Once you’ve decided on a niche for your website you need a good domain name.
You do not need to have your niche mentioned in the domain name for it to rank in Google.
A domain name can rank for any niche.
There are settings inside your site that will let Google know what your site is about and those fields are more important than the words in your domain.
That means you don’t have to pick a boring, spammy name like “diycarinteriorideas.com”. Instead, it could be something like “rockedride.com”.
A serious site – one that you would be proud to own – requires an original name, right?!
A domain name should be:
- Easy to remember
- Should not include dashes or hyphens
Why no hyphens? Because one day you’ll be chatting with someone and you’ll mention that you own a website. That person will say how cool that is and ask you for your domain. You’ll realize just how awkward your domain name sounds when you say “word dash word dash word dot com”.
Don’t choose an “exact match domain name”, either (a domain that is an exact keyword match).
Exact match domain names just sound spammy (and Google knows it). You want something that sounds interesting instead.
Also, by keeping the domain name generic you’ll be able to add related niches or subjects in the future without it sounding strange or even entirely switch niches without having to buy a new domain name.
If you were to choose a domain name like “bestsofas.com” do you see how it might seem odd to visitors if you also had posts about dining room tables on your site?
But if your domain were “blushvine.com” you could expand beyond sofas in the future without it seeming like you outgrew your domain name.
Find Ideas
Use a tool to generate options
Use this tool to help you come up with IDEAS: http://www.namemesh.com/
Enter your niche or an adjective and your niche (or, really, ANY two seemingly unrelated words like “purple fort” – you never know what you’ll find!) and click the Generate button:
Scroll through the available options, especially those in the “Similar” section. As long as the domain name is in green then it should be available at the lowest possible price (meaning it’s not owned by a domain name company that is selling it as a high-priced domain):
Watch this video tutorial for a demonstration on how I use this tool:
Do a Trademark Search
You don’t want to choose a domain with an existing trademark
Do a trademark search to make sure there’s no LIVE trademark for the phrase you want to use as your domain:
Go to http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/search-trademark-database
Click the “Search our trademark database (TESS)” button:
Click the Basic Word Mark Search option:
In the Search Term box enter your domain name as a phrase – include spaces between words – and click the Submit Query button:
If you see a message saying there are no trademarks, then you should be okay to use that domain name.
If you see a list of possible trademarks, look for any that are LIVE and are an exact match for the phrase you’re researching. If there is a LIVE trademark for your phrase cross that domain idea off of your list of possible options.
Finalize Your Decision
A few more checks and pick one
If you’re looking at a .net domain because the .com wasn’t available, look up the .com version of the domain. If the .com version has content on it then skip that domain choice. If the domain is simply parked or up for auction then you’re okay to leave the .net on your list.
Go to Google and look up each domain idea as a phrase to see if there’s any product by that name or some other sort of popular reference to that name that could cause some confusion with your branding efforts
Review your list of remaining domain name ideas and choose the one that you like best. When you’re ready follow these steps to buy your domain name and set up website hosting.