What's in a Name?

I was just reading an article at Entrepreneur magazine, "How to Name Your Business," that sparked me to think about the importance of choosing a name for a website.  The tips in the article are absolutely applicable in choosing the right domain name, but there are a couple of additional considerations before heading over to the nearest accredited domain name registrar.

Sound
One consideration is the sound. How does your domain name sound when it is spoken?  Run some ideas by your colleagues, family, & friends to gauge whether the website name rolls of the tongue or sounds like an inaudible mumble.

Availability
The best name in the world may shoot out of your brainstorm session like a bolt of lightning, but is it available for purchase?  Many common words and phrases are taken.  This doesn't always mean that the domain name is not up for sale by owner, but if it has been taken then the price tag could be out of reach.

Brevity
In a world of information overload, sound bites, short attention spans, etc., businesses should consider short names. This is also a good idea for printing a url on marketing materials ("url" stands for Uniform Resource Locator, which is the web address for a page).  What is easier to remember (and type into a web browser)? Pizza.com or bigtonyspizzajointinchicago.com?

Coordination
It may not always be possible to have a domain name that matches your business name.  Think about how the two names can work together.  A business name like Blush may not describe the product that is sold on premise (organic frozen yogurt), but the domain name of the business can help to describe the brand name and product: www.blushyogurt.com.

Multiple Domain Names
Don't worry if the perfect domain name doesn't pop out on the first attempt. Domain names are inexpensive (around $10 per year in most cases) and can be redirected to one main website, blog, Facebook page, or any other page on the web for that matter.  Register multiple domain names.  Multiple domain names can also be used to track visitors from different marketing campaigns or to test new products.

Where can you register a website domain name? Try GoDaddy.com, for starters.  Here is a list of ICANN-accredited registrars to compare with other domain name registrars.