Odd SEO

Ok, the first thing first. Why I selected such a domain name?

There are a lot of tips on how to select a good domain name. I followed this theory by AjiNIMC on how to select a good domain name.

[Video: How to select a good domain name by AjiNIMC]

I was brainstorming to find a good domain name for over a month. The primary criterion was that, it should be simple, short and catchy. It must have the word SEO (Primary keyword in the domain name) in it.

In the process, I selected 5 domain names. I created teasers (like real advertisement) for each domain name and pasted each of them in my office cube for seven days one by one. And the first impression everyone took about Odd SEO is ‘What the hell is that!!’ I just liked the shock factor in their eyes and voice and felt great. It passed the billboard test.

I called up some of my friends (one by one) over phone and said that I have found a good blog - oddseo.com. After a few days I rang them back and asked ‘do you remember that I was talking about a good blog a few days back? Do you remember the name - I forgot to bookmark it’. Most of them (80%) remembered the name and some of them even tried to visit the site. It passed the voice test.

And I am done. I booked the domain name.

As I am in the SEO field for a long time, some things always play at the back of my mind that a newcomer would definitely miss. So for everyone, these are the things you should also follow to select a good domain name:

1. It must be short, catchy and rhythmic. (less than 12 characters - the smaller - the better)

2. It should sound well (positively or negatively)

3. If you are not going for generic name, make sure that you have enough advertisement budgets and time to promote a meaningless word like Google. And if you go for a generic name, do not stuff it with keywords. Have mercy on real visitors. If the visitors are happy, search engines would be happy too.

4. Make sure that people can remember the name and spelling easily. Try to misspell it, if misspelling is possible, be sure that people will do that.

5. A good domain name can help you a lot in supporting a brand image that you are going to create. [This was a primary reason for selecting oddseo.com]. A good domain name also helps a lot in establishing a character. Pick one that says about you clear and loud.

6. If you are thinking about international market - go for .com domain.

7. No hyphen please.

8. The domain name must be the one that you can or you would be using as the brand name or the company name. There is no meaning in using oddseo.com as the domain name for Roy’s Blog. Visitors’ attention and association may get diverted.

9. Brainstorm - do not always use tools.