P a g e | 9
quick to type while southamladiesclub.org.uk is easy to remember and
quicker to type.
3. Linkability
This is closely related to keeping it short and memorable. At some point
you will want other websites to create links to you. Links that are short,
snappy and look nice are more likely to be added to websites. Look at your
site, would you prefer Southam-ladies-over-eightys-high-wire-and-
trampolining-club.org.uk or southamladiesclub.org.uk at the foot of your
page?
4. If possible use a keyword
We will discuss search engine optimization (SEO) and how search engines
work in a later tutorial. But it is helpful to your rankings if you can add a
keyword into the domain name. In the previous example, we could imagine
the website having the keywords, southam, ladies, high wire, trampoline,
trampolining, club, association, Gloucestershire, bounce, balance, fun,
exercise, exclusive. The domain name southamladiesclub.org.uk uses
three of these keywords and so will be friendly to search engines.
5. Check for double meanings, hyphens can help
Domain names are all lower case and you are not able to add spaces, so
re-read your domain name and make sure there are no double meanings.
If there are double meaning then consider the use of hyphens, but keep in
mind that hyphens can be less memorable. Imagine how you would give
your website address out to someone, imagine giving them the same
address but with hyphens.
6. Look at related domain names to increase your internet
presence
If you really want to make your presence felt on the internet consider
registering more than one domain name, or domain extension. In the
above example, we may wish to choose southamladiesclub, southamladies
and ladiesclubsoutham, and the .org, .org.uk and .info extensions. If we
wanted to really protect our interests, we may wish to register more
extensions to ensure that people find our site.
7. Ask your friends
Once you have chosen your domain name tell your friends and colleagues
and look at their reactions, do you have to explain your choice? Very often
you will receive suggestions or feedback that can help you tailor your
domain name.
8. Check the spelling of your domain name
Sounds straight-forward, but this is an important step that is often
forgotten. When a domain name is registered, it cannot be “unregistered”.
Check that the domain name is spelt correctly before you finish the
registration. That said, sometimes it is worth registering a few domain
names that are spelt incorrectly, after all, if you made a mistake it is
possible that other visitors looking for your site will make the same mistake
too.
9. If your perfect domain name is taken
If you have chosen the perfect domain name that is ideal for you and find it
has already been registered consider placing a bid for the domain name
with SEDO. SEDO will contact the domain owner and negotiate a sale of