8 Tools & Tips for Picking a Domain Name

This is the final installment of my domain naming series. It’s just a bunch of tips and tool that I’ve used for brainstorming and selecting the perfect domain for your projects.

Consider that the domain name is the single most important part of your website and it’s also the most difficult piece to change once your site is live. It’s worth taking care to make a good choice to avoid domain name regrets down the line.

1. Avoid Keyword Ambiguity in Your Domain Names

Humans understand word meaning with a level of sophistication that search engines don’t have. “Art of Money” is clearly about money to a human ear, but to a search engine it’s a site that is equally about “art” and “money.” You can read my full breakdown of choosing keywords in domain names.

2. Use a Domain Naming Service

With good domains getting harder and harder to find, a new professional industry has popped up: the domain namer. In my article on domain pickers, I’ll tell you about a service where you can get a killer domain name (from tons of possibilities) by putting dozens of professional domain pickers to work for you for a only $50.

A poor man’s version of a domain naming service, DomainsBot provides a pretty damn good suggestion software. It is software, so don’t expect subtleties in the suggestions, but it can help. I’ve used it a lot in the brainstorming process.

3. Use Scoring Software

I personally use a piece of software that rates potential domain names (and even URL structures) based on a huge database of statistical analysis of top ranking web sites. You can read my Nemeas review for a complete walk through of how it scores possible domain names.

4. Backorder an Existing Domain Name

Sometimes you’ll find a domain name that has expired but hasn’t become publicly available for repurchase. The public are told that these domains will come available in 30 days but the reality is a little different than that.

If you find a domain that you like that is expired (actually the term is Pending Delete) and that domain has any kind of positive history (meaning it has a Page Rank, any decent Alexa rating or a DMOZ link for example) then it is unlikely it will ever hit the open market. You’ll need to register with a backorder broker. I use Snapnames and you’ll have a chance to grab the domain before it gets released to the general public.

There will be a 2 or 3 day auction and you can expect there to be stiff competition for most keyword rich domains, but if you’re really attached to the perfect domain it may be worth the investment. Many of these domains can come with good inbound links, or traffic already in place.

5. Buy an Existing Unused Domain

Doesn’t it just burn you up when you finally think up the perfect domain name and it has been registered but there is no website there? The last statistic that I heard was something like 70% of all registered domains did not have a website on them!

A whois lookup allows you to find out the contact information for the domain owner. Don’t be afraid to shoot of an email or even phone a domain owner. Many times it will be a professional domain speculator, who wants full value for the domain, but you never know when you might get lucky and someone has just lost interest and will let you have it for the cost of a transfer.

6. Look Out For Skeletons in the Closet

Watch out for domain names that have been trashed and banned from Google or other search engines. What happens to search engine spam sites? Google bans them from their index. So if you purchase a site that has been banned, it can be difficult to get Google to put it back into the index, no matter how great the site is that you build on it.

Make sure you visit the Internet Archive and look up any domain name that you are buying on their “Way Back Machine” to see what kind of sites have been on it. Besides search engine spam watch for other types of sites that may not be harmonious with your brand (porn, drugs, warez etc.)

7. Sleep on Your Domain & Vet It with Friends

Sleep on it and vet it – I have a friend that, two days after he registered it, found out that his latest “killer domain name” actually contained a very unpleasant slang term in it.

Especially when you are working with multi-word domains it is actually easy to miss unintended words if you are focused on the keywords. Take away: get fresh eyeballs on your domain name before you commit to it.

Also, make sure you vet with people you trust and that won’t steal your idea; I wouldn’t post it to a public forum to ask for feedback.

8. Take Your New Domain for A Test Drive

Mostly used by professional domain investors, domain tasting allows you to register a domain and throw up a page and see if the domain gets any traffic. For up to five days you can test drive the domain and then, if it doesn’t suit your taste or you change your mind, you can get a refund.

That’s it for my domain naming series, I hope these tips and resources will help you find the perfect domain name and avoid that unpleasant situation of needing or wanting to rename your site after it is launched.

Any other tips that you have that I haven’t covered? Or other questions?

- Jon Symons

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