The perfect domain name is one which has a natural ability to rank high in the major search engines. The domain itself accounts for over 20% of the total ranking factors which a search engine considers important.
Here are my top ten tips for choosing effective domain names:
1. Choose a dot com domain as your main web site domain name. The .com generally performs better within the search engines and is the natural choice for business online.
2. Register your county domain also. If you are UK based then register the ‘.co.uk’ version and set-up a 301 redirect to your main site.
3. Register common misspellings of your main domain and set-up 301 redirects to your main site.
4. Register a domain which contains your main keyword. Establish your main keyword by summarising your business in one single word. Keep it to one word only – it can be done – not a phrase or 2 words, just one single word. Make this your main website domain name.
5. Search for a domain that contains this word and as few other letters as possible. Do not use numbers or hyphens, Just use the main keyword and a few other letters. The main keyword can...