How To Pick a Domain Name

Recently I have been wanting to move over to my own private hosting and I want to start using WordPress. However, I am having trouble on deciding what domain name to use.

How should one pick a domain name?

What is your blog/site about? Your domain name should suggest or describe what your site is about. ie http://westvirginiarafting.net That describes exactly what the page is about. It is a little long, but it gets the job done. When observed, the user should understand what your site is about from the domain name. This also will help when working with SEO, but that is a huge topic all by its self.

Does it stand out? There are all of these articles that say the number one way to bring more traffic to your website is great/unique CONTENT. Do not get me wrong, I completely agree, but if your content should stand out, why shouldn't your name? The domain name should be a trademark of your blog or company. When picking the domain name and trademark for your site, be sure to be creative. Use descriptive keywords that describe your sites. Pick something that will stand out in peoples' minds and help bring them back to your site.

The Common Problem: most domain names are already taken. There are plenty of ways to get around this.

• Use keywords that get the same results. blog4money.com as blog4job. Use Google's Adwords Keyword Tool for this.
  
• Shorten your words or names. blogformoney.com as blog4money.com or makeyourlivingonline.com as makeurlivingonline.com
  
• Use hyphens. problogging.com = pro-blogging.com
• Purchase already bought domain names. This can be expensive.
• Alternate extensions. i.e. .net, .org, etc. Use this as a last resort. This is an option, but I would steer clear of it, if at all possible.

Some people do not like the substitution of number for words or sticking hyphens in the middle of a domain name. However, these are options of how to get around domain names already being taken. Personally, I think having a numbers in your domain name can be catchy and good for your product and hyphens will not hurt your SEO.

Go and test out some names and see if they are available at GoDaddy.com
GoDaddy will also give you alternate names, however I usually do not like the ones they give me.

Believe it or not. The selection of a domain name can make or break you. If you are trying to make money online, I really suggest you put some time and thought into the selection of your name/trademark.