Great (and even not so great) domains are taken in seconds by domain sellers. They are domain hoarders who hope to make big bucks later on by selling the catchy domain name. 

This is the first hurdle you need to get over.

The domain you were thinking about is probably taken already.

But don't give up yet, there is a lot of hope still!

At the end of the day your domain makes very little difference in your bank account. You taking action today and your content on that site, on the other hand, makes a huge difference to your bank account.

I have many domains I don't think are the best but they still work like magic.

Stop mourning for the domain name you could not get, and start thinking about new ones with the help of the list below. 

Domain ending .com is still by far the most popular domain url and I highly recommend using it if possible in anyway. 

Even a not so great domain with .com ending is better than a clever .somethingelse.

There are new domain ending like .coach, .io and all but people still tend to type .com at the end. If you competitor owns the .com version, guess who the online searcher will end up buying from?

There are many successful non .com businesses (like leadpages.net), and  .co is gaining popularity, but I still recommend .com when ever possible.

Start Googling websites in your niche and write down all the URL's you find. Nothing better than spying on your competitors to get ideas! 

As an added bonus, you also learn a lot about what they do and what they sell! Double benefit!

This will start your creative juices going and get you closer to your ideal domain name.

If you don't come up with many ideas by spying on your competition, go beyond it. 

Add to your list all of the URL's you've seen and liked. 

You can also check blog aggregators and sites like Blogger to get even more ideas.

Use this awesome tool to add couple thousand of adjectives instantly to your list.

With the list of words you have, do a few of them look good with your name attached? 

DeliciouslyElla.com is a great example where a word + name works beautifully (and profitably!)

Or you could just go with...

Using your own name may not feel as exciting of descriptive enough vs using SellingMadeEasyOnline.com, but it just might be the right thing to do.

No matter what niche you are in, your name should be one of the candidates for your URL.

When I started online I did not want to use my name. Nowadays I don't even remember why I was so against it but I do remember it being a big no-no for a long time.

Silly me!

This website would have been way bigger and have much higher authority if I stated using my own name from the get go...

By now you have a list of potential names and lot of words on a piece of paper. Start connecting words together and see if something comes up together nicely.

While you are at this stage, you could pop the name on Google and see what kind of search results come up.

If you find couple of potential options, it is time to check if the domain is available. You can do so safely at Namecheap. Read later why I wrote down safely.

Found a domain that is available at Namecheap? Great, here's what to do next.

One of my main criteria for a great domain is that all social handles must be available and preferably an exact match to the domain name.

I use service called Namecheckr to see if social handles are available or not. If I get a green light for Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest and Twitter, the domain idea is good to go.

If you actively use other social platforms as well, do check those, but the minimum requirement is the 5 major ones listed above.

I think it is really important to have a single handle for all social platforms. It is worth to be consistent on this one. 

You do not want to end up like this...

Domain: greatdomain.com
Youtube: greatdomainNM
Facebook: great-domain
Twitter: greatdomain123
Instagram: greatdomainnnnn

and so on...

Nobody has long enough attention span on social platforms to start searching for you! Consistency is the key.

There are couple of no-no's when it comes to URL's. These are not set in stone but a good guidance to follow.

There are couple of types of domain I do not suggest using. 

First, domains with hyphens. I am not a fan of a - in the middle of the domain.

I do recommend staying away from - on the domain. Here's why...

If your competitor has the domain without the "-", they most likely thank you for reserving the domain and giving them lot of free traffic. 

Second, using numbers in domains. Potential for disaster...

10greatdomains.com can also be spelled TENgreatdomains.com

How would your reader know which one is yours?

You can opt for a number only if you reserve both domains - both the number 10 and written TEN versions.

Here's a bit of a warning before you go use blog/website name generators. Many are totally OK to use but there are few nasty ones out there (you can't tell this though until it's too late) that record your searches and reserve the domain and then later try to sell it to you. 

If there is a sign up form on the generator before you can use it or see suggestions - run!

Once you have the good enough (!) domain, it is time to reserve it and all the social handles.

A good enough domain is better than no domain! A good enough domain can bring you money, no domain keeps you stuck.

My go-to domain host is Namecheap. I have used them for years and never had a single issue. They also give you free domain owner privacy which many others charge for!