Selecting a Domain Name - Step 4

January 6, 2009 | By admin |

This is step four in our Starting a New Website Checklist - check out that post if you happened upon this one and want to a handy link to all of the steps in order.

A great domain name is worth its weight in gold, which is why there’s an entire virtual real estate market called “domaining” behind it, where top domains can fetch millions.

A great name:
• Is unique and brandable
• Tells people (and search engines) exactly what you do
• It short and to the point

This site, Beginner Webmaster tells you exactly what we are and what we’re for. Adholes.com, my social network for advertising professionals not only tells you it’s for ad people but gives you an insight to the irreverent, laid back tone of the site. It’s memorable and it’s significantly reduced my marketing costs because the second someone hears the name “Adholes” they never forget it and often pass it along to friends.

Domain resources:

Selecting a name:
DomainsBot Gives you suggested domains based on keywords and also lets you register.
ShoutDomains is more robust and can combine words to create unique options
NameTumbler is another advanced tool that suggests new words and combines into a bulk list

Registering a name:
Once you find a name available, you can go register it. Check below to see if it’s available. We recomend registering with Moniker. A lot of people also like to use GoDaddy but their navigation leaves a lot to be desired and they are constantly trying to upsell you. For a beginner this can be a bit intimidating so I’ve recommended a much simpler option in Moniker.

Purchasing an existing domain:

If you’re willing to pay more than the standard $10 or so for a fresh new name, there are millions of registered domains up for grabs held by people either trying to profit by owning them or just don’t need them anymore. Here are some sites where you can search for and purchase these types of names:

Sitepoint
Digital Point
Pool.com
Sedo
Godaddy Auctions
Namepros

Domain Drop Lists
If you’re patient you can wait for a domain to become available again. Keep in mind that professional domainers literally sit there and wait for the millisecond for a premium domain to drop, so timing is everything.

DomainAnnounce
DailyDomainDrop
Dropster

Congratulations! Now that you have your domain name you’re well on your way to building your website and starting your new brand.