Have you ever tried to find a domain for your business, organization or just plain personal use? In most cases you would have to come up with an idea, check if it’s available, and if its not, then you’d have to go through the entire process again. Because you would have to find a name not in a list of 40 million dotcoms, this becomes a tedious and timely process. There are now well over 56 million domains registered out of the global tlds (top level domains), which are .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz. So how do you find a quality domain that somebody in the world hasn’t already thought of? You don’t. Anything worth using has probably already been registered at one time or another. However, there are some things that you can do. You can either find someone who is selling a domain that you like and try to buy it at their asking price (which is probably very expensive), or you can save your money and use a different method for finding a quality domain.

Everyday over 20,000 domains become available. How does a domain become “available”? When a user registers a domain name they are actually renting it in one-year increments, if a user does not renew their domain at the end of their period it goes through an expiration process and then becomes available to the public once more. However, even though 20,000 domains are re-entering the market each day, the domain industry is still growing and rapidly. As of April 22, 2005 the global tld registrations broke 50 million. Today, about 6 months later, there are over 56 million registered. This means that there are even more than 20,000 that are taken each day. In fact, most of the domains that come back on the market are immediately taken. So how does one know when and which domains come back on the market? The answer is a special type of search engine known as a deleted domain search engine. This domain search engine allows users to search through millions of domains that have recently come back on the market and are currently available.

There are many paid and free domain search engines out there. A good free one is pcNames.com. pcNames.com has created a domain name search engine that caters to anyone looking for the simplest domain name, to those that are in need of a more “complex” name. Over 20,000 domain names are added to this domain name search engine everyday. For those users that go into a domain name search with no idea what they may want, pcNames.com offers suggestions for each keyword that appears on the right while searching. Finding the domain to fit your needs is made easier with this search engine. Upon finding your “perfect” domain name, pcNames.com allows you to purchase the domain name quickly.

pcNames.com has many features that even most paid domain search engines lack. They have recently released a filter, which removes all domains from your results that are not 2-words. Meaning, when you type in the word car, every result that appears contains the word car and only one additional word or acronym. This removes all the misspellings and long awkward looking domains, leaving only quality domains for you to choose from.

This free deleted domain search engine can be found at http://www.pcNames.com. With over 4 million recently deleted domains currently in the database, there is sure to be a domain for everyone. Now you can easily find and purchase quality domains without the large price tags.

Pick your domain before you launch your business.

This is especially true if your market niche has lots of competition. Research your domain before you commit to a business plan.

Don’t wait too long if you like a domain.

While you’re researching, you’ll likely come across a couple of domains that attract you. You might be tempted to wait, since you haven’t finalized or refined your business plan. Don’t. A handful of domains isn’t going to cost you much at an affordable registrar like GoDaddy, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. Chances are you can even resell the rejects at cost, if not a profit. Or “develop” them with unique content and point them to your main site for extra traffic.

Now that we have the easy part of the way, let’s wade into murkier waters.

Q. Which TLD (top-level domain) is best?

A. If you’re a juggernaut in the business world with a giant ad budget, the answer is dot-com (.com). If you’re a smalltime business struggling for search engine positioning, the answer is still dot-com.

People do disagree on the value of a dot-com TLD. Some assert that dot-coms have no particular value in the search engines, which may be true.

However, the fact is, if you haven’t yet seared your brand on the collective brow of the planet, dot-com makes you easier to remember. If you eschew dot-coms, then in some deep dark place inside, people will remember you as “that hard-to-remember URL with the ending that isn’t dot-com.” What’s worse, if you pick an otherwise memorable domain ending in dot-net, -us, or (God forbid) -tv, some of your traffic will end up at that competitor who snagged the dot-com version of your domain. Okay, that’s settled. Now for the controversial stuff. Which is best: the “keyword” domain, or the “creative-genius, snappy and brandable” domain?

Keyword Name vs. Creative-Genius Brandable Name

A Keyword Name is the boring, workhorse kind of domain. You seem them everywhere. They bristle with hyphens: “best-anchovy-pizza-in-siberia.com.” Or “super-labrador-accessories-and-golfballs.biz.” On the face of it, they’re hard to brand. They’re hard to fit on business cards. They’re really hard to explain over the phone to Aunt Martha.

On the other hand, a Creative-Genius Brandable Name is the sexy kind of domain. The successes are sparkling: Yahoo!, Google, Amazon.com. You can shout these URLs across the room and the other guy will probably get it right. But note: the dot-com road is littered with hip, snappy business who failed to brand their product successfully, or get listed high in the search engines. Now their URLs all point to the same page: “server not found …”

The debate rages on, but the first question you must ask yourself is:

How will people find YOU?

It was recently reported that “direct navigation” web traffic has started to outnumber search engine traffic. In other words, more people visit sites by typing in the URL directly than they do by combing search engines for results. So more gurus are recommending ‘brandable’ domains.

But think about this. As a small business owner, how will people find you? Word of mouth? Billboards on I-95? “Corporate sponsorships” on hockey arenas? Probably not: they’ll find you through search engines. They’ll type in “cheap purple widgets,” and as a smart marketer, you will offer them a website optimized for the keywords “cheap purple widgets.”

Still, this doesn’t imply you should automatically pick a keyword domain. There are pros and cons to both types.

BRANDABLE: ADVANTAGES

The brandable domain is great for business cards. In fact, it’s nearly compulsory if you’re planning on offline marketing. In other words, if you’re printing up stationary at Kinkos, you want a brandable domain name.

If you’re also a marketing genius, this is a fit challenge for your talents. Finding a memorable, apt domain to brand your business is something no software-driven suggestion tool can do.

Most “hybrid” domains — ones that are really crosses between keywords and brandable names — are long gone. But if you create a unique idea for your brand, you can probably snag the dot-com name for yourself. Now all you have to do is burn that brand onto the world’s collective forehead. If you do, you’ll benefit from type-in traffic. That means that if someone hears about you, they can probably find you just buy typing in your domain.

BRANDABLE: DISADVANTAGES

The brandable name requires solid marketing skill, research and luck. Your name should be so catchy, it’s almost viral. It should also convey your actual business – or you’ll have to work hard (often meaning, spend money) to associate the two. Your name should be “tested” on coworkers, cousins and dishwasher repairmen to ensure it has no undesirable connotations. Finally, your name should be available as a domain, and not suffer from competitors with similar domains. Sometimes, pulling all this off is difficult.

KEYWORD: ADVANTAGES

By keyword names, we’re not talking about the glorious generic keywords – the one-keyword kings such as drugs.com or business.com. No, we’re talking keyword names you can afford.

This is where you buy the domain name www.cheap-purple-widgets.com in hopes of getting a top search ranking for cheap purple widgets.

Advantages are many. First, more keyword names are available. (They’re ugly, and many people feel an aversion to hyphens.) Also, they do help you place higher in the search engines. It’s true that search engines only give you a little credit for having a keyword in your domain, but “a little credit” counts.

Second, keyword domains leave no doubt in the searcher’s mind about what you’re selling. If you decided to call your widget business “Ableeza,” a searcher might not get at a glance what it is you’re selling, even if your rank is high.

Finally, if you can get people to link to you, those links will be valuable. No matter how Webmaster Joe describes you, the link part will always say, “cheap-purple-widgets.” This is a powerful search engine strategy for moving higher.

KEYWORD: DISADVANTAGES

You won’t get type-in traffic for a keyword name. You can’t really explain it across a phone. It won’t look pretty on a business card, and it’s almost impossible to pair up with a cute logo. But if search engine traffic is going to drive your business, the keyword name is worth a long, hard look.

WRAP-UP

Regardless of which type you choose, don’t play guessing games. If you go with a keyword name, use a search tool (like http://conversion.7search.com/scripts/advertisertools/keywordsuggestion.aspx to determine what keyword phrases people are searching on.

If you choose a brandable name instead, test it out on a variety of real people first. Pay attention to their reactions. Reserve your domain early, since brandable domains go fast unless they’re very unique.

In the long run, both types of domains can work for you, especially if offline marketing is an option and you have a knack for branding. Overall, though, the keyword domain is probably the easiest path to success for the small-business owner.

About The Author

Blake Kritzberg is a web designer and small business owner. Find more on domain selection, buying and selling at http://www.domain-aid.com.