It is not true that all of the good domain names are taken. You may still be able to register your name, your business name, or another catchy URL.

Here are some tips for choosing a domain name:

  • Keep it short and simple. Long URLs are hard to remember, and people are more likely to make errors when keying them in.

  • Include keywords in your domain name. Search engines may reward you with better placement in search results when the keywords are in your URL.

  • Whenever possible, go for the .com. Many people automatically assume that Web site URLs end in .com, and they do not correctly remember other extensions, such as .net or .info.

  • Try to avoid abbreviations and special characters in your domain name. gdbizcents.com would be very hard to give out without spelling it, and people won't intuitively remember or guess it.

  • Don’t choose a name that will be easily confused with other domains. For example, if you want to register domainname.com and find it’s taken, domain-name.com is probably not a good choice. People will confuse the two sites.

  • Your own name could be a good domain name, if it doesn't lend itself to lots of odd spellings. Between Cathy and Kathy, and all the ways people find to misspell Stucker, I figured no one would ever find me. That's why I came up with IdeaLady.com.

  • And when putting your domain name in writing: If it is multiple words, especially if it's long, consider capitalizing, such as I did here with IdeaLady.com. Make it easy to read and understand.