Understanding what Makes a Good Domain Name

A good domain name is:

• Easy to say in person. It's unwieldy to say "digit" before a number in aURL, or the word "dash" or "hyphen"; besides, people have a hard time finding the dash character on a keyboard.
  
  
• Easy to understand over the radio or on the phone. Words that include the ess and eff sounds are often confused when listening, as are certain consonant pairs like b/p, c/z, or d/t. If you're selling in other countries, confusion between English consonants is different, such as b/v in Spanish or r/l in Japanese.
  
  
• Easy to spell. Using homonyms might be a clever way to get around a competitor who already owns a name you'd like to have; however, you're just as apt to drive traffic to your competitor as to gain some for yourself. Also, try to avoid foreign words, words that are deliberately misspelled just because they are available (for example, valu rather than value), or words that are frequently misspelled
  
  
• Easy to type. The longer the URL, the more likely a typo. Your domain name can be as long as 59 characters, but unskilled typists average an error every 7 keystrokes!
  
  
• Easy to read in print and online ads. You can insert capital letters or use a different color for compound domain names to make them easier to read. Be sure your domain name can also be read easily in black and white, and in a logotype if you design one
  
  
• Easy to read in the address toolbar. You can't use colors or capitalization to distinguish parts of a compound name or acronym in address or search engine boxes. Depending on the browser fonts set by the user, the letters m, n, or r next to each other (mrnrnm) are very hard to read, as are the characters l/i (lilllil), or the similar digit/letter combination of 1/l.
  
  
• Easy to remember. Words or phrases are easier to remember than a stream of letters in an acronym, unless your target audience already knows the acronym from extensive branding (for example, AARP). Your domain name may be, but doesn't need to be, your business name, unless you enjoy a preexisting brand identity