So, you have a great idea for a website, you even bought a hosting for it, and the only thing remaining is a domain name. If you did a little research I’m sure you've noticed all good domains are already taken. But there is still hope. Fortunately there is wide range of TLDs (Top Level Domains) ranging from .COM .NET .ORG to .ME .TV or national domains like .US. Short domains are of course most popular because it’s so easy to remember them. There are few more things that matter when choosing a domain name you should know about.
Domain length
Are shorter domains better? Yes. There are few reasons for that, mostly because they are easier to remember (especially if they have some meaning). The problem is, most short domains are already taken. But don’t bother with that, even a longer domain containing 10-15 characters is ok. Of course, if you choose to have a longer domain try to pick something catchy and meaningful. Are you worried about search engines? Don’t be, unless your domain is stuffed with 5+ keywords you won’t have any problems, even then it might be fine. I have found an interesting article (actually a research) about domain length, so take a look if you would like to know more.
Keywords in domains
I’m not an expert on this field but I can confirm from my personal experience that keywords in domains do matter. The real question is how much? Only Google knows that for real, others can only guess. When picking a domain, if you can in any way, choose a domain with at least one main keyword in it. Of course, you may choose a domain with no meaning (for example, if you are creating a website for your company), than the name of the company should be the domain, in this case it’s more about branding your business then the (meaningful) keywords in a domain. What ever you choose you still can have great rankings with your website, with or without keywords in it.
Which domain is the best, .COM .ORG .INFO…?
If you ask me all domains are good, you just have to choose ‘em smart. If you are planning to have an international (English based) website then .com is probably the best option. If it’s already taken .net .org or even .info (or some other top level domain) will be fine too. If you are doing your business locally then national domains are the best. Some people say that it matters what you choose and that .com is the best (considering search engines). Honestly I do not know, but personally I haven’t had bad experience with domains different than .com. I think it is more important how good you do your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on site and off site, than the extension of your domain is.
