Rugged Entrepreneur

Since domain names are limited, choosing a business name should be at least partially based on what domains are available. I have always had a general idea of what I would like to name a new website, but the final decision is based on what domains are available.

First a domain name is like a trademark – it is a legally binding statement that says someone has the exclusive right to this domain name. (for more on this, see this site) Even more important, the domain name you choose now should become your ‘brand’ name; it should be the name people think of when wanting to visit your site. Therefore, choosing the right domain early on is very important. Of course domains are cheap ($5-10 a year), but getting it right from the beginning just makes it that much nicer.

Here are a few quick tips on how to brainstorm that perfect domain name.

THOUGHTS ON CHOOSING A DOMAIN NAME:

• Your domain name should be your site’s name. Keep it easy for your visitors to remember. Most people will probably find your site initially through search engines. They may not even look at the URL, but they will see your site logo and name.
  Bank of America’s site is BankOfAmerica.com
• Shorter is usually better UNLESS the longer, more descriptive name is easier to remember. Acronyms are a big no-no, unless it spells something easy to remember.
  DavesModelBoats.com is better than Davesmb.com
• Buy a .com. People think of .com first and second. Very often you will find the perfect domain’s .com name taken, but .net and .org is open. Don’t buy a .net if someone else owns the .com (especially if they are a competitor). If you absolutely need that perfect domain name and .net is the best you can do, be sure to shove the .net in your visitor’s faces. Put it everywhere you mention the name of your site. Just make sure the .com isn’t a competitor.
  secondchoice.com is better than firstchoice.net (In my opinion)
• Avoid hyphens “-“ (unless it is the perfect name and the non hyphened taken domains do not compete with your site)
  dont-do-this.com
• Choose names that are easy to remember and hard to misspell. This site – RuggedEntrepreneur.com may be easy to misspell for a lot of people, but I figure my target audience would either know how to spell ‘entrepreneur’ already or in the desire to become one, wouldn’t mind opening a dictionary.
  TheCuriousCat.com is better than TheInquisitiveFeline.com (unless you want to make a point like I did with ‘Entrepreneur’)
• Jot down a list of key words and phrases that aptly describe what you want to do with your website. Next to each key word write different forms of the word and synonyms
  computer: computers, computing, PC, laptop, etc

In the next post, we will take all these ideas, find that perfect name and grab it!