What's in a Name?

With the Internet becoming increasingly crowded, finding a good domain name has become a difficult endeavour. Therefore, we have come up with a few tips that should help.

1. Try to pick a name that is easy to remember.
2. Try to pick a name that has a connection to the keywords people would use to find your service/product.
3. Use the shortest name you can that describes what you do. As domain names get longer, it is quite easy for people to make typing errors.
4. Make sure the URL is actually the name of your site, as most people will type your website name directly into their browser.
5. Make sure the domain name is available - by checking a domain name registrar.
6. Try to register alternatives like .com, .ca, .net, and make them all redirect to your site. If you are choosing a domain name, and the .ca version is registered to your competition - BEWARE - as YOUR marketing efforts might increase traffic to THEIR site.
7. Try to leave out dashes, for example (www.your-website-name.com), as most people will not remember to put them in.
8. Brainstorm the name with others that will give you honest feedback.

I must admit that I am asking you to "do as I say, not as I do!" Having a name like - Echidna Solutions Corp. - we definitely have some name recognition battle scars. Our name is hard to spell, remember and pronounce, therefore we also use a version of our motto www.webdoneright.ca which redirects you to our website.

You will have to live with your domain name for a long time, so hopefully these tips will guide you in the selection process.