The Importance of Domain Selection

When I search for domain names, I tend to stick to topics I know. This is basic investing 101 advice: invest in companies and products you are famililar with. A domain name is just that: an investment. In order to get a good return on your investment, YOU have to turn it into something other people would be interested in too. This means you get to pick the content for your site, and you get to choose the direction in which it grows. If you pick a topic you have no interest in and a topic you know nothing about, you will never create a website that will attract visitors. This isn't to say that you must pick a topic on which you are the world's leading expert, nor does it mean you must become the world's leading expert. It simply means find something that interests you enough that you will be able to write a little something about at least once a month.

The second thing I look for is a domain name that is broad enough to encompass a wide range of search terms without being so broad that it has millions of competitors. I prefer having a domain name that can be split into subdomains (see this post to find out more), so I'll err on the side of being too broad versus not being broad enough. For example, consumerelectronics.com would be too broad for me. While being a valuable domain name, I just don't have the resources required to develop such a domain, and I'm not in the market of buying and selling domains as an investment (aka Domaining). On the other hand, something like 22inchledtvs.com would be too narrow for my tastes. Again it is probably a valuable domain name, but it seems far too specialized for me. Instead, I would look for a domain like hdtvs.com or ledtvs.com. I could easily split these into subdomains like 20to29.ledtvs.com or 55inch.ledtvs.com. It would be simple to throw the Shopping Domain App on the subdomains and target the specific products related to that subdomain.

The final thing I look for is the number of searches my domain's keywords get. There are a ton of tools on teh web that will tell you the search volume for various terms. My favorite is the Google Keywords Tool. It shows me how many searches a term gets and also estimates the amount of competition I will likely face. Then its a simple matter of deciding if I still want to pursue such a niche based on the level of competition I will face.

One thing I don't worry about is if the .com is available. While most people prefer the dot com name over .net or .info, I don't see not getting the .com as a show-stopper. Of course, I prefer the .com over the alternatives, but I have several .info's, .net's, and .org's that are generating a steady little revenue stream.