I just had dinner with a friend of mine, we’ll call him G. He was stressing about finding a domain name for the IT company he started to “break free“.

If you want a great domain (not just a good one) and you’ve got $1000, buy one at sedo.com. It’s far easier than struggling to find one that hasn’t been taken yet.

But assuming you want to find one that is undiscovered and only pay $5.99 to register it…here is how you should proceed.

• Set a deadline for yourself (or your team) when you will have the domain decided, NO MATTER WHAT. Deciding on any domain, even if it’s not the absolute best in the world, is far better than delaying the decision and wasting weeks of time.
• Avoid the temptation to start typing in random domains off the top of your head. This is unproductive and will leave you quickly discouraged.
• Instead do an effective brainstorm – not of domains, but of individual words that describe your customers, ideals, products, etc
• Do the brainstorm on paper or a white board. Don’t ask me why but physically writing helps you be more creative.
• Brainstorm in a group of 2-5 people if possible.
• Try not to judge or evaluate any idea during the brainstorm. This will be tough not to laugh at some ideas or immediately discount them, but try not to! It will stifle the creative process.
• Once you have a word written, branch off of it with other words that come to mind.
• Try combining the words into potential domains. Write new words as they come to mind.
• Force yourself to create at least 20 combinations. Check the availability of these at a site like GoDaddy.
• Add the most exciting ones to your “top list” for later review
• Go to Bust a Name and put in some of your words from the brainstorm. Add synonyms where necessary. Add the best ones to your “top list”.
• Visit MakeWords.com and come up with 10 more combinations. Take your most important word and try adding different words to the beginning or end with MakeWords.com. Add a few more to your “top list”
• Do some keyword research and try to determine what your customers would type into Google when looking for you. Use those keywords as your domain. Important Side Note: You will most likely get on the first page of Google for that keyword within 30 days just for having that domain! Add a few more to your “top list”
• Most likely your top choice will be taken. Try adding one of these words to the beginning or end of your perfect domain: pro, [your first/last name], [your city], e, i, my, online, home, web, net, live, source, zone, hub, page(s), the.
• You guessed it…add a few more to your “top list”

Now you have your “top list” with all your best options. Eliminate any that are clearly not going to win to shrink the list. Shrink the list further by the following criteria.

• How easy is the domain to spell? Does it contain a word people frequently misspell or a word that sounds like another word (higher vs. hire)?
• How well does the domain suggest what your company does (www.ibuildwebsites.com vs. www.joespage.com)? What word association takes place when people hear your domain?
• How memorable is the domain?
• Does the domain improve your search engine rankings by using your keyword in the domain?

Once the list is narrowed, send a mini survey to your friends and ask them to pick their favorite. Tally the results. The ultimate decision is yours…just make sure you MAKE IT before the deadline.

Realize that you will never be sure about your decision at the time you have to make it. That’s ok, make it anyway and relish in the fact that you accomplished something today. As self-employed people who have “broken free” we must become comfortable with indecision.

What others tips/tricks did you use to find your domain name?