Picking domain names can almost be as hard as choosing a name for your child. Thankfully, if you don’t like the domain name you chose you can always change it. However, you should know that in doing so, there are always some repercussions. We’ll talk about those later.

When it comes to choosing domain names it can be anything you like as long as it hasn’t already been registered by someone else. Domain names can be one word, or made up of several. They can be inspired by:

• A company name
• A nickname
• Your favourite food
• Your name
• A hobby or venture
• A movement or cause

And the list can go on and on.

One of the domain names I have registered is based on a saying my husband playfully uses to remind me to not be such a workaholic at times: Motivated by Laziness.com. I don’t know when I’ll use it but I have it, and it’s all mine…mine I say!

Now, don’t let anyone make you think that “all the good domains are gone.” That’s simply not true. There are new domains registered and web pages launched on a regular basis that catch the imagination and become truly memorable.  In Blogging for Dummies the author mentions the blog site Green As a Thistle (http://www.greenasathistle.com/) which is about the author doing what she can to live a more sustainable lifestyle. So, based on her goals and experiences and a movement within society, a domain name is born.

The real trick with your choice of domain names is to choose a name that is not only representative of what your site is about, but one that also captures your audience. It’s also best to make the name easy to spell (test it over the phone with a friend) and it shouldn’t be crazy-long.  Jot down some ideas and keywords, and don’t aim for perfection. Instead, go to a domain name search site (we’ll give you some sites later on) and see what comes up. You may be surprised by what may come to your mind, or your mind may be jogged by a suggestion proposed by the site.

The real key will be to register the one, two or three domain names that you really want. If you don’t register it, it’s not yours!  Yes, there is a cost in doing so and it may be some time before you launch a site using the domain name, but if you really love the name you better secure it.

Remember those previous words at the start of this article, “Thankfully, if you don’t like a domain name you chose you can always change it?” Well, some of the repercussions in changing the domain name could be:

• You will need to create traffic to your new site. This is manageable if you keep a copy of your old plan and adjust it for the new domain name. This ‘plan’ would be the one that describes the tools, techniques, ideas, etc. you used to generate traffic on your old site.
• Readers of your old site who bookmarked your original address may loose their links to your site. No problem here. Just keep the old address up and running for a while with a notice informing visitors of your new address, and remind them to update their bookmark. Then redirect them to your new site.
• You may need to move all your content from your old site to your new site (assuming of course, that your new domain will contain the same information as your old domain.) This may be an easy task or not, depending on:
  • How much content your old site had,
  • Whether or not you made backups of your old content,
  • Whether or not your old site has an “export” capability to allow for easy “import” of content to your new site.
• You’ll need to figure out what to do with the old address and this is really up to you. You can:
  • Cancel it. However, keep in mind that you may not get reimbursed for unused registered time.
  • Try to sell it to someone else. You may want this service to be part of your criteria for choosing a “Registering vendor”.
  • Hang on to it for future use. You may never know when you can recycle it.

Here are some guidelines for picking a domain name:

• It should be easy to remember, so try and keep the name short if possible. Avoid any misspellings intentionally or unintentionally.
• It should be easy to type correctly. Avoid the use of numbers and hyphens in the name since people will not remember these.
• It should be relevant or unique to your venture.
• Avoid trademark issues.Don’t use any variations of brand names or trademark names. This includes misspelling, hyphens and abbreviations of these names.
• The name should not be misunderstood! GoDaddy uses this example to explain this guideline better: the words who and represents could be part of a domain name that is about what type of person or individual represents a certain type of job. BUT, when these two words are concatenated together to form the domain name, they can take on a completely…different…meaning…(who represents.com vs …)!
• Make sure your name is available before you start using it.

If you’re ready to pick a domain name and you have some ideas of what you’re looking for, here is a list of web sites where you can search for and/or register your domain:

• http://www.bustaname.com
• http://www.godaddy.com
• http://www.networksolutions.com
• http://www.domainsatcost.com/

Just remember, if you find your “special one”, take action and register it before it’s gone.

Cheers!