Securing a good domain name is easier than a decade ago. The proliferation of top-level domains means short and catchy names are obtainable, and there’s no longer an organic ranking benefit to a .com.
The necessity of a findable brand name is now crucial. Shoppers are discovering brands and products via generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, and DeepSeek, as well as on social sites such as Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram — despite having no links to click.
The result is consumers discover a brand and then search for it on Google, Bing, and similar engines, producing more clicks and impressions for branded terms. The trend will likely grow as genAI platforms become mainstream.
Hence memorable domain names are both available and crucial.
Here are my search-engine optimization considerations for a new domain.
Avoid Generic Names
Years ago domain names influenced organic search rankings. A keyword-focused domain was critical. No more. To Google and others, domain names alone do not imply relevancy.
Yet bland, nondescript domains are easily forgotten, thus complicating visibility in branded searches.
Seek a name that implies a niche and is memorable. Tools such as Namify can help.
Namify offers brand name suggestions, such as this example for “A brand that offers unique fashion design.”
Assess Brand Competitors
The expansion of top-level domains means multiple companies can register the same name on, say, .com, .co, .biz., and .us. Search for the name you’re considering. If another company ranks for it, even in a different niche, carefully consider whether you could compete with it on branded queries.
Tools such as Moz and Semrush measure and track domain authority and organic traffic history. Both help assess the organic brand-search strength of would-be competitors.
Semrush says Dunkindonuts.com has a “71” authority score.
Avoid Apparent Misspellings
Google automatically generates results for the correct spelling of a query if it considers it misspelled. Thus seemingly clever spellings of prominent terms could backfire.
Avoid branded domain names that trigger automated corrections by search engines. Consumers will search for a new brand if they see it in an ad or an email. They likely won’t find it if the search engine thinks it’s an error.
Google thinks “asable” should be “aceable.”