Have you ever spent hours just trying to find a decent available domain name?
How about a great one?
With more then 46 Million active dot com domain names registered, it’s harder and harder to find a catchy domain name that matches your product, service, or website concept that is not already taken.
I came up with the list of 10 domain name suggestion tools to help you to get that creativity flowing.
None of them is a perfect domain name tool in itself, but combine 2-3 of them together and you should be off to a good start.
BUT before we get to the great domain name tools below, let’s have a little tête–à–tête on the basics of choosing the best domain name for your business.
How to Choose a Great Domain Name
I know this one will rise some eyebrows, so let me start with an example.
Let’s say you are searching for information on how to increase your blog traffic.
You do a Google search and the top two results for it are as follows:
- “AnaHoffman.com”
- “TrafficGenerationCafe.com”
Which one would you believe provides the website traffic strategies you are looking for? Which one would you choose over the other?
See my point?
Sure it’s nice to have YourName.com as your domain name: it’s flattering, boosts our egos, and… well, that’s about it.
Unless you are a household name, like Seth Godin or say Chris Brogan, I strongly suggest that you let your domain name reflect the essence of your niche, your main theme.
Don’t get me wrong; I am not saying you shouldn’t own YourName.com. Quite the contrary, I definitely think you should purchase it.
Just don’t use it as your primary domain, that’s all.
As Chris Brogan said:
“The biggest mistake I made in branding was not calling my site something like ‘Incredible Monkey’ or whatever… I’ve turned down three serious offers to sell it, because really, who would own my name?”
And here’s another one from Jason Falls:
“The biggest advantage to going DBA or brand versus your name is that the blog/brand/company can evolve into something much bigger and more valuable than one person’s perspective. It can grow into a company, media outlet, etc., that can be monetized, bought, sold and so on.
Mashable is a valuable media outlet. It wouldn’t be if it were just PeteCashmore.com.
Social Media Explorer is now not just a blog but a company that is growing. I could feasibly sell it within 5-10 years for far more digits than if I’d made JasonFalls.com my primary brand. In that case, the only person I could probably sell it to is a county commissioner in North Carolina who probably wouldn’t give me more than $100 for it.”
What’s right for YOUR business? It depends…
More tips on how to pick a great domain name:
- Make it as short as possible.
- Don’t use words that are easy to misspell.
- Buy a .com domain.
- Use your main keywords in it if you can.
- Make it easy to remember – great for direct traffic.
- Stay away from hyphens and numbers.
Fun and catchy is always a plus; although this guy might’ve overdone it by a cinch – www.the-name-i-wanted-was-already-taken-so-i-used-a-lot-of-dashes.com. Did I mention not to use hyphens?
What to do if you already have a domain name, but don’t think it’s working for your blog?
Change it.
Yes, it’s a pain in the neck.
But if you look at the long-term benefits, they usually far outweigh any short-term hassle this move might cause.
I did it when I killed my first blog.
Instead of creating a brand new blog from scratch, I created Traffic Generation Cafe using my first blog as a foundation. Since it already had some traffic and content, it only made sense.
My friend Jane Sheeba recently did it as well and wrote this great tutorial on how to do it step by step.
Top 10 Domain Name Suggestion Tools
NameStation
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- Create all sorts of names with keywords, concepts and categories;
- Uses 18 different ways to generate domain names;
- You can also get paid to suggest great domain names;
- You do need to sign up for a free account to use this domain name suggestion tool.
Name.com
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- Searches by domain, keyword, or phrase
- Analyzes what you’re trying to communicate with your domain,
- locates alternative words and/or phrases to communicate the same meaning,
- searches for all available domains that can be registered in multiple extensions and languages.
DomainsBot
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- name spinner,
- expired and expiring domain name search,
- for sale domains,
- whois lookup and registration.
DomainTools
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- Name spinning;
- Typo finder;
- Bulk check;
- Domain auctions;
- and more.
NameTumbler
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- Combine your keyword with other parts of speech (adjectives, etc)
- Choose keyword placement;
- Check availability.
BulkTopia
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- Delivers a crap load of useful information with just one click.
- Get stuff like domain age, Page Rank, number of backlinks and Facebook and Twitter availability.
- Backorder your target domains as well as bid and buy available domains via a handful of the web’s most popular domain name registrars.
DomainIt
Domainr
Domainr is great for finding short domain names – that’s how I came up with a short URL for Traffic Generation Café - tgcafe.it.
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- Search Domainr to see possible domains from your query, including popular ones like .co, .com and .net.
- Try accented characters and diacritics to see internationalized domains, as well as Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese and Hindi scripts.
- Country domains like .io, .es, and .me.
- Second-level domains like co.uk, org.au, and net.nz.
- Sponsored domains like .asia, .jobs, and .mobi.
- Internationalized domains like ☺.com, 丿乀.com, and ☃.net.
UnitedDomains
This is a different kind of domain name suggestion animal.
Starting in the fall of 2013, there will be more domain extensions release like .WEB, .SHOP, .HOTEL, .SITE, and many more.
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- allows you to pre-register your next domain name using any of the upcoming new extension releases.
Here’s how domain name pre-registration works:
Once you set up a free account, simply search for names that you are interested in. Add those names to your cart and UnitedDomains will add them to a list in your account.
There is nothing binding about pre-registrations, so you can change your mind and delete names from your account if you decide you’re no longer interested in them.
When they have full information about the new domains, including pricing and any eligibility requirements for registration, you will be notified by email. UnitedDomains will let you know the details, and you can decide at that point if you would like to go ahead with the registration or decline the offer. Once you’ve confirmed your interest in your pre-registered domains, they will attempt to register those domains at the earliest possible opportunity for you.
Of course, pre-registering for domains doesn’t guarantee that they are yours when they finally come out, but this is your best shot at getting the best domain name with a new hot extension the second it becomes available.
Dot-o-mator
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- Just enter a word (or words) in the left box, and choose some endings (or enter your own).
- Click to combine them.
- If you see a name you like, you can check its availability or save it to your scratchboard.
SquadHelp
Domain Name Suggestion Features:
- Paid tool, but definitely worth mentioning.
- Allows you to start a naming contest to get domain name suggestions for actual people (let them do all the legwork);
- On an average, a $50 contest would give you more than 100 domain name suggestions.
Domain Name Suggestion Tools Marketing Takeaway
Well, there you go – now you’ve got all the domain name suggestion tools you need/want to help you to come up with your next great domain name, short URL, or even pre-register your future domain name with a new trendy extension.
If you have any more suggestions to add to the list, I’d love to hear from you.
