Part 2: How to Choose a Good Domain Name

When it comes to picking a domain name, you should keep the following three guidelines in mind.

• Your domain should be easy to say out loud and remember. In an ideal situation, when you meet a potential client or contact, you want to be able to share your domain name with them and have them retain it right away. That’s why “location plus keyword” is a great formula for domain names, such as: “fortcollinsrealestate.pro” or “phoenixhomes.online.” Your name can also make for a good domain, but only if it’s a common name and spelling, such as “jenniferrichards.team” or “michaelsmithrealtor.net.” If your name is Francesca Vidic-Christopherson, it would probably be best to build your domain with keywords.
• The shorter, the better. Fewer keystrokes, enough said. Keywords are great, but don’t go crazy with them, like grandrapidsbestrealestateagent.guru. That may be overkill and could defeat the purpose of providing your prospect a memorable domain name.
• Avoid hypens, strange spellings, or numbers. These may cause confusion. Is it “3” or “three?” Was it “portland-realestate.net” or “portlandreal-estate.net”? People often add numbers and hyphens because that’s the only way to get their first-choice domain name with the ending they desire. Instead, if a domain name is unavailable, try a different combination of words or a different domain ending rather than complicating matters with hypens and numbers.

What to Include in Your Domain Name

Without getting into the technical stuff, just remember that there are two parts of a domain name: What comes before the “dot” and what comes after. Since the possibilities are pretty much infinite for what goes on either side, as a general rule, you should try to stick to putting search terms on the left side of the dot.

Examples of keyword search ideas for personal websites and branding are:

• youragentyourname
• yournamerealestate.com/co/net/online/etc.
• yourcityrealestateagent
• yourcityrealestate
• yourcityhomes
• yourcityproperties

Examples of domain name endings for personal websites and branding are:

• .realtor (Must be associated with NAR. Learn more here.)
• .properties
• .pro
• .online
• .house
• .condos

Examples of domain name combinations for properties and listings are:

• streetaddress.home
• streetaddress.property
• streetaddress.forsale
• streetaddress.com/co/net/org/online/etc.

Note: .realtor must be claimed at www.claim.realtor and is not available through domain registrars.

For more information on how a domain name works go to Part 1. For more information on how to purchase and register a domain name go to Part 3.

Ethan Conley is a marketer, designer, and content writer in Denver, Colo. He was Breakthrough Broker's first employee and helped launch the site in 2011.