How To Choose A Domain Name

The primary purpose with your domain name should be to make it easy for visitors to find your website. You should therefore choose a domain name that is memorable and/or convenient to type.

For a domain to be memorable, it should reflect the nature or brand of your website. Choose a dot com above all. Most people by habbit type “.com”. Whereas convenient to type, talks about the length of your domain name and the proximity of the keys on the keyboard while typing it. The domain name should preferably be below 13 letters/characters. And avoid awkward names like 1-halqf-207d.com. Not only is it forgetable, but it requires the visitor to move his fingers on different end of the keyboard. Think about the disabled.

How To Buy and Sell Domain Names

You may have noticed I haven’t discussed on the domain trader’s and investor’s point of view. Well, it is prudent for beginning traders and investors to understand how the demand of domain names work. Do not start out like me by putting my money on one speculation.

Hereon,  we shall build on the foundation, which is what a regular person looks for when buying a domain name. On the whole, people prefer short and memorable domain names. After all, we have established that a domain name should be convenient for visitors and beneficial to the website’s brand name.

This is straightforward. Invest in domain names that are:

• Brandable
• One-word dictionary words (e.g. ardor.mobi, love.com)
• Short (below 5 letters preferably)
• Commercially valuable (can be effectively used to target a product/service market)*

      *must be combined with the other factors; it exists separtely

Here’s the not so straightforward part…

While each of the above point can survive on its own, brandabiliy is the weakest. You cannot sell a domain for much if you base it on brandability alone. Why not invest in the other stated points instead?

Well, many one-word dictionary word domain names have been taken. All short domain names that have less than 5 letters are taken.

That leaves us with one factor to bank on -brandability. What then can we do? On top of being brandable, make sure the domain name you choose has commercial value. Keep the domain name short (below 13 characters/letters). And perhaps, have a real word within the domain name.

The result are domains like:

• iAgnostic.com
• MrsBids.com (I sold this already)
• DarkEmo.com (I sold this already)

Be creative, but consider your target market when you plan to buy a domain name for resale. What does the customer demand? Supply the customer with what he/she wants!

Logen Lanka