My System for Picking Memorable Domains

It’s an addiction…

If you get into online business, you’re at serious risk.

I’ve experienced it first-hand & others have spoken about this too.

Compulsive-domain-name-buying-syndrome.

I run around a dozen sites right now. Each of them has its own domain obviously. Plus, I’ve got a handful (multiple handfuls, actually) of domains I’ve picked up throughout the years and never used.

Some of them are good – Others suck balls.

I’m not naturally gifted at picking awesome domains, but over the past 3 years I’ve become a lot better.

Below, I’ll share my “system” and a few tips for how to pick that memorable domain for your next online business.

1. Use words that encapsulate what your brand is about

Examples: Nomadic Hustle, Start Selling Stuff

2. Consider the starting letters – Useful for logos and short version of your brand

Example: Good Looking Loser –> GLL

3. Do everything in your power to make it memorable.

4. Short is good, but .com is better (My opinion – Might be old-fashioned)

5. Don’t spend too much time agonizing over the perfect domain name

Those tips are nothing earth-shattering, but they are a good guideline.

A 6th rules could be that there are no rules: At the end of the day, you need to go with your gut feeling.

Next you might ask how to come up with ideas for a domain.

What I do (and have always done) is simply open Namecheap’s domain search tool and start typing ideas.

I’ll try a bunch of words that fit the brand I’m going for. Whenever I find a domain that could work that is available, I’ll add it to my cart.

At the end of this brain-storming session, I’ll have 5-10 domains in my cart. Next, I quickly delete the 2-3 that are unusable. There’s always a few horrible picks because I’m quick to add possibilities to the cart.

At this point, I try to narrow it down to the best 2-3. Again, this is usually pretty easy simply by following your gut.

Where it becomes tough is choosing the best of the 2-3 finalists. Easy solution here: Ask somebody else which is their favourite.

Asking somebody else to pick their favourite is incredibly effective when you have it narrowed down to 2-3 choices.

On the other hand, if you give someone a list of 5+ choices, their opinion is effectively useless. They run into the same issue you do when having to pick from a larger list of options.

That’s really all there is to it. This is my process for picking new domains (or product names).

Hope this helps you as you’re starting your new online ventures because, whether you’re doing dropshipping, niche sites or personal branding, you’ll always need strong, brandable domains.

Catch you in tomorrow’s email,

James Holt