give you more flexibility in the future and allow you to cover other subjects.
Yes I was aware of that! However I’m not going to use the WP as I want the blog, or at least the name to be a bit more general. I’ll be blogging about WP to being with but would like to option to move into other areas as things move on.
Thanks for the tips.
I am sure you already know this but just incase: Ensure you do not use WordPress in the domain. Use wp instead. You can either go with something abstract or go with something like keywordWP.com or WPkeyword.com.
Sam believes that .co is the second best option after .com, though I’m not so sure. I remember other domain extensions such as .biz being marked as the next big thing…and it never materialised. I hope I’m wrong as I think websites need to start using other extensions. The problem is that COM remains king.
I feel your pain.
I want to start my own blog on WordPress and related topics but am finding it really hard to come up with a name. Everything I think of has been taken. And like you say, in most cases not being used.
I’m going to get the thesaurus out tonight and try and find something a bit more abstract. I’m not even looking for a ‘keyword’ domain, just something that is descriptive and easy to remember!
I’m not sure about .CO hadn’t thought about it before but might go for it.
What are your thoughts on taking a .CO when there is a .COM already in use? Not for a trademark domain but still one that has been registered and is being used.
DomainNameSoup looks good. I’ll keep that in mind.
I ended up registering a .com domain name. The three keyword domain I was looking at was a great term for SEO, however I think the one I registered is better.
How’s your blog coming along?
Kevin
I gave up searching for domain names after I discovered that DoTheHokeyPokey.com was already taken. :(
I bought a lot of domain names this year and, with the exception of one .net (to replace the SifuPhil.com that a large domainer is sitting on) and one .us (as an experiment, and yes, it relates to the United States), they were all .coms.
I use ExpiredDomains.net to search for potentially useful expired names as well as upcoming expirations and GoDaddy close-outs.
For trying to come up with new names I use DomainNameSoup.com – a really useful site.
Thanks Kris. I have taken a note of it so that I add it to the resource section later. :)
I use also this tool http://impossibility.org/ quite effective.