Look, I get it… you have a lot to do getting your new blog started and you don’t need another thing on your list. Here’s the deal, you have to choose a domain name anyway, so you may as well consider these pro tips.
The reason? You cannot change your domain name afterwards without potentially severe consequences.
Here’s how to choose your domain name wisely!
Choosing your domain name is important because you don’t ever want to change it. And the reason you don’t want to change is because the links to your site and all your blog posts will no longer work.
Choosing a domain name can be daunting, and I’d like to help you simplify the process to make it quick and easy. Just for the record, starting a blog is easy, but to do so you need to choose a domain name, and that is the hardest part.
People buy domain names for different purposes, and some of the criteria would be different depending on the intended use of the domain. The tips below are intended to help you choose a domain name for your blog.
You can get a perfect domain today, right now (read my tips first). I’ve provided a domain checker near the bottom of this post.
Scott’s 7 Tips For Choosing A Domain Name
1) Keep it as short as possible
Please don’t beat me up… I know my domain name is long. I’ll tell you why I chose my name in just a moment. For now, let’s just focus on why shorter is better, and you can choose as you see fit. Fair enough?
Shorter names are easier to remember. This can lead to more traffic. There is also a lower risk that someone will misspell it. As you know, if it is typed wrong, they will not land on your site.
People have been registering domain names for decades, and often the domain you want is already taken. I recognize this is a challenge, and I also know that the shorter a domain is, the more likely it is already taken. I’m just saying to try to keep it as short as possible.
Use as few words as you possible. One word domains are ideal, but super hard to find. There is a trade off, because sometimes two or three words can perfectly describe what your blog is all about. If you were going to flip domains (a business called domaining), then a single word would have a higher value. For your blog, it can be better to be more descriptive. The rule of thumb remains though, use as few words as possible.
2) Use a .com
That part of the domain after the “dot” is called a top level domain or TLD. I am suggesting that you find a “.com” domain. There are lots of other choices for TLD’s, and you may even find that perfect name available with another TLD, but I don’t think it’s the best way to go.
Here’s why: Some people will forget what your TLD is or just instinctively type .com. Either way, they will end up at another website, most probably a competitor. That’s not good.
3) Avoid dashes
Some experts say that Google does not like dashes in your domain, other experts say that Google does not care and that dashes can help with SEO. I say just avoid it altogether. Besides, people may forget to type the dash and end up on another website.
4) Avoid numbers
Avoid numbers because there will be confusion on the spelling of your domain name. Is it the numeral or the number spelled out? Confusion is never good, because again, people will end up on someone else’s website. Just avoid numbers in your domain name.
5) Must be easy to say
Your domain must be easy to say. This is more important than you think. It must pass the “podcast test”. That means, if you start a podcast and you tell people to go to your blog, they must know exactly how to spell it so they can get to your website based on what they hear. Even if you have no intention to ever start a podcast, be aware that other people may talk about your awesome blog in their podcast – or even invite you on for an interview. A lot of people make this mistake, and they lose traffic as a result.
Along the same lines, don’t use unconventional spelling for any word. For instance, never use “boi” instead of “boy”.
And one more thing on this subject, avoid two words together where one word ends with the same letter that the next word begins with. I made this mistake with one of my sites. Some people will misspell it, others will not. But it definitely looks weird. For example, the name “gooddogs.com”. Your spelling must be clear.
6) Use keywords if possible
Keywords are words or phrases that people type to find something they are looking for. For instance, what you type into Google is a keyword. If you were searching for something on eBay, you’d be typing a keyword there too.
Keywords are important because they help people find you. Search engines like Google love when a keyword is in the domain name because Google assumes that your site must be related to that word in some way. Keywords are important, but they are not the only way to get a good Google rank. You also need to employ SEO techniques. Having your keyword in your domain name is an SEO technique.
As an example, let’s say you are an divorce lawyer in Miami, and the name of your firm is Jones Law Offices, PC. You may be tempted to buy a domain called “JonesLawOffices.com”. But people who don’t know you who are looking for a lawyer aren’t going type that into Google. They would be more likely to type something like “divorce lawyer miami”. If your domain was “DivorceLawyerMiami.com” then that would be a huge benefit for SEO and getting traffic to your site.
What do you think people would type to find your blog? Those are your keywords. I realize that finding an exact match .com keyword domain is nearly impossible to find. I just want you to understand this concept.
When you build your blog out, you will be making posts that have keyword-rich titles. If your permalinks are properly set up, you will have automatically added keywords to your links. They may not be in the primary domain, but they will be in the link. For example, have a look at this blog post. Look at the link:
https://scottsmoneymachines.com/how-to-choose-a-good-domain-name
Somebody might type into Google “how to choose a good domain name” and hopefully my blog post will get a high rank. Getting that high rank will take time as I continue to build out this blog and do my SEO. This will take some time, but eventually traffic will be coming in like crazy. Same thing for your blog. This is why it’s important to start your blog correctly from the beginning.
7) Choose a name that is descriptive of content
If your blog is about dog training, then a domain name like “HowToTrainYourDog.com” would be great because it is an exact match keyword, but probably not available. By the way, this is an example where a longer domain and a lot of words are perfectly acceptable – so use your judgment.
Getting back to what I was saying, if “HowToTrainYourDog.com” is taken, you can choose a name like “DogTrainingByStacy.com” (please do not choose this domain if your name is not Stacy… lol). As you can see, that domain is descriptive of the content your visitors can expect. And it has keywords too.
Give it a try!
With the information you now have, it should be fairly easy to get a good domain name for your blog. Choosing a domain name is the hardest part, and now it should be much easier.
Just know that it will likely take several tries to find an available domain that you like. Do not get discouraged, you will find your domain.
Make a list of a few variations and give it a try right here using the Bluehost domain lookup tool:
Once you have your domain, you are all set!
ScottsMoneyMachines.com
As promised, I’ll tell you about my domain name. First off, my domain name is not necessarily a good domain name. It’s longer than I’d like it to be, it’s not clear what my blog is about, and it does not contain my keywords (WTF?).
Nonetheless, I was on a mission to build this site, which was initially intended to be a blog for my own use to track what I was learning about making money online, or what I call “money machines”. The name has a lot of meaning to me because I spent so many years learning how to build them. When it finally dawned on me that I need to start teaching what I know and love, I decided to make this blog all about helping you. The domain name means a lot to me, so I kept it.
If you have learned something here, or you feel others would, please share this post. Thank you.
Additional Resources
Get the inside scoop from top online marketer Russell Brunson from his best-selling book ‘Dot Com Secrets’ in hardcover format for FREE (this book is a game-changer)
Questions? As always, ask me in the comments below.
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