Choosing the best domain names
Let’s take
a minute to talk about the all important domain names. In all fairness this blog has a name that’s about as catchy as the name of a lawyers’ office, but remember this was supposed to be an MFA site that didn’t need to be memorable.
Keep it simple
Think about the biggest names in the internet:
- Amazon
- Youtube
- Myspace
Notice that Google and Amazon are simple one word domains that just make sense. They’re easy to pronounce and hard to misspell.
Use two small words
Most single word domains are taken (unless you invent your own clever word). The next best thing is to mash together two small and distinct words: you-tube, my-space, face-book (although facebook is a word), sound-click, etc.
The optimal length you’re looking for is 5-8 letters.
Don’t use dashes
Despite what popular SEO guides will tell you, dashes are crap. They might help you cram some nice keywords into your name, but they’ll make you impossible to remember for later. Sure, with bookmarks and all, that’s less of an issue, but I’d advise against it.
Sleep on it!
I’ve bought a lot of domains on the spur of the moment idea, most of which have been pretty bad names (this blog a prime example). Better to take a day or two to think your domain name over and see if you’re still interested.