How to Choose a Domain Name: 10 Tips and 4 Mistakes to Avoid in 2026

A domain name is the name of your URL. It’s a web address written in plain language that corresponds to a unique IP address. Without domain names, we’d have to remember IP addresses like 31.13.71.36 instead of Facebook.com. That makes them convenient, but for businesses, their function goes beyond convenience. Your business domain name is a critical branding asset that affects trust, professionalism, and searchability.

In practical terms, choosing the right domain name for a business carries incredible weight, but it’s becoming more challenging than ever. This is because the market continues to grow rapidly. There were 16.2 million more domain registrations in Q3 2025 compared to the previous year, leaving increasingly fewer options on the table.[1]

This guide will walk you through choosing a domain name that strengthens your brand and supports your business goals. You'll learn what makes a domain effective, common mistakes to avoid, and where to register your domain once you've made your choice.

10 tips for choosing a domain name

Choosing the right domain name is a critical decision because — rare exceptions aside — you’re stuck with the name you picked. Most domain registrars don’t offer refunds or exchanges. The few that do provide an extremely narrow window to make the request.

Put another way, once you click the buy button on a domain, you're usually locked in.

If you change your mind, you won’t be able to just tap backspace on your keyboard. You’ll have to register another domain, and if your site is already getting some traffic, there’s an entire process you’d need to follow to ensure that both visitors and search engines find you under the new domain.

All that being said, it’s obvious that choosing a domain name is something you don’t want to fumble. Follow the tips below to ensure that your first attempt doesn’t require a second attempt:

1. Check for existing trademarks

If you haven’t registered your business yet and plan to match your domain name to your business name, you should first check whether someone already has the legal rights to the name. This helps prevent costly court battles down the line.

If you’re located in the U.S., you can check here:

• https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search
• https://publicrecords.copyright.gov/

GoDaddy also offers a tutorial on how to check for trademarks.

2. Keep it short and memorable

Yes, you've probably heard this before, but it's worth repeating: A short domain name is easier to remember, type, and share than a long one.

For example, if you're launching an online jewelry store and both lunasjewelry.com and lunasjewelrystore.com are available, go with the shorter version. In general, aim for 15 characters or fewer, so it looks good on a business card without needing a tiny font.

3. Use a domain name generator to explore options

Domain name generators can sometimes unearth some good domains, but they’re not a miracle solution. If your business is in a crowded field, then you’ll have to parse through a lot of useless domain variations. However, you may find some gems.

Namecheap has a good domain name generator that lets you input multiple keywords related to your business, set price ranges, and filter by top-level domain (TLD):

4. Test your domain out loud with others

Before committing, say your domain idea out loud to a few people and ask them to spell it back to you. If more than half of your listeners spell it incorrectly or seem confused, your ideal domain might be too complicated or unclear. Make sure you have a decent sample size so you’re not making decisions based on only three responses.

5. Prioritize .com in most cases if it's available

Between 37% to 44% of all registered websites use .com, making it the most recognized and trusted extension on the internet.[2][3] This trust translates into higher click-through rates when your site appears in search results, as many users (particularly those who are less tech-savvy) instinctively gravitate toward .com domains. If a .com is available, it's usually your best bet (though there are exceptions: see tip #7).

6. Consider niche-specific .com alternatives if .com is unavailable

If your preferred .com is taken, alternatives like .co, .net, or industry-specific extensions such as .shop, .photography, and .design have become increasingly recognized and trusted. Profession-focused TLDs like .esq, .doctor, and .dentist can even boost credibility by immediately signaling your specialty. These alternatives work well when your preferred .com isn't available.

7. Use geographic targeting for defined local markets

Brick-and-mortar businesses, or those serving a specific geographic area, should consider targeting their potential customer base by location. There are three common ways to do this:

Country-code TLDs (e.g., .co.uk, .ca, or .de): These can boost your visibility in local search results, as Google prioritizes them for regional queries.[4] For example, londoncoffee.co.uk may rank higher for UK searchers than londoncoffee.com.

City or region TLDs (e.g., .miami, .nyc, or .tokyo): Similar to country-specific domains, these signal geographic relevance to local customers and can help with local SEO while also creating a memorable brand identity.

Location as part of the domain name (e.g., matchainmiami.com): While geo-keywords won't directly boost rankings, they help users immediately understand your service area and can improve click-through rates when your site appears in Google search results.

8. Use relevant keywords for clarity, but not for SEO optimization

As you saw in the previous tip, including keywords in your domain (like matchainmiami.com) helps users understand what you offer, which can improve trust and click-through rates.

However, stuffing keywords into your domain to boost your search rankings “won't give you any recognizable SEO advantage," according to Google's John Mueller.[5]

9. Think about your long-term vision

Your web address should match your business ambitions:

If you're certain you'll stay hyper-focused (e.g., selling only paintbrushes), a specific domain like joespaintbrushes.com signals expertise and helps you stand out in your niche.

If you plan to expand your offerings (e.g., starting with paintbrushes and later adding other art supplies), go broader from the start with something like joesartsupplies.com so you don’t get pigeonholed as the “paintbrush-only” shop.

If you're unsure about future growth, buy both versions now so you don't need to stress about the broader domain being unavailable if you decide to expand down the road.

10. Check matching social media handles

Before committing to a domain, verify that it is available on major social platforms like Instagram, X, YouTube, and Facebook. Exact matches are ideal, but slight variations, such as adding "official" or "the," work fine if needed.

However, if your desired name is taken across all major platforms, it likely means someone else has already established the brand, which circles back to tip #1 (check existing trademarks).

4 domain name mistakes to avoid

Now that you understand the do’s of choosing a domain name, it’s important to also review the don’ts. They deserve equal consideration in your domain selection process. Here’s how to avoid common domain name mistakes:

1. Avoid words with multiple spellings or unconventional spelling

Words like "gray" vs. "grey" or "express" vs. "xpress" create confusion. If someone hears your domain and has to guess the spelling, you'll lose traffic to typos. If a commonly misspelled word is part of your company name (e.g., Salon Xpress, Gray’s Art Studio), consider registering both variations (if available) and redirecting one to the other (Google “how to set up 301 redirect”).

2. Watch out for awkward letter combinations

Be careful of domains that contain three or more sequential instances of the same letter or that have confusing character runs. For example, expresssushi.com has three s's, bestuffedanimals.com can be misread due to overlapping word boundaries, and beststuffedanimals.com has awkward repetitive consonants (“stst”).

3. Don’t use numbers and hyphens (most of the time)

Numbers create confusion (is it "5" or "five"?), and hyphens are easy to forget or misplace when typing. Imagine explaining miami-car-deals-4-every1.com over the phone. Sure, it can be done, but it’s awkward and easy to forget.

The one exception is if your brand name legitimately includes a number (e.g., Studio54), then owning it makes sense. Otherwise, avoid numbers (and hyphens) entirely.

4. Keep it timeless — avoid slang and trendy words

Unless it's for a short-term project, resist the urge to use current slang or trendy language in your domain, as it can quickly become outdated. Take, for example, "on fleek,” which was very popular in 2014 but has since been replaced by "rizz."

While it might feel tempting to launch rizzjeans.com to cash in on the current trend, in a few years, it will sound as outdated as jeansonfleek.com sounds now.

How to check if a domain name is available

Now that you understand what to look for (and avoid) when choosing a domain, let’s talk about checking domain availability.

This is much simpler because every domain registrar checks availability before letting you make a purchase. If your desired name is taken, they'll inform you and typically suggest similar alternatives. In other words, all you have to do is choose a registrar, and the process will take care of the rest.

However, if you have several domain ideas that you’d like to check in advance, before heading to the registrar, you can do so with a free service like bustaname.com. Just type in your desired domain name into the Quick Domain Check box, and it will immediately tell you whether the .com, .net, and .org are available or taken:

For less common TLDs, you'll need to check availability directly with your chosen registrar, as most third-party checkers focus on the major extensions like .com and .org.

Namecheap is once again a great option for this purpose. It offers a comprehensive search tool that covers hundreds of domain extensions — just enter your desired name, and you'll see if it’s available:

Namecheap also has extremely competitive promo pricing on domains with very fair renewal rates (and great web hosting).

Bottom line

A well-chosen domain name conveys trust to customers, makes your business easier to find, and builds a strong online presence. Take your time evaluating your options using the tips above, test potential domains with real people, and register as soon as you've made your decision.

If you haven't chosen a domain registrar yet, consider GoDaddy or Namecheap. GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain registrar, while Namecheap is the second largest.[6] Both will give you plenty of domain options, and if you sign up for a shared hosting plan, they will also throw in a free domain name for one year (on select TLDs).

Of the two, Namecheap will generally offer lower rates, but for the absolute lowest long-term savings, go with Cloudflare Registrar. It sells domains at cost with no markup and includes free DNS, a free SSL, and free domain privacy with all domain purchases.

On a final note, after you register your domain, don’t forget to keep it secure by choosing a strong password and enabling two-factor authorization. Also, consider turning on auto-renewal and transfer lock for additional peace of mind.

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