by Daniel Moro

Choosing a good domain name is one of most important steps in setting up your online business. And with more web sites being launched every day, it is certainly not getting any easier to find good domain names that are still available. So what exactly makes a good domain name?

Easy to Remember Your domain name should be memorable and easy for visitors to recall and type into their browser.

Relevant Your domain name should be relevant to your business and to the content on your web site.

Short Name Although domain names can be up to 67 characters, your domain name should be shorter, preferably seven characters or less. Shorter domain names are easier to remember, easier to type and less susceptible to mistakes. Domain names with seven characters or less are harder to come by these days, so you may have to settle for a domain name that is slightly longer.

Top Level Domain
If your business is in the US or if your web site is targeting a global audience then you should use .com as your top-level domain. Generally .net and .org domains are not perceived as being as professional as .com domains. If however you are marketing to a local audience in another country, for example in UK or Australia, then using the local .com domain such as .com.uk or .com.au may make it easier for visitors to recognize that your site is local.

Keyword Optimized If possible your domain name should contain popular keywords relating to your topic. This will help your site to rank high in the natural rankings of search engines. Use a keyword tool such as Good Keywords to check which keywords are searched more frequently.

Consider Hyphenated Names - If you are having trouble getting the name you want, consider a hyphenated domain name, e.g. barbecue-grills.com. However the downside of this approach is that some people will forget the hyphen when typing your domain name.

How Does it Sound? - If you tell a friend your domain name over the phone, will they easily be able to spell it correctly the first time?

No Trademark Conflicts - Make certain that your domain name is free of legal conflicts due to trademarks belonging to other businesses. Your new site at GoogleSecrets.com might attract a lot of traffic but it will probably attract even more after your court case is in the headlines for breaching Google s trademark! Stay clear of other companies names and trademarks.

A good place to check if a domain name is available is Whois.org. Keep these tips in mind, and you will be well on your way to choosing a good domain name.