When choosing a domain name for your site, it is highly recommend that the domain name to be same as the name of your blog and/or business. Most blogging experts also suggest that your business site be limited to one subject and that the topic be a major factor in the name.

With that in mind, you’ll also want to tie the goals for your site into the name of the site.  Make it as easy as possible for people to know what your site is about by only looking at your domain name.

I limit my pages and posts almost exclusively to WordPress (I do deviate a bit), but the name of my site does not indicate this. I started out offering general virtual assistant services and later decided to focus on WordPress.  Otherwise, I would have chosen a name with my keyword (WordPress) in it for not only my domain, but my business and my site.

Instead I chose to brand the name of my business rather than start over with a new site. It’s not the easiest way to make a go of it so if you have the good luck of finding a domain name with your product or service keywords in it, grab it.

Consider your niche as well when naming a site. If it is for teen girls, you’d want the name to appeal to them, for example. Although a keyword in the domain name is ideal, this might be a situation where you brand a name rather than have a keyword in the name. A brandable name doesn’t have to mean anything in particular, but hopefully will mean something to and be memorable for your niche.

What else?

• Keep the name short and memorable
• Try to get your domain name on the highest level extension if at all possible: .com Most people, by default, will assume that your site ends with .com
• .com will also sound more professional
• Don’t use the word “blog” in your name as it will limit you. People will always assume that your site is a “journal” and not a full on website. You’ll have a difficult time getting people to go to your site to purchase services or products.
• Purchase the complete suite of names wherever possible:  (.net  .org  .com) You could end up being held hostage down the road if someone else owns the others and are spamming from them or you go to purchase them and the owner wants a very inflated price for them.
• You can point every domain to your main domain, so no matter what a viewer types into their browser, your site will come up. It is well worth the investment.
• Do some research to find out where that domain has been. It may have been live prior to you purchasing it and you need to know how it was used. Any incoming links to a domain name will remain. You should know whether it was used as a spam site or possibly even pornography. You definitely don’t want to be associated with a past like that.

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