{"id":3243,"date":"2024-11-30T17:26:52","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T16:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mijn.host\/blog\/choosing-a-good-domain-name\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T16:28:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T14:28:00","slug":"choosing-a-good-domain-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/choosing-a-good-domain-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing a Good Domain Name: 4 Tips from an Expert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the years, I have registered more than 30 domain names. There were a few gems among them, but also a few domain names that were unfortunately a waste of my money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does a domain name impact your online success? In my experience, it does (more on why this is the case, I will share later in this article).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s why here you will get 5 tips for choosing a good domain name from someone who has become wiser in this area through trial and error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips for Choosing a Good Domain Name<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Keep it short and direct<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is easier said than done because many short attractive domain names have already been registered by now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, if possible, you want to keep your domain name to a single word (of, say, no more than 10 letters) or at most two words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This makes your domain name a lot easier to type and remember for your visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip:<\/strong> Because many good, short domain names have already been registered, you might also invent a word yourself and use it. A friend of mine came up with the (English) self-invented name Krowden for his website, which sounds very nice and is quite easy to remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Keep it simple<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hyphens (-), incorrect spelling, or a possible double interpretation of your domain name hinder the simplicity of your domain name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You also want to avoid numbers in your domain name in most cases (although there are exceptions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, another friend. His business and domain name is Devise. Over the phone, he sometimes has to emphasize that it’s spelled with an “s” and not a “c,” which most people initially expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Make it memorable<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You want your domain name to stick with your visitors if possible. You can use rhymes, alliteration, or wordplay to make it catchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of a name like PayPal.com, which you won’t forget after hearing it once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip:<\/strong> Make sure your domain name is not identical to or very similar to a registered trademark. You can check Dutch business names via the KvK<\/a>. Names within the entire Benelux can be checked here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Choose a reliable extension<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A domain extension is the “.com” or “.nl” after a domain. This is also called a top-level domain (TLDs). Choose a TLD that resonates with your target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With obscure extensions (“.online”), there are many more beautiful domain names still available. But there’s a good reason not to choose them: they look unreliable and spammy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes “.com” or for startups “.io” make sense. But in many cases, you simply want to secure a “.nl” extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a “.nl” TLD, you show your colors and let your target audience (and search engines!) know which country you are targeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are now thousands of TLDs (“ai.”, “.biz”, “.amsterdam”, “.xyz,” and many more). Choose one that fits your company and target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to do if your desired domain name is taken?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It may happen that your desired domain name is already registered by someone else. In that case, it is often possible to purchase the registration of that domain name. However, keep in mind that this can sometimes cost considerable amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Mark Zuckerberg spent about $200,000 to acquire “facebook.com”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OpenAI, known from ChatGPT, went even further: they bought the domain name chat.com in 2024. They did not disclose exactly how much they paid for it. However, we do know that in 2023 HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah purchased chat.com for the not-insignificant sum of $15.5 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are companies, known as domain traders, who try to make a profit with domain names. They register thousands of domain names at low annual costs and then sell them for considerably higher prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platforms specialized in buying and selling domain name registrations exist. These websites act as a kind of broker and make the process easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example of such a platform is the German sedo.com. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much impact does a domain name have on your online success? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A domain name can have a significant impact on your online success because it is an important part of your brand identity and the first impression you make on visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the main reasons why choosing a good domain name is so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Recognizability and brand identity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A catchy and unique domain name strengthens your brand and makes it easier for people to remember you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example: A name like “bol.com” is much more recognizable than a generic name like “onlineboekenshop.nl”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. First impression on visitors<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your domain name is often the first thing people see in search results or on social media. A professional name inspires trust and invites people to click on your site instead of a competitor’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A confusing or amateurish name can have the opposite effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Search engine optimization (SEO)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Click-through rate likely impacts your positions in search engines like Google. For example, if you’re in position 5 and more people than expected for that position click through to your site, you might move up a position. The title of your page plays the biggest role here, but your site’s domain name can also certainly influence this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If people want to navigate to your website via a search engine, they perform a so-called “branded search” for your website. Since the recent Helpful Content Updates (HCU), branded searches seem to be an important ranking factor. Correctly executed branded searches are much easier with a short, clear, and easy-to-remember domain name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. User-friendliness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A short, clear, and easy-to-spell domain name ensures that visitors can easily find your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain names with numbers, hyphens, or complex words are more difficult to remember and type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Social sharing and word-of-mouth<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A simple domain name is shared more easily on social media and remembered by people talking about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example: “Have you checked fietsenwinkel.nl?” sounds much better than a complicated name like fiets-onlineshop123.nl and is more likely to be shared among people – both online and offline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where is a good place to host your domain name?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are countless places where you can register a domain name. That’s not the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But ultimately you want to host your domain name with a reliable company for a fair price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At my.host, you can register a .nl domain name for \u20ac4.99 per year<\/a>. A .be domain name costs no more than \u20ac5.99 per year. That is a fixed rate that also applies after the first year. You won’t find it cheaper in the Netherlands (or even outside the Netherlands).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And as for reliability, I think the customer reviews of my.host speak for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years, I have registered more than 30 domain names. Some were gems, but others unfortunately ended up being a waste of money. Does a domain name impact your online success? In my experience, it does (I’ll share more on why exactly this is further in the article). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hide_cta_migrate_site":false,"hide_toc_block":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[220,228],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-domain-names","category-tips-tricks"],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":3243,"nl":1865},"pll_sync_post":{},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3243"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3357,"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3243\/revisions\/3357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.host\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}