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On the web, all the “good” names have been taken.

That doesn’t mean that you have to rely on vowel dropping, word mashing or the host of other Web 2.0 shenanigans to find a good one.

Chances are good that your first choice for a name will be taken, but the more specific you can be about your hopes for your brand, the more likely you are to find a permutation that is still available. Like any other naming task, the one point that you should remember above the rest is that the domain you choose will be the home of your brand for the immediate future. If you can’t see yourself living with your domain for the next three years, you may want to keep thinking.

With this in mind, here are a few tips to help you select a domain.


Choosing A Domain

  • Take your time. Sometimes it’ll take quite a few tries to find a good domain, don’t give up.

  • Try adding or removing the ’s’. NewarkHomeRentals may not be available, but NewarkHomeRental is. Be warned, if you go this route, expect mistypes.

  • Be willing to buy a few domains to set aside for a rainy day

  • Even if you don’t use them, you can sell them off on Sedo

  • Speaking of paying for domains, don’t pay a premium. In almost all cases you can find a perfectly acceptable name without needing to shell out the exorbitant fees that might be needed to buy your ideal name.

  • Avoid infringing on copyrights. The legal battle isn’t worth it.

  • Your name should be memorable, but not at the expense of “ease of typing.” Simplicity often trumps cleverness.

  • Be patient. Finding a name is hard enough, finding one when so many good ones are already gone can be a chore.

  • Your domain often drives your design, pick one that is easily brandable.

  • Do not use numbers, obscure references, or anything that looks like the subject line to your last spam email.

  • While you’re at it, drop the hypens.

  • Buy the variations. You don’t need 100 of the same domain, but get the common misspellings.

  • .com is your friend. If you have the option between a slightly less ideal .com name and the perfect .tv name, I’d suggest picking the .com.

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