Here's How You Can Select the Perfect Domain Name in 2019

Nowadays, it has become very easy for anyone to make a website – there are tons of great open-source content management systems for that.

But, not everyone can come up with a perfect domain name to go along with it.
Without a decent and marketable domain name, there’s a high chance your site won’t see the light of day considering how fierce the competition is to reach number one in Google SERPs.
That’s why you’re going to need a one-of-a-kind domain name to make yourself look relevant and relatable. The purpose is to capture the hearts and minds of your potential customers and stand a chance against those competitors who got in the market before you. So, let’s talk about what selecting the perfect domain means and how you can achieve it.

How to Come Up with a Perfect Domain Name?

Since a domain name should be a long-time investment, you need to think long and hard before finally choosing the perfect one. Luckily, there are a few methods that can get you there faster.

Use A Domain Name Generator for Ideas

There’s no need to do things manually when you can rely on tools, right? Domain name generators will let you see many domain name suggestions according to the keyword that you input.
Plus, there are so many features you didn’t know you needed such as adding suffixes, prefixes, word-scrambling, and unique word play.
As for domain registrars, it’s where you go to if you want to buy a domain. For starters, you can get some ideas here and check for suggestions and availability.

Consider A Premium Domain

If you want a surefire way to get your hands on a perfect domain name, a premium one might be worth your while. Premium domains are highly valuable domains that are available to buy for high prices (ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars).
Most of them are guaranteed to have the qualities of a perfect domain name. Take GamingTutorial.com as an example. It has the most targeted keyword, easy to remember, and highly brandable.
What’s more, even though you’re not planning to run the website forever, premium domain names can always be sold again in the future without any loss in value, making it a good investment.

Don’t Wait for Too Long – Grab It While It’s Available!

You know what they say, “first come, first served.” It’s true that a domain name is a long-time investment. You should think long and hard before making your decision. But don’t forget that you’re not the only one searching. Once someone else takes the same domain name with your desired extension, you’ll have to think of another name and it can become frustrating.
Sure, you can check if it’s still available with other extensions but now your domain name is not unique anymore. You’ll have to be okay with the possibility of people mixing meatpedia.com with meatpedia.net, not to mention the competition between the two can be more fierce than usual.

Once you’ve chosen your domain name, it’s time to pick a registrar. The article ‘The 10 best domain registrars of 2021’ at namecheap.com is an excellent guide and will help you find the best place to register your domain.

What Makes A Domain Name Perfect?

You can’t start searching for the perfect domain name if you can’t tell apart a good one and a bad one. You should be able to identify the must have characteristics of every ideal domain name first.
Think of how to make your domain name easily nested in the minds of your audience. It needs to be short, catchy, unique and use a suitable domain extension.

Short Domain Names Are Better

The shorter a domain is, the easier and faster it is to type and remember. Not to mention, a long domain name will be susceptible to errors as there’s a high chance people will make a typo. What’s even worse, what if they end up on a random website that absolutely has nothing to do with your brand?

Catchy and Unique Domain Names Are Easier to Remember

Mostly, the address bar will bring up suggestions for you once you have visited a website once. That’s why it’s easy for most people to overlook the importance of catchy and memorable domain names. However, don’t forget that verbal communication exists too. You’ll want to casually mention your site’s address in the middle of a conversation with a friend or colleague – and they’ll have a better chance at remembering www.foodpedia.com than www.food-dictionary.com.

Matching TLDs Helps You Reach Your Goal

Having a suitable domain name extension can help a lot too. TLDs (top-level-domains) such as .com, .net, .org were meant to have certain purposes, such as .com for a commercial site and .org for an organization, even though there were never actual restrictions on TLDs. So, instead of matching it with your site’s purpose, you can focus more on deciding which TLD matches your domain name.
Ideally, if you’re looking to gain a worldwide audience, you need to use a TLD that people around the globe find trustworthy. Use the most commonly found generic TLDs like .com in this case. Meanwhile, if your scope is local, you can use the country TLDs such as .fr (France) or .de (Germany).
Another thing to consider is mixing the TLDs with your domain name so that it becomes a wordplay (also known as “Domain Hack”). This will add more uniqueness and can help you strengthen your brand (e.g lemona.de, instagr.am, etc). Although, if you plan to advertise your site verbally, you may want to steer clear of this as domain hacks are just harder to pronounce than the traditional name, eg. lemonade.com.

Contains the Targeted Keyword (But Still Sounds Natural)

When keyword stuffing was still a thing, lots of web developers used keyword-rich domain names. But these days? Not so much. Google now focuses on websites with quality and informative content rather than keywords, but it doesn’t mean you can ditch keywords altogether.
Imagine yourself searching for something on Google. In most cases, you’ll be likely to click on a site that has the exact keyword you put, right?
So, try to make a keyword-rich domain that’s still in line with your brand. For example, if your site is providing tutorials on web development, you can choose www.webfixer.com as your brand and domain name. It’s short enough to be easily brandable yet contains the common keywords for anyone looking to fix their websites.
That said, it’s worth reminding that keywords in domain won’t rank better than a fully brandable name. The purpose is so that visitors would trust you more.

Conclusion

Don’t forget that a domain name is like a gate toward your home. When you put a nice name for your site, people will significantly regard it as valuable and trustworthy.
Always consider the factors that make a name perfect but don’t let the good ones slip your fingers.