First impressions are just as important on the net as they are in person, and in
many cases your first impression is your domain name. If your company is already
established then you wont have as much flexibility when choosing a domain name,
if your business name will be tailored after your domain name then have fun with
it.
Keep it Short
Domain names can be up 67 characters long, even if yours was half of that, consider
half your traffic gone. People cant remember long domain names and won't have fun
typing them in. Keep it short.
Choose the Extension
Is it absolutely required that your domain name have the extension .com? If it were
1995 probably, but we're transitioning into a state on the web where chances are
you arrived at the site you want through a search engine or a social bookmarking site.
Further, if you were to directly access a website, you'll probably be very familiar with
the site and have the URL remembered anyway. Also, if your business caters to a
geographic area, having a country specific domain can give you much more credibility
in that area. The domain name itself is much more important than the extension.
Don't Wait
Domain names are not unlike the first discoverers finding the new land and claiming
their stake. Although there are almost an infinite amount of domain names, the quality
ones wont be around forever. Registering a domain name is relatively cheap, so do
not hesitate, because you might regret it when the name is taken by someone else.
Register Multiple
Get the domain name that represents your company. If you sell products or offer
services, get the domain name that represents them too. If you're a consultant
or self employed, get a domain name that represents your name.
Character Type
Remember that domain names can only have alpha numeric characters and dashes, no
spaces and no special characters. Although dashes are accepted, try to avoid them,
nobody likes typing them in.
Market Your Full Domain Name
If you print out flyers, business cards or send out emails, make sure your full
domain name is proudly shown. MasteryoftheNet wont cut it, because MasteryoftheNet.xyz
can be taken which would syphon off some of your traffic.
Be Creative
Google, digg, and Hi5 are all play on words. You don't have to have a highly technical
or detailed domain name to be successful. Often the creative names will be the ones
that can be remembered more easily.
Summary
If you have a website idea and don't have a domain name yet, don't wait, register
it! There are many domain name registries out there, but a great one is
because they give you a free domain name for as long as you host with them.