When working on a new website, one of the things you will have to do is think of a domain name. There are various ways to approach this and if you need to look into it deeply enough, it can be very scientific. The main consideration I have when thinking of new domain names is whether it needs to be used as part of the SEO campaign or if it needs to be more of a “brandable” name.
If the domain name is to be used as part of the SEO campaign, this is often called a “discoverable” domain name. Making a domain name a part of a website’s SEO campaign is possible because the domain name is one of the factors that the search engines take into account when determining where to rank a website. If, for example, you had a website which was based around selling watches and part of your online marketing campaign was to generate traffic via search engines, then you would be wise to include keywords into your domain name.
A “brandable” domain is something that you hope will evoke interesting thoughts and feelings in people. These names are original words or metaphors that use the meaning of the website into account and which will of course not already be in use. Having a “brandable” name will also make the name of the website stand out especially if it is done correctly.
There are also other, more scientific considerations to take into account such as the linguistic design of the domain name that you choose and which can have a bearing on how well people can say and remember your name.
In summary, it is certainly worth taking time to consider what you would like to achieve with a domain name and how you foresee the website progressing over time. Is it something that you would like to see grow into a brand or do you require something a little simpler which communicates what the website is all about in a more straight forward way?
I hope that helps provide more of an insight into the thoughts processes of choosing a domain name for a website but if you would like more info or have some opinions of your own on this feel free to post a comment or get in touch!