Your domain name is your address on the internet. Pick the wrong one and you will spend years explaining how to spell it. Pick the right one and it becomes invisible, which is exactly what you want.
We have watched over 50 million people search for domains on Instant Domain Search, and the ones who find great names are not luckier. They just know what to look for.
Two approaches: brand-first or descriptive
There are two schools of thought on domain naming, and both work.
Brand-first names
Think Stripe, Notion, Slack. None of these describe what the company does. They are short, distinct, and memorable. The name becomes synonymous with the product over time.
The advantage: Flexibility. When Slack expands beyond messaging, their name does not hold them back. A name like TeamChatApp.com would.
Examples that hint at function: Calendly, Mailchimp, Shopify. Memorable first, descriptive second.
Descriptive names
The other path: say what you do in the name.
We took this route with instantdomainsearch.com. It is longer, sure. But there is zero confusion about what you will find. For tools and utilities, this works well. People searching for "domain name search" find us because our name is what they are looking for.
Examples: booking.com, bankrate.com, healthline.com. Valuable precisely because they describe a whole category.
The tradeoff: Descriptive names can box you in. If you are building a company that might evolve, brand-first gives you room to grow. If you are building a focused tool or local business, descriptive can be powerful.
Which to choose?
- Business will expand significantly? -> Brand-first
- Utility with a specific purpose? -> Descriptive works
- Trying to own a category? -> Descriptive if you can get it
What does not work: A name that is neither, like mycompany123.com, which has no brand value and no descriptive value.
Keep it short, speakable, and spellable
The best domain names pass the "radio test." Imagine someone hearing your domain on a podcast. Could they type it correctly without seeing it written down?
If you have to say "that is spelled with a Y, not an I" or "the number 4, not the word 'for'" you have already lost half your traffic to typos.
Rules that matter
- Aim for 5-16 characters. Shorter is better, but not at the expense of being pronounceable.
- Avoid hyphens. Nobody remembers them. If
freshbakery.comis taken and you are consideringfresh-bakery.com, keep looking. - Avoid numbers unless they are part of your brand. When someone hears "four" they do not know if it is "4" or "four."
- Watch for unfortunate letter combinations. Experts Exchange famously had to rebrand after purchasing
expertsexchange.com. - Skip unusual spellings. Yes, Lyft got away with it, but they had millions in marketing budget.
Two tests that work
The radio test: Say your candidates out loud to someone and ask them to spell it back. If they get it wrong, keep looking.
The paper test: Write your top candidates on paper. Stick it somewhere you will see throughout the day. Look at it with fresh eyes in the morning, after lunch, late at night. Names that seemed clever at 2am often look different at 9am. The ones that still feel right after a few days are usually keepers.
Try our business name generator to brainstorm names that pass these tests.
Choose the right extension
The part after the dot is called the TLD (top-level domain). Your choice matters more than most people think.
The case for .com
If you can get a good .com, get it.
Why: It is not that .com has magic SEO powers. It is that everyone assumes websites end in .com. When someone tries to remember your site, they will type .com by default. If that leads to a competitor or a parked page, you have lost a customer.
The reality: Good .com names are expensive or unavailable. Which brings us to alternatives.
Alternatives that work
.ai-- Exploded alongside the AI boom. If you are building anything AI-related, it is almost expected now..io-- Default for developer tools and tech startups. Recognized in tech circles, less so outside them..co-- Essentially a shorter.comat this point..agency,.studio,.design-- Industry extensions that reinforce what you do.- Country codes (
.uk,.ca,.de) -- Good for local businesses.
Use our domain extensions tool to see what is available across 600+ TLDs.
What to do when your name is taken
Most good .com names are registered. The question is whether they are actually being used.
Option 1: Buy it anyway
If someone owns the domain you want, you can often buy it. Browse premium domains to see what is on the market. If a domain is being parked, you can also reach out directly to the owner.
Makes sense when: The name is perfect for your brand and you will use it for years.
Does not make sense when: You are testing an idea that might pivot, or you found something equally good that is available.
Option 2: Find expired domains
When someone forgets to renew, domains eventually become available again. These expired domains sometimes come with existing backlinks and search history.
Caution: Check the domain's history before buying. Some expired domains were used for spam. Use the Wayback Machine (archive.org) to see what was there before.
Option 3: Get creative
If northside.com is taken:
- Add a word that fits:
northsidecoffee.com,getnorthside.com,northsidehq.com - Use a different TLD:
northside.co,northside.io - Slight variations:
northsideco.com
What not to do:
- Add random numbers:
northside123.com - Add hyphens:
north-side.com - Confusing misspellings:
northsyde.com
Our domain generator suggests variations automatically.
Validate before you commit
Before you buy, run these checks.
Trademark search
If someone owns a trademark on your desired name, using it as a domain could mean a cease-and-desist letter.
Where to search:
- US: USPTO.gov
- EU: EUIPO.europa.eu
- UK: gov.uk/search-for-trademark
Social media handles
Your domain and social handles should match or be close. Check Twitter/X, Instagram, LinkedIn, GitHub, and any platform relevant to your business.
Domain history
If buying a previously registered domain, check the Wayback Machine to see what was there before. Check who.is to see when it was first registered and who owns it. You can also search Google for the domain in quotes to see what pages linked to it.
Past spam or adult content can take years to shake off in Google's eyes.
The out-loud test
Say it in a sentence: "Check out our website at ___." Ask five people to write it down. If more than one gets it wrong, reconsider.
Common mistakes
Choosing a domain that requires explanation. If you have to tell people "it is like [word] but spelled differently," the name is too clever.
Waiting too long to register. Good domains get bought constantly. If you find something great, register it immediately. It is $12.
Overthinking it. A "perfect" name you never find is worse than a good name you launch with today. If you make something good, its name will start to seem pleasing.
Keyword stuffing. There is a difference between healthline.com and best-cheap-health-tips-free.com. The former is valuable. The latter screams 2005 SEO tactics.
Use AI to brainstorm, bulk search to filter
AI can generate hundreds of name ideas in seconds. The problem is checking which ones are actually available.
The AI workflow our users have told us they use:
- Ask ChatGPT or Claude for 100+ company name ideas. Push for more until you have 500-1,000 candidates.
- Paste them into our bulk domain search, which checks up to 1,000 domains at once.
- Filter by "available" to hide everything taken. Filter by price if you have a budget.
- You will end up with 20-50 available options. Now you have a shortlist of names that are actually possible.
- For favorites, run them through our domain generator to see prefixes, suffixes, and TLD alternatives.
Bonus: We built a free domain search MCP that you can connect to Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor to look up and check availability of domains.
Quick checklist
Before registering:
Ready to start searching?
We built Instant Domain Search to make this faster. Results appear in under 25 milliseconds as you type.
Go deeper:
- Domain generator - Instant similar suggestions
- Domain extensions - See 500+ available extensions
- Premium domains - Names already for sale
- Expired domains - Recently dropped domains
- Bulk search - Check up to 1,000 domains at once