Choosing the right website domain name has always been a bit of a mystery. It can be a high-pressure and daunting task to make sure it provides brand recognition, brevity, and SEO value. A website like https://www.mybekins.com/ for Bekins Moving Solutions as an example is simple and effective. A more debatable example is Overstock.com’s “o.co” domain debacle from nearly a decade ago. While it’s incredibly short and catchy, it doesn’t describe anything on its own and can easily cause brand confusion.
There are approximately 1 billion .COM domains registered. That’s a lot of domain names out on the Internet that are either already taken or just parked in some obsolete spot gathering dust and all kinds of age. The most common names like loser.com. Jamesbrown.com are already taken by net investors who resell the rights to the names. Can you imagine someone having www.elvis.com ? They are just waiting on the highest bidder!
There are 900 possible combinations for two letter sequences. If you’re looking for ET then you just won’t find it! Even allowing for digits, again every single web address is taken. Of course, that’s ignoring the fact that .COM registrars now mandate a 3-character minimum length, so it wouldn’t be an option.
Many of the three-letter sequences are taken. Adding digits to a domain name creates a number of garbage domain entries. If you’re dying to acquire great domains and unique domain names, they’ll free up sometimes only to be auctioned off through unique domain name sales.
The longer the domain name that you choose, the more that the possibilities are that it could be available presuming that you’re willing to accept an arbitrary sequence of letters and/or digits. For example, most organizations have 4 letter acronyms (WQAM.com and AFTA.org so you may have a chance using over 4 letters to get the domain name that you want in acronym style!
Of course many of the registered domains are ever, visited, with a huge percentage having nothing more than a parked page (users pay domain registrars to put up ads for themselves on these type of parked pages). There are so many combinations and back door tricks to domain name cataloging and classification until the possibilities are endless.
The rule is to obtain a domain name that closely resembles who you are about which gives you an identity and brand on the internet. Also keep the 10 commandments of domain names in mind:
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF WEBSITE DOMAIN NAME VALUE
1 – The name shall have Development Value
2 – The name shall have .Dot value
3 – The name shall have Brand Recognition
4 – The name shall be Search Engine Friendly
5 – The name shall be Linguistically Viable
6 – The name shall have Traffic or Revenue
7 – The name shall have Industry Strength
8 – The name shall have Sales Value History
9 – The name shall have Intrinsic Value
10 – The name shall have Market Potential
There are some exceptions for specific URL’s. A website like https://hydrosolar.ca/collections/pressurized-water-tanks is a little longer but is rich in descriptive keywords for those looking for pressurized water tanks. You can also click here to view a great example of a furniture rental website. Evaluate the pros and cons before buying a website or
We hope you enjoyed this article on how to unlock the mysteries of choosing the right domain name for your brand and Google searches.
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