Does your domain name communicate what you do? Is it memorable? Is it short & easy to spell? Does it contain keywords?

Which comes first, the brand or the domain? Many start-up companies decide on their Domain Name first and then build their brand and identity around that name. Older, established companies tend to want to retain and carry their off-line brand onto the web, which can present additional challenges in finding the perfect domain name.

Your website URL is your online identity that is visible to millions of internet users. It impacts your business image, seo, and even if clients can relate to you. All these factors should be taken into consideration when deciding on a new domain (URL) for your business.

Also keep in mind that there are several ways to go about purchasing (or trying to purchase) that perfect domain, which is a topic I will cover in detail in my coming post, “How to Find and Buy the Perfect Domain Name”. Just because the name you want is already registered doesn’t mean it isn’t for sale or lease.

So without further a-do, here are my top 5 tips for finding that Perfect Domain Name:

1. Choose a Domain Name with at least One Keyword:

A keyword rich URL is a big plus for any website, especially with the most recent changes to the Google algorithm called Caffeine, which appears to place more importance on the relevancy of your domain name. Having at least 1 primary keyword in your domain can help boost your organic search engine rankings, and can also help communicate to surfers what services you provide or product you offer.

If the exact desired keyword-rich URL is not available, trying adding words before or after the keyword. Be careful however that you do not infringe on someone else’s trademarked company name! Stay away from variations of other’s company names. Don’t think that just because the .NET version of another company’s .COM name is available you can use it. For example, you can’t register Coke.net and expect to use it.

2. Register A Top Level Domain Name:

For North American companies, the top choice is always a domain ending in dot-COM. While there are .US and .CA domains available, it restricts you somewhat in where you can effectively market. Surfers are also far more used to seeing; expecting and typing URL’s ending in .COM.

Non-profit organizations should register a .ORG domain in addition to the .COM version if it’s available.

3. Avoid Hyphens in Your URL:

Even though search engines can distinguish between hyphenated words , surfers don’t think that way and may not remember the hyphen, or may put it in the wrong place. Hyphenated keywords in your URL should be avoided whenever possible to prevent confusion and misspellings. It also makes it hard to tell someone your domain name and expect them to remember, “Vancouver – Hyphen – Coast – Hyphen – Marketing”. Get the idea?

4. Keep the Name Easy to Spell and Remember

Use normal English words which aren’t prone to misspelling. Intentional misspellings to get around domains already registered will likely only result in sending visitors to the properly spelt domain, or worse, legal action from the owner of the other domain. Also, don’t try and be clever and ‘invent’ words, or use words with obscure or multiple meanings. I can think of numerous examples of companies who have done this. It’s fine if you are already a house-hold brand name, otherwise how do you expect people to find you?

5. Pick Only One Name to Promote

If you register multiple domains for the same website, pick only 1 which you will use to market the site, and just park and redirect the others. Marketing the same site under multiple domain names can lead to the search engines penalizing you for spamming based on duplicate content. You also dilute your ‘brand’ in the customer’s mind.

Bob Parsons, the founder and owner of GoDaddy.com, has a fun, short video giving his Top 10 Tips for Selecting A Domain Name. Given Bob’s success, his videos are light-hearted, but well worth having a look at!