10 Things to consider when choosing a Domain name for your blog/website

         What is a domain name?

  A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System (DNS)-Wikipedia.

  Godday.com a top web hosting company in the US points out that, a domain name, is like a street address for a house or business.

   It is your physical address on the internet thanks to an internet protocol (IP) which helps to identify information online.

  
  Example of domain names include: ransbiz.com, 2545bc.com, healthplero.com, mtncameroon.net, google.com and you can continue naming. You don’t have to boarder so much about the functioning of this as a blogger, may be later. As a blogger, you should be interested in choosing your own name like the ones sited in the examples above. Am I right? 

    You can Get  Domain Name  and Hosting on +HostGator 

      How do I choose a domain name?

   Bloggers are often challenged with which domain name to use and sometimes how to choose a domain name given the variety of options that exist out there. Here are some tips that will help this blogger choose the domain name.

1.       Uniqueness

Your domain name should be unique. Avoid using names that are too popular.

Choose a name related to health; search the name on Google or Bing. If you see more than ten pages showing results for word page, then consider trying another one. You should want to start something new. Make it look new and unique. Make sure your website is not confused with some popular websites. 

  healthpleromana for our a health blog is a good  domain name.

   2. Dot com domain first

  The three most popular domain extensions are .com,.net and .org.

I recommend you start with a .com extension as many people already are used to it. If you consider expanding your blog to may be a business in the future, then should buy all three .com .net and .org extension. 

  Hostgator.com recommends .com domains too.

  This does not mean choosing other extensions will make your blog unknown. This point is important to those concerned with branding and name recognition. There are several options you can consider depending on your location. For example:.com .cn,  .com.ng,.cm,.fr,.de,.guru,.co.za etc. If you  want to use a domain extension specific to your country, then search ‘’ your country domain extensions on google or meet hosting companies in your country’’. I can also help you do this!

     3. The name should be easy to type/remember.

I  It is very easy to type yahoo,ransbiz, google ,facebook than  a name like healthcommuinitymanagementboard.

  Choosing a short name makes it easy for readers to remember your blog. Ensure that the short name is easy to remember too.  A mixture of vowels and consonants makes it great. 

     So this might. What about bbc.om and cnn.com?  They are doing   great right? Ok, so you have to be smart too.

     This does not mean the long names should be left out. Up to 67 characters are allowed. If you consider using a longer name, make sure it is easy to remember.

I    I am not a fan of long domain name. Sometimes I get very lazy to type long words which make me think like a lazy man. I like twitter.com, 2545b.com, bing.com and more. So my recommendation is the short and simple domain name.

     4. The name should be easy to remember

I remember a client of mind who wanted to a blog to write about the activities of a  cultural organization.

    Here is the domain name he suggested to be used ‘’begmehefahfahmilahwi’’.  This is in a dialect in Cameroon which means we will do the work in this county. In ten people that visit a site like this, I don’t think up to 3 will be able to remember such a name. To make your domain easy to remember make sure you consider the following.                        

      a)      Choose a good letters it you want a long name  or just keep it short

     b)      Avoid hyphes(-), commas(,) and other signs like *,+,_^ & in your domain name.

   This means if healthpleromana.com is taken, we should not try health-pleromana or insert other sign to maintain the name. Consider other options.

     c)       Don’t make it complex like my client did.

I  noticed the used of hyphenated names on some websites in Cameroon and other countries. I had to do a research on why people are doing this even the professionals . I found out two main reasons:

i.                     It helps search engines to  distinguish your keywords better

ii.                   To keep the name of the business

I don’t still recommend clients to use hyphens. I believe in originality.

   5.  Avoid tricky domain names.

   One mistake bloggers make is choosing a domain name that does not match their content.

I 
    Imagine your type the key words, best mobile phones and your find a domain name say ‘’bestmobilephones.cm’’ . Upon clicking on the domain name you land on a web page talking about weight loss.  It looks weird right?  Ok, so make sure bestmobilephones.cm should talk about mobile phones.

I  
   It is easy to identify  www.healthpleromana.com as a blog that writes health related articles.

    Use names that people should question rather using misleading names.

      6.       Key words

   This point is very important for websites that offer sales of products/services or blogs that wants to get more traffic on a particular niche.

    
    Let us consider someone who wants to start a health blog. The name will be great if it contains words like health, weight loss, fitness, wellness among others. 

    
   Bloggers should not worry much about this. If you cannot get a domain name related to any of your keywords, then you can use your name or something else and do the magic with your blog post. It is commonly say content is king in blogging.

    7.       Copyright infringement

    Sometimes in our curiosity to gain popularity or increase traffic, we might just find ourselves in a big mess that can cost you a fortune.

    
   What will you think if you see the domain name googles.com? Obviously google.com will come into your mind. Google can sue people with names like that to court.  To avoid being sued, check out  www.copyright.gov before registering your domain name. Be on the safe side.

    8.       Avoid choosing domain names that show time or events for blogs.

   
    As a blogger, you should consider choosing a name that can keep you writing for a long. Don’t focus on latest trends, events or dates.

   Let us consider worldcup2014.com and johnfootball.com as domain names for sport blogs. We expect football news from john.com and articles about 2014 world cup on the other. 

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   This can work well if you want to target that period and stop blogging.               

  What other reason(s) do people do this?

  9.  The Domain name should be available

   
  Choosing the domain is great. You will become the owner if you have successfully registered it.  Many hosting companies today gives you’re the option to search for the availability of a domain before registering.  www.domjax.com  is a great place to check for available domains.

   Godaddy is a perfect place for me as you can buy registered domain through godaddy auctions. 
   

    10. What else can be considered when choosing a domain name?