Hi.
I would like to gather the criteria used when choosing a domain name.
Would you mind listing as many criteria as possible, so I can base on these criteria t assess my domain names?
If possible, you may wish to discuss what criteria should I place higher value on, what lower.
Situation:
- choose a quality domain name for non-proft making website
- the name should describe the main aim/gist/content website, but NOT identity the organization/groups etc. which own the website
- For any others, simply assume anything to your liking to faclitate your answer (if required)
Criteria I collected so far:
- search engine friendlienss
- contain good keywords (but what are regarded as good?)
- hyphenated
- traffic attraction
- type-in (a name which will attract type-in traffic, eg www.hardware.com)
- possibility on user search for these (combination of) names
Anything else?
Thanks!
# Use relevant and generic keywords unless you have a huge budget for branding.
I always wonder about the choice of a name:
Will you prefer to use an expandable name (so you take potentials into account), or just a name which describe well with your current/intended contens of your site?
Will you prefer a generic name (eg food) or specific name (eg hotdog)?
Will you prefer a specially-made brand name (eg Google - at that time, Google is (coined) dervied from Googol), or use a brand name which is already in daily usage (eg "2%", "Boots", "Crocodile", "British Airways")?
# Stick with nouns and avoid verbs, adverbs and adjectives.
Why?
# If using a plural in your domain name, ask yourself if it makes sense.
I wonder:
- if I should stick to singular form as always (eg shop, NOT shops);
- if I should avold words which make sense in plural or singular (eg just just "moon", "world" since they are usually singular; or scissors since it is ususally plural)
# Stay away from domains that are difficult to convey over the phone. Pay attention to phonetics and words that sound the same, but are spelled differently. ie. 1/one/won or draught/draft or 2/two/to/too or whiskeys/whiskies (OT: I'm now thirsty.) In general, stay away from using numbers. If you insist, be sure to have both variations. ie. 3/three
Good points! :P
# Don't get cute and try to make the TLD a part of your keyword in your domain name. ie. webmasterwo.rld
Why?
...
By the way, how about your view on "search-engine friendly" factor?
Important?
Will you consider sometihng like search-engine friendly, SERPs and so on?
Will you care how the name is formed (eg hyphenated? No space? and so on)?
# Use relevant and generic keywords unless you have a huge budget for branding.
I always wonder about the choice of a name:
Will you prefer to use an expandable name (so you take potentials into account), or just a name which describe well with your current/intended contens of your site?
>>> If in doubt, go with the category vs. the subcategory.
Will you prefer a generic name (eg food) or specific name (eg hotdog)?
>>> Both of the examples you mentioned are generics. A site using including food as a keyword obviously has more potential for being a larger portal type site than one using hotdog as a keyword.
Will you prefer a specially-made brand name (eg G... - at that time, G... is (coined) dervied from Gxyz), or use a brand name which is already in daily usage (eg "2%", "Boots", "Crocodile", "B... A...")?
>>> As mentioned before, branding only makes sense if you have a big budget (or if you have already been around for awhile and are associated with a particular name). G... and B... A... are brand names. Let's try to stay away from mentioning specific companies, as it opens up a can of worms for name dropping. Boots and Crocodile are both generics. 2% cannot be a domain name, as domain names are limited to the letters A through Z, 0 through 9 and hyphens. The exception to this is if you have an IDN (Internationalized Domain Name).
# Stick with nouns and avoid verbs, adverbs and adjectives.
Why?
>>> In general, people search on the Internet for things. They want answers, not answering, answered or answerable.
# If using a plural in your domain name, ask yourself if it makes sense.
I wonder:
- if I should stick to singular form as always (eg shop, NOT shops);
- if I should avold words which make sense in plural or singular (eg just just "moon", "world" since they are usually singular; or scissors since it is ususally plural)
>>> If you decide on a domain that can make sense in either singular or plural, register both and redirect the traffic from one to the other.
# Don't get cute and try to make the TLD a part of your keyword in your domain name. ie. webmasterwo.rld
Why?
>>> Such domains are difficult for people to remember.
...
By the way, how about your view on "search-engine friendly" factor?
Important?
Will you consider sometihng like search-engine friendly, SERPs and so on?
Will you care how the name is formed (eg hyphenated? No space? and so on)?
>>> For sites that derive traffic only from search engine rankings, my opinion is that there is a small, albeit slight advantage to using hyphens. SEO has much more to do with anchor text and on-page variables, than the components of a domain name. For anyone who has a brick and mortar type operation or who may rely on word of mouth, my opinion is they should go without hyphens. For domainers with the intent of reselling domains, stick with hyphenless domains, unless the keyword phrase in question is very commonly used and has high PPC.
As mentioned before, branding only makes sense if you have a big budget (or if you have already been around for awhile and are associated with a particular name). G... and B... A... are brand names. Let's try to stay away from mentioning specific companies, as it opens up a can of worms for name dropping. Boots and Crocodile are both generics. 2% cannot be a domain name, as domain names are limited to the letters A through Z, 0 through 9 and hyphens. The exception to this is if you have an IDN (Internationalized Domain Name).
To clarify, I do not intend to say we are going to use company's brand names as our name. But if we use brandable names, should we go for a specially-made name (eg Mever), or just use a generic name (eg My Hotdog)?
>>> For sites that derive traffic only from search engine rankings, my opinion is that there is a small, albeit slight advantage to using hyphens. SEO has much more to do with anchor text and on-page variables, than the components of a domain name. For anyone who has a brick and mortar type operation or who may rely on word of mouth, my opinion is they should go without hyphens. For domainers with the intent of reselling domains, stick with hyphenless domains, unless the keyword phrase in question is very commonly used and has high PPC.
So I think I should go for nonhyphenated one, right?
