Step 1

Open a keyword research tool and generate a list of highly-searched keywords/phrases, within the niche of the business. e.g. Google keyword tool.
If the business is confined by location or country, use search filters to find geo-targeted keywords. Sort the list by search volume with the most searched item at the top.

Step 2

Import the keyword/phrase list to the local machine. Edit the list and get rid of special characters and spaces. Append “.com” to each contracted keyword/phrase, so that it becomes a list of domain names. Use Microsoft Excel or similar spreadsheet-software to bulk edit the list with “find” and “replace” utilities.

Step 3

Copy the list of domains and paste it in a bulk-availability-checker tool. e.g. Domaintools.com has a free tool to check domain availability in bulk (100 names at a time). Shortlist the available “.com” domains and consider other available TLDs only as the last resort.

Step 4

Brainstorm for short, brand-able domain names ignoring all other factors. List everything that comes to the mind in a separate file.

Step 5

Use online domain suggestion tools such as Nameboy in order to expand the new domain name list.

Step 6

Check for availability of domains in the list. Pick the available “.com” domains and add them to the shortlisted available list of keyword/phrase domains.

Step 7

Go through expired domain name lists to find niche-related, expired “.com” domains. Most domain registrars have a web-based or download-able expired domain lists. Add selected names to the shortlisted available-domains-list. Sort the list of available domains by length with the shortest domain at the top.

Step 8

Score each domain in the shortlist for memorability, marketability and authority, from a scale of hundred.
e.g. LearnTennis.com will receive higher scores in all three areas while TennisLearn.com will receive comparatively lower scores, because of the twisted keyword combination.

Step 9

Select the top scoring domain name for the business.

* Long tail keyword domains have SEO (Search Engine Optimization) advantages, so they perform better within search results.
* Short and memorable names might have high potential of growth once established, although it is difficult to create brand-recognition, initially. e.g. eBay, Google, Yahoo.
* Trademark infringement has serious consequences. Avoid domain names that include trademarks at all cost.

Domain name extension is the part of the name that comes after the dot(.). e.g. extension of ‘world.lk ‘ is ‘.lk’. The most popular TLD (top level domain) being ‘.com’, there is a natural preference for ‘.com’ extension when selecting a domain name. However; short, memorable, keyword-rich, brandable domain names are highly possible with ccTLDs (country code top level domains – e.g. .lk, .in, .it, .cn etc. ) as well.

Length of The Name

Whatever said, length of the name matters when it comes to memorability of the domain name. Shorter the name the better. That being said, there are instances where lengthy domains perform better in terms of marketing. All in all its better to avoid domains exceeding 16 length character limit and/or combination of more than three words/keywords, as a rule of thumbs.

Keyword Rich Names

Generic keywords within a domain name is valuable in terms of SEM (Search Engine Marketing). If the domain includes keywords related to the niche that is being targeted, then obviously it is an added advantage for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes.

Brandable and Memorable

We could classify brand-building and memorable names, logos and/or slogans as co-existing entities. Meaning, improving on one facet will automatically improve the other. Purpose of brand recognition is to make a business stamped onto the subconscious of a ‘potential’ and ‘not yet’ customers alike. Its inadvertently important to shed some thought on branding and memorability of the name.

So if a name is chosen adhering to the above guidelines, we believe that name is ought to be a pretty darn good domain name. Simple right?