Are you looking for domain name suggestions? If so, you have come to the right place. But be warned, it is not a simple process. This is due to the fact that most common domain names are already taken, which means you may find it difficult to secure the one you want.
This sounds like it could put a damper on your plans, and is extremely complicated to work around. For example, let’s say you run a small business and the domain name is taken.
It’s not very simple where to go from there.
You could try picking an abbreviation of the name, but odds are that’s taken, too. Every deviation from the original name makes it less likely to get found naturally by customers who are looking.
Thus, you need to make sure it matches your brand and is identifiable.
How Does A Domain Name Work?
The domain name is the web address that anyone can type into their URL box to gain access to a website. A great way of thinking about it is that it is like the cell phone number for your site. Anyone can call it to reach you.
However, unlike a phone number, which is assigned to you by your provider, you get to pick out your very own domain name. How well the name represents your brand will not only help visitors find your website naturally, but it will also make it more successful on search engines.
Of course, since you can pick any name, it doesn’t actually have to represent your brand. However, it’s a mistake if it doesn’t.
For example, let’s say you run a pizza place and have a website called www.GreatBurgersandWings.com. It doesn’t make any sense and it will confuse customers and search engines.
Thus, the name you choose needs to represent your website.
Get a Free Domain Name With GreenGeeks
When you sign up with GreenGeeks, we provide a free domain name to help you get started. This can help you cut down those troublesome initial costs and let you get developing your dream website that much quicker.
Of course, you’ll still need to come up with something unique.
17 Domain Name Ideas
Without a doubt, there is no right way to go about picking a domain name. However, there are plenty of wrong ways to do so.
This list shows the 17 most successful strategies to use when selecting a domain name.
It can be very discouraging when your dream name is taken, so try not to get frustrated. Keep in mind that it can take a lot of time to pick a domain name, so don’t rush it.
1. Pick Your Business Name
If you are trying to pick a domain name for a small business website, simply select the name of the business.
For example, let’s say you own Rob’s Donut Shack. Your domain name should ideally be www.robsdonutshack.com. Customers often assume that the name of your business is the same as your website name.
So if it’s available, go for it.
2. Keep It Short
One of the best domain name suggestions you can get is to keep it short. The longer your URL becomes, the worse it will perform. Something that is short and easy to remember will go a long way.
In particular, you want to try and come up with as many short catchy names for websites as possible. The more you think of, the better the chance it hasn’t been taken.
3. Match Your Brand
Your domain name needs to reflect what your website is all about. In most cases, this is a pretty obvious domain name suggestion. But, it is really important to consider.
Try to match it as closely as possible. If you have a business called, “Bob’s Surf Shack” but the domain is taken, try something like “SurfingWithBob.com” or perhaps, “MySurfShack.com.”
4. Spell It Right
While there are many examples of successful websites that are not spelled correctly or the way that someone may think, its a mistake to not do so.
For example, let’s say your dream name was www.robsdonutshack.com, but someone else already has it. Instead, you decide to replace the “o” with “0” and pick www.r0bsdonutshack.com.
No one will spell it with a zero naturally, thus you will lose traffic.
The more convoluted you are when mixing numbers and letters, the more difficult it becomes to type. Not to mention how it will confuse visitors and search engines alike.
5. Be Open to Change
I’ll be perfectly honest, the odds of your first domain name not being taken are extremely low. Thus, it can be really problematic when you are set on a specific name.
If you are, I can assure you that selecting a domain name will be a terrible experience. You need to be open to changes and compromises because most names and variations of it are just not available.
6. Don’t Use A Hyphen or Special Characters
We have already established that spelling the name right is really important, but that alone isn’t enough. You might think you’re clever by adding a hyphen or replacing “and” with “&,” but it will only work against you.
For example, let’s say you tell a customer to visit Logan and Sons online. Which way would you type it?
- www.loganandsons.com
- www.logan&sons.com
- www.logan-and-sons.com
I know I would immediately try the first one, and if it didn’t work, I would probably not bother trying again. And that’s true for most people.
7. Try Using A Domain Name Generator
Coming up with a domain name is challenging, but you don’t have to do it yourself. There are plenty of free domain name generators available that you can use to do the heavy lifting.
These tools will come up with names that are available for use. It is a great way of finding domain suggestions when your dream name is taken. Just make sure the name follows the other strategies on this list.
8. Pick a Different Domain Extension
A domain extension is what follows the period at the end of the URL. For example, the domain extension in “GreenGeeks.com” is .com. There are plenty of others to choose from like .net, .co, .biz, etc.
However, without a doubt, .com is the first thought anyone has when typing a website address. Thus, it is the most sought after. But, if you are really set on a name that is taken, using a different domain extension is the answer.
Depending on the extension, you can even get a little creative with extensions. For instance, if you have an online store, you could use something like, “bobsonline.shop.”
9. Buy The Domain Name
Wait a minute, I thought this was a guide on how to select a domain name. It is, and buying the domain name you want is a perfectly viable option that many website owners choose to do.
However, be warned many companies or individuals have bought these domain names with the sole intention of selling them for a much higher price. If you have limited resources, this might not be the option for you.
10. Try a Pun
Maybe your dream name is taken. But, have you tried turning it into a pun? This is a great way to inject some personality into your domain name, and it’s easy to do.
Not sure how to make a pun, fear not, you can use an awesome pun generator to do all of the work for you. On top of generating puns, there is also a phrase option that you can use for some more ideas.
11. Make It Personal
One of the best ways to ensure that you do not pick a domain name that is already taken is to make it personal. What I mean by that is to pick something that has meaning to you.
You are far more likely to find a domain name that is taken when you pick generic, popular, or mainstream terms. Besides the website is of your creation, the name should reflect that.
12. Use Your Name
If you are planning on running a blog or portfolio, you should consider using your name as the domain. This is also an insurance policy in case you become a household name!
A blog is your opinion on a specific matter, which makes it extremely personal. There is nothing more unique than your name, so you probably won’t find that domain taken.
13. Consider if the Name is Free on Social Media
Just because the domain name is free doesn’t mean you are good to go. To be successful in 2020, you need a presence on social media platforms.
Thus, you should ensure that the domain name you pick is also free on popular social media platforms. This will help you avoid having to come up with slightly different ones that will confuse visitors.
14. Avoid Multiple or String Words
One of the most important domain name suggestions is to remember that people are forgetful. If we all had a perfect memory, the world would be a very different place.
For example, something like “GamesMoviesBooksManga.com” is a terrible choice. But why is that? Because people will forget the order.
If someone just remembered it was some combination of games, books, movies, and manga, there are 24 possible ways that can be arranged, like “GamesMangaBooksMovies.com.”
Avoid these types of names.
15. Don’t Limit Your Website by Your Name
Website plans can change over time, and it is very rare if they do not. For example, let’s say you sell puppies.
It would be natural to want to have the word puppy or puppies in your domain name, but then people would only recognize you for a place to get puppies. If you decide to expand to kittens down the road, you are going to run into a problem.
16. Use A Keyword
While it is true that keywords are less important than they were a decade ago, they still have an impact on search results. Thus, you can give yourself an advantage by including a keyword in your domain name.
However, this can easily work against you if you select a keyword that doesn’t perform well or will drop in popularity in the future. If you go this route, try to future proof it.
And perhaps part of vital domain name suggestions would be to avoid trending topics. When the keyword or phrase trend is over, you could lose out.
17. Avoid Using Homophones
Homophones are words that sound the same when spoken but are spelled differently depending on their meaning.
For example, let’s say you picked “nightsales.com” as your domain name. If someone else heard about this website, they might think it is “knightsales.com.”
Perhaps they are hoping to get some discounted armor? In either event, there are quite a lot of examples of homophones in the English language, and you should try and avoid them.
Still Struggling?
Even with all of these domain name suggestions, it is still possible to be stumped. Most people are afraid they will choose the wrong name and that can certainly impact you.
Just remember, any domain name is better than none at all. It’s the first step to building a website, and getting hung up on it is a big problem.
Just the First Step
Now that you have some strategies for finding website name ideas, you have gotten past the first hurdle. But, you don’t want to delay. It is very possible for the domain name to be gone in a short amount of time.
You need to go through your web host and purchase that domain name immediately.
In fact, many will buy the domain name with various extensions to prevent someone else from stealing traffic. It’s common to see an owner have the .com, .net and .biz of the same domain while using forwarders to a single website.
But that is a tale for another time.