Smart Traffic SEO Tip #34 – What is a good domain name?
One of the first things you will do once you have decided on building a website is choosing a domain name. Ideally you would be able to buy an old domain with some history and backlinks similar to your target market. If not you will need to register a new domain name.
If possible try to have the main targeted keyphrase or topic in your domain name. A good example of this is www.cruise.co.uk which targets the keywords “cruise” and “cruises”. However, these are harder and harder to find or extremely expensive so don’t make this your main priority. It is better to have a domain name that can be remembered. It’s OK if your chosen URL is not very obvious as to what your page topic is but make sure it is clear to a visitor once they click on it.
Consider the limit of 25 characters, including prefix (www.) and suffix (.com). Domain names can only use letters, numbers, and dashes. If more than 2 words, consider using the “–“ character to separate words.
Who and where your audience is should play into your domain name choice. Apart from considering the country for the suffix (example: .co.uk, .ca), consider also including your targeted city name e.g. www.bright-cleaners-london.co.uk
There are a number of considerations when choosing a domain name but at the end of the day, try to keep it simple and be creative; just not too creative!
P.S. there are lots sites that you can use to register a domain name such as www.123-reg.co.uk/ or www.123-registration.com/. Within these sites you can search for your desired domain name and they will let you know if it is available.
