Suppose you are planning a website. You already know what it will be about and now what? Yeah, you need to name it. And that’s where you first get into trouble. You might want your site name to contain your main keyword and most obviously you find that all the hot catchy names are already taken. So what to do? Here are some helpful tips and resources:
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- 1. Use already branded ideas (one of my favorites):
- 2. Make up new words by adding suffixes:
- 3. An advanced version of the above two…
- 4. Add suffix -er and drop e (also very popular):
- 5. Go even further: add -er, drop e and make it plural:
- 6. Take advantage of .us top level domain:
- 7. Invent the suffixes of your own:
- 8. Split your keyword with another word
- 9. Add one letter before your keyword
- 10. Invent a new word which looks familiar to an existing word (a risky one):
- 11. Add your targeted territory name + use any method from above
- 12. Drop a letter in the middle of your keyword
- 13. Rhyme your keyword:
- 14. Play with your keyword plural form
- 15. Use an advanced option of the above method
- 16. use your keyword twice (singular + (changed) plural)
- Things to keep in mind while searching for a domain name:
1. Use already branded ideas (one of my favorites):
seomoz.com (Dmoz.com)
porntube.com (Youtube.co
The obvious advantage of this approach lies in adding a fixed positive association to your domain name. Consider this, everyone knows and trusts Dmoz and thus by adding -moz to your domain name you get people to trust your new website.
2. Make up new words by adding suffixes:
- 2.1. Add -ster (very popular): catster.com, dogster.com, friendster.com
- 2.2. Add a verb forming suffix -ize/-ise: fashionising.com, colourize.com
- 2.3. Add Latin adjectival suffix -cus: eventicus.com
- 2.4. Use adjective suffixes
- matic: podomatic.com (podcasts)
- ful: eventful.com
- able: fundable.com
3. An advanced version of the above two…
Take a well known website name, add your keyword and add a suffix – gamediggity.com
4. Add suffix -er and drop e (also very popular):
talkr.com
socialtrackr.com
5. Go even further: add -er, drop e and make it plural:
sweeprs.com (from sweepstakes)
6. Take advantage of .us top level domain:
thumblicio.us
flickrlicio.us
7. Invent the suffixes of your own:
searchles.com
URLex.info
8. Split your keyword with another word
mapeire.com (map + empire)
motortopia.com (motor + utopia)
9. Add one letter before your keyword
(also must have been invented by Dmoz)
Dcomments.com
furl.net
10. Invent a new word which looks familiar to an existing word (a risky one):
SiteBar.org (sidebar)
wepublic.com (republic)
11. Add your targeted territory name + use any method from above
filipinofriendsterworld.com
12. Drop a letter in the middle of your keyword
Sk-rt.com
13. Rhyme your keyword:
Flyspy.com
14. Play with your keyword plural form
(a bit overused method)
- x instead of -cs: topix.net
- z instead of -s: clickz.com
15. Use an advanced option of the above method
add -z instead of regular -s and add any vowel in the end: piczo.com
16. use your keyword twice (singular + (changed) plural)
(also using the 15th one)
picpix.com
Things to keep in mind while searching for a domain name:
- Plan ahead: think how easily your new domain name will be branded. Learn from the best: wikitravel.org (from wikipedia.org), Mozbers (SeoMoz + Members), etc.
- Try to avoid potential misspellings (can be referred to the 15th and 11th, for example).
- Make sure your domain name is easily spelled (can be referred to the 5th one)
- Try this cool business name generator which can be a real fun.
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alert people who also bid domain names.
Great info! Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome 🙂 Please feel free to add more tips, which were not mentioned here.
Stumbled upon this great article! Keep it up and thanks for sharing.
Great tips! I use almost 1 week to decide my domain name. Almost all domain names that i can think are taken by others. If i read this article earlier then maybe i can come out better name…Hahaha
Great post Anne! As an SEO who also does domains and finds branding important, this one’s right up my alley. I suggest you pass it on to Susan Gunelius at Brand Curve, who is a friend and great blogger. She might likely be interested :).
btw, is that smarty or smartie ;)? Heh, I’m a smartiepants 😀
Thanks, Gab, I’ll get in contact with Susan. And that’s “smarty” by the way 😉
Look forward to seeing your content linked to from Susan’s! Tell her you’re a friend of mine :).
Lol, I actually thought this was a parody of some kind. But you were serious!
the ONE thing you should know about choosing you domain (or any other marketing choice you have to make) is:
BE RELEVANT AND ORIGINAL
Don’t just copy other ideas.
Flickr was great. Talkr will never be a hit…
del.ici.us was great. thumblicio.us? Not a chance.
Get it?
Great Post. I have book marked it and will be using as guide when indecisive about my next domain name. Thanks for the great tips
http://www.PassportMentors.com
@ Slaven… Well, you are right, being original is the best one. This post was meant to inspire and give some useful techniques, not to learn how to copy others’ ideas.
@ Gab Goldenberg… Many thanks for putting me in touch with Susan! I definitely owe you! Her review can be found here:
http://www.brandcurve.com/tips-for-branding-your-domain-name/
Great info, thanks for sharing it with us.
Even though most ‘good’ domain names are taken, there are still many available in the secondary markets and in other tld’s.
Multiple keyword domains are also still available if one looks around and does some thinking.
Some great ideas here. Thanks.
I really appreciated this on branding. It’s something that every entrepreneur should be aware of.
We have a large subscriber base and we featured this post on our site under the Sales and Marketing category on our content site http://www.northstarthinktank.com.
Thanks again for the useful information!
Thanks, Jeff! I noticed a link back yesterday! I am happy you find it useful.
“You are welcome Please feel free to add more tips, which were not mentioned here.”
By Ann Smarty on Nov 19, 2007
There couldn’t possibly be any others!! This list is unbeliveable. SEO Smarty or SEO Muse?
An even better tool for this is http://www.bustaname.com It lets you check domains in real time by combining words and do most of the suffixes and prefixes mentioned above.
Good Topic!!
We like this:
Pre-fix a common word with 1- to make it look like a phone number so that it will appeal to mobile users.
Numbers That Work and 1-Dash Domains
Best example:
1-Pizza.com
1-Pizza.mobi
1-74992.com
1-74992.mobi
(74992 spells Pizza on a phone keypad)
The 1- mimics a phone number so it’s a great memory trigger for people using a phone to connect to the web.
Check out http://www.namecombo.com It’s a really cool domain name generator and company name generator similar to Dotomator but with more word lists and the ability to create domain names with 1-4 words. You can find available domain names from a huge selection of word lists. You can customize lists with your own words which lets you come up with literally thousands of possible domain names incorporating your keywords if you wish. It offers bulk domain name lookup and domain registration. There is also both a three word version and four word version which are great for keyword driven domain name variations.
Here is unique site for finding great domain names: http://HotNameList.com
Every day, over 100 new .COM names are published. The names are available, and have great generic keywords with fantastic search terms.
Some good tips but it is important to not get a name that is too hard for your site visitors to remember or else you will lose a lot of repeat traffic to the site.
I would also add to the list to use domain name tools like those at http://www.DomainSuperstar.com.
I would recommend especially the type in traffic tool and the geo domain name finder.
i like the use of branded domain names. it definitely helps your website.
Now that Google has eliminated the fact of Exact Match Domain Names, one can be rest assured that working with EMDs will sooner or later cause harm to their online business. The ideas that you suggested are really great! 🙂 Thanks Ann!
And people were saying I was being informal when I chose to use Bloggerz instead on Bloggers in my domain name. Truth is, it is hard to find a good TLD
Hi there! Thanks for the GREAT advice ! My question is what comes next? I have chosen a unique brand name for my blog and perhaps some day merchandise. I am the only person in the world it seems using this brand name. What can I do to protect it and claim it as mine? I saw Legal Zoom has an affordable fee for that and the site is user friendly. Thanks for your time 🙂