Lots of rumours have hit the online environment about the exact-match-domains being de-valuated and although this article does not say they are the perfect choice, if a long tail keyword has “its” domain name free you should probably get it as well, as part of your “arsenal”.

Here are the main characteristics a good domain name should have:

1. It should be a brand-able domain name

Try to avoid difficult domain names even if they contain your desired keywords. Catchy, short, easy to remember ones are great for a brand (Twitter, Fiverr anyone?).

2. .com, .net, .org? Which one?

Though dot com domain names are still the most valuable domain names, finding an opportunity on dot net or dot org does not change the game at all. They are easy to optimise as well and can make the difference between finding a good domain name and “just another domain name”.

3. Search engine friendly domain names

Whether we are talking about EMDs (exact match domains) or just brand-able domains that also contain some major keywords, being search engine friendly gives your website a nice push right from the start.

4. Plural or singular?

This is an easy one: if you see potential in a domain name it does not matter which one you choose. However, it is better to register both of them in case someone else decide to use the other variant of your domain name.

5. Hyphens

Although hyphenated domain names can be search engine friendly as well, in terms of real users they should be avoided. It is very easy for people to forget whether your website was cures-for-acne.com or curesfor-acne.com, thus landing on a different website instead of getting on your site.