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Where do you get your domain name ideas from? Your friends? Your family? Your dog?

We’ve launched several sites, and coming up with a good domain name is always difficult. It seems all of the good ones are taken. There are two basic strategies that people use.

1. Come up with a new domain name that isn’t already registered.
2. Go after a domain name that was previously owned. (This is always the more expensive option because you are either buying a premium domain name, or buying an expired domain name on auction.)

Right now, we’re going to focus on the first method and try to come up with a new domain name that isn’t already registered.

This is the cheapest option, but it involves trial and error. There are a lot of free online tools out there that can help suggest good domain name ideas. Some of these tools are run by the registrars (i.e. GoDaddy, NetWork Solutions, etc) and some of these tools are run by independent websites (i.e. MakeWords.com). But they’re all free.

Basically, you type in the domain name you want. The online tool will tell you if the domain name is available, or it will suggest a list of other domain names that you might be interested in. They come up with the list by adding words before (prefix) or after (suffix) your search term.

• For example, Google.com is taken, but hotGooglestore.com is not.

Some of the better domain name idea tools will use a thesaurus to come up with similar but different words. Although we probably wouldn’t buy a domain name from Yahoo, we did like their domain name tool.

• For example, redcafe.com is taken, but RedDiner.com is not.

MakeWords.com is a neat tool because they have an advanced keyword tool search that lets you choose different themes of words to try before or after your search term.

• So, for example, their “action” theme tries different combinations of your search term and words like jump, shout, cut, etc.
• Their colors theme adds words like red, blue, yellow… You get the idea.

The best part of MakeWords is that you can create your own list of words to add to your search term. Just click on “list of affixes” at the bottom of the webpage and enter in a custom list of words that you like. The website will spit out a bunch of domain name ideas with your custom words added before and after your search term.

The worst part of MakeWords is that sometimes it’ll tell you a domain name is available, but when you go to a registrar and try to buy it, it turns out that it’s not available after all. Because this tool wasn’t always reliable, we tended to stick with domain name generators run by the registrars.

How These Sites Make Money:

Domain Name Suggestion sites are free because they make their money when you decide to register a domain name with them.

• Chances are, if you used GoDaddy’s domain name tool, then when you find your dream domain name, you’ll just buy it from them.
• If you used MakeWords, you can choose which registrar company that you want to buy from, and they’ll send you there with the click of a link. (If you buy from that company, then MakeWords.com will make a commission from the sale.)

Bottom Line: Use any site that you like to come up with domain name ideas. But, when you’re ready to buy, choose the registrar that offers the best domain name package and price, not the registrar that has the best domain name suggestions.

Why? Because with domain names, the price ranges from $1.99 to $34.99 per year. And, not all registrars offer the same quality of service. What’s worse is there are no refunds on domain names. Once you pay, the money is gone. So, buyer beware.

If you’re ready to register domain names [http://domainnames.webdiggin.com/register-domain-names/] for your blog or website, we’re here to help at http://domainnames.webdiggin.com where you’ll find this information and more detailed information about why we switched to BlueHost [http://domainnames.webdiggin.com/bluehost-review/] and WordPress.

Author: Mark Shin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Acceli Web Solutions launches an intelligent Domain Name Generator at www.makewords.com

The new domain search system at www.makewords.com contains a variety of features that speed up your quest for unregistered domain names.

Acceli Web Solutions, a New York web development company, announced today the launch of its next generation domain name suggestion tool and search engine at www.makewords.com

Unregistered domains can now be easily found with several new methods, like the random phonetic word generator, using different language rules, synonym search, popular affixes and more.

At some point almost everyone needs to come up with a name for their startup business, personal website or blog, said Tauno Novek, Chief Operating Officer of Acceli. We faced the same question when we were looking for a name for our company. That’s when the idea about the domain name generator was conceived.

The domain search engine was developed using the new Microsoft.NET framework that takes advantage of the AJAX (shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) techniques of the web.

We’ve been running it for a while now and the results are astonishing. Within minutes the search engine returns 5 and 6 letter domain names that sound good, are brandable and memorable! Apparently there is still an infinite number of good names out there, its just a matter of finding them,  said Novek.

About Acceli Web Solutions

Based in New York, Acceli – www.acceli.com – is a privately owned web design and development company that uses the latest web technologies to build innovative and unique websites.

To learn more about the MakeWords Name Generator, please visit http://www.makewords.com

Let’s say that you’re creating a website for Barb’s Specialty Pet Products. Should the domain name be barbsspecialtypetproducts.com?

Perhaps, but don’t stop there. Having the right domain name, or domain names, can bring more traffic to your site.

Why more than one domain name?

One domain is all you need to set up a website. But with more domains directing to your site, you can have these additional benefits:

- Bring site visitors who type variations of your domain name
- Acquire traffic that might otherwise go to your competition
- Harness the marketing power of keyword domains

Your primary domain name

If it’s feasible, use your business or brand name in your primary domain. People will remember it and associate it with your business. Also consider the following factors when choosing your primary domain.

Domain name extensions

Should your primary domain end with .com, .net, or .biz, or with a country-specific extension such as .ca or .co.uk?

If your website is aimed at people in a specific country, having a country-specific domain can help:

- Site visitors will recognize right away that the business has a presence in the country of the extension. They may therefore be more comfortable buying from you.

- Some country-specific search results include sites with the relevant country-specific domain extension even if the site isn’t hosted in that country.

On the other hand, if you’re targeting an international audience, a country-specific domain could work against you. People from outside the country of the extension may be less inclined to buy if the business looks foreign to them.

If you want to attract both people within your country and those in other countries, have both. Each domain could direct to the same site, with each audience seeing the domain intended for them. For country-specific search results, the primary domain should be the country-specific one.

Chances are that the .com domain you want is already taken. If you use the .net or .biz version, you risk having potential site visitors go to your .com competition instead. Be sure to use the full domain name on all promotional material to reduce this risk.

Domain name length

A short domain is easier to remember, it has less risk of being mistyped, and it’ll fit easily on your business cards and correspondence.

Conversely, if a short name doesn’t represent your business, it’s more difficult for people to remember. The short names you like may already be taken anyway.

If your business name is up to three easy-to-spell words, it’ll probably work as a domain name. For a longer business name, the initials or just one or two words may be easier than remembering a combination of words.

Secondary domain names

Secondary domains directing to your site are for online use:

- For people who type your primary domain name incorrectly
- For people who search for your products or services online

Typing and spelling variations

How many ways can people spell and type your business name?

barbsspecialtypetproducts.com
barbs-specialty-pet-products.com
barbspecialtypetproducts.com
barbsspecialitypetproducts.com
barbsspecialitypetproducts.com
barbspecialtyproducts.com
barbspecialtyproduct.com

Hyphens aren’t recommended for your primary domain. When people tell others about your site, they’re likely to omit the hyphens. They may also forget to type them.

For secondary domains, hyphens make long domains easier to read. Each word stands out when people see your domain. However, domains such as buy-keyword-product-now.com make some people view hyphenated domains, especially those with more than one hyphen, as spam-like.

Having the words in domains separated may help some search engines recognize keywords. With Google, though, hyphens don’t make any difference.

Consider all of these variations for secondary domain names:

- With and without hyphens
- Different ways of spelling some words
- Singular and plural versions of nouns
- Extensions with .com and .net as well as a country-specific extension if relevant

What people search for

If you want to find the website for Time magazine, you might do a search for it, or you might try typing in time.com. If you do the latter, you’ll find yourself at the Time site.

This type of search behavior extends to generic words too. Searching for dog collars? Try dogcollar.com, for example, and you’ll be redirected to dogidcollar.com. Do you want life insurance? Lifeinsurance.com redirects to nmfn.com (and so does northwesternmutualfinancialnetwork.com).

While having keyword domain names may not draw a lot of site visitors, using them is a technique to consider.
How to use more than one domain

Set up your website with your primary domain, and use that domain on your correspondence and with your customers.

Point secondary domains to your site using URL forwarding (also called domain forwarding, domain redirect, or URL redirect). To have the secondary domain appear in the browser, use domain masking. You can set up these features when you log in to your account with your domain registrar (if your registrar offers these services).

With domains that are simply variations of your primary domain, you can expect additional traffic just from having set up these domains. With domains that contain keywords, you can get more from them by using them to list your site in online directories. When these domains appear in search results, searchers will see the keywords.

The next step

Once you decide on the available domains that you want, register them immediately. They might not be available tomorrow.

If you don’t already have a business name, you’ll find it easier to market your business online if you choose a primary domain and a business name together. If your first choice for a business name doesn’t work well with any available domains, consider a business name that you can easily market with an available domain. Once you’ve registered that domain name and your business name, register secondary domains and put them to use.

Is it worth registering multiple domains for one site? That depends on your site, but any variations that you don’t register will be available for competitors to register and use. If a domain is valuable to a competitor, it’s valuable to you.

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