Choosing a Domain Name

When you make the decision to jump into the world wide web world your very first consideration is choosing a domain name. This is simply going to be the name of your website and costs less than $10 a year. Not bad, eh? For the purpose of a raffle site picking a domain name is a pretty straight forward however there are things to consider.

No that you’ve realized the benefits of having a separate stand alone raffle site we can get down to the fun stuff. Choosing a domain name is the first step on your road to creating your own site. This is fun stuff! If this is all new and weird don’t worry. We’ll go in baby steps!

A few quick rules of domain names…

1) If at all possible go with a .com name. Avoid using .net, .org, .name or any of the others. The .com name is the staple, the most understood, the most recognized and overall the best way to go. Keep it mainstream.

I love the "Dummies" books...great place to start!

2) Make the name easy to remember and easy to relate. Choosing something like our-gr8-raffle-site.com” is hard to say, hard to tell people about and very easy to forget. Keep it short, keep it simple. You’ll be not only promoting this online but also on flyers, maybe in newspaper ads, maybe on the radio and for sure telling people about it. Keep it simple.

3) Avoid hyphens at all costs. This has to do with search engines and your placement in organic searches. It’s tempting sometimes to go for the hyphen, just don’t do it. There is almost always a better way to phrase your domain name without using a hyphen.

4) Get at least one keyword in the domain name, two if you can. You’re holding a raffle, right? Get the word raffle in the domain name. Keep in mind that, especially, if you’re holding an annual raffle, this domain name is going to be the site you send people to. If your organization is “Bob’s School” try “BobsSchoolRaffle.com.” If you are always going to be raffling a certain type of vehicle like a Harley-Davidson, year after year, then maybe try and reflect that in the domain name. Maybe “BobsBikeRaffle.com” or “BobsHarleyRaffle.com.”

5) Be patient. You may go into the process with a name or two in mind. It can be tough to find the .com domain name you want. Take your time. Look at a bunch of different options and feel it out. It’s been my experience that after I go into the process of getting what I think is the perfect domain name and it’s already taken I wind up with one that’s even better. Take your time and enjoy the process!

6) Avoid numbers, misspellings, “clever” spellings, or anything “funky.” Keep it simple. Simple is good. Simple is easy to relate, simple to say, simple to remember. See?

7) I use GoDaddy.com for all my domains. There are tons of places online to buy domains but I’ve mostly been let down in someway by most of the others. The GoDaddy.com site is simple to use, totally secure, can be trusted and their support staff is fantastic. The longest I’ve ever been on hold is three minutes. Usually I get a rep right away. They have a great domain name tool that suggests different and similar names as you go. Very helpful.

Use the above rules to get you rolling. When you’re looking for a domain name find a few you think are good and then ask your friends and coworkers. It’s amazing what you hear when you ask, “What do you think of this domain name for our raffle site?” Remember you’re shooting for a broad audience. Above all, have fun!