How to Choose the best Website Domain?

Jennifer... let's see what rules I can find...

• don't have any hyphens like novato-realestate
• do try for something that is close to your niche like NovatoRealEstate
• that is also something that is memorable
• don't pick something stilted like RealEstateNovato

Think to yourself... If I heard this on the radio in the car, would I remember it for an hour until I could go there? 

My thoughts on domain names:

They must be easy to remember.  I sell in the Myrtle Beach Market and chose www.MyrtleBeachHomes.us

When I opened in Charleston, I chose: www.CharlestonHomesAndCondos.com

When a few clients looked for us under the company name and couldn't find us I bought www.BuyersChoiceSC.com

All three are tied to the same web site.

Few people will remember my name, but many will remember Myrtle Beach Homes...

Hope this helps!

I tend to go with the Domain Name that fits your niche..

Like Lane Said, it has to be catchy and easy to remember too.

It is always good to have several domain names for the same site, especially if you cover many niches.  Domain Names are cheap too.. around 10 bucks a piece. 

Jennifer: 

The memory tag is so important.  You can't always stop to write something down, so it has to be easy and memorable.  I've used MiracleHomeLoan.com, and will soon be launching MikeInTucson.com, all pointed to one mother site.

Mike in Tucson

In addition to a name that is easy to remember and is very specific to what you do, you need something that is easy to spell or just buy the domains with all the possible misspellings!  There is a story that when 1-800-MATTRESS started in business they had to also get the phone number 1-800-matress because most people could not spell mattress.

So if your name is John Schwartzenburger I would suggest that you not use your last name, though you may be able to spell it I would guess that most people would butcher the spelling.

 

Jennifer...I looked at your profile to get a better idea of the area you cover.  You mention Marin County only.  How about MyMarinCounty.com...it is your county and also the one your potential clients either live in or want to live in.

On the other hand, maybe it's just a matter of really getting your current name out there more.  Active Rain will certainly help in that respect.

Glad you're on AR and good luck.

Kathleen

Jennifer, looks like you have some great tips already.  I think one of the best keys is to focus on an name that clearly identifies your niche, whether that be homes, condos, land, luxury homes or whatever, choose a name that clearly identifies what your website is about.  Preferrably under 5 words as well.  We have separate sites dedicated to both homes and condos (lovelylongbeachcondos.com and lovelylongbeachhomes.com) that way your web address stands on it's own.  Have fun, there are lots of great names out there!

Great tips above.

My addition: include your best keywords in your domain name.

Keywords are the words people use when they do a Google search.  (Or yahoo, MSN, aol, etc.)

The name of your town is a strong keyword.  Real estate is not.  What types of housing are people most looking for in your area?  Houses?  Condos? ???  Whatever it is, put that word in your domain name.  Use the singular version (house not houses).

All of this is to get you on the first page of Google when someone sits down to their computer to look for a new home.

Good luck!

I did a lot of research when choosing my website. This biggest thing i realized was you want to be 4 - 7 letters and a .com   nothing else as in .net or .org......  no dashes

Your post leads me to wonder how best to change a domain name - I'll link back to your post since that's what stirred my thought.

Jennifer thanks for asking this question.  I learned alot from the comments.

finding an aged domain will help you with ranking in Google as well.   If it's a newly registered domain, it takes awhile to build up the "trust" factor with Google.