How do I pick my domain name?

Most business owners pick their domain name the way they pick a parking spot: they take the first one that's open. Aaron Patzer, founder of Mint.com, put it bluntly: "Most people choose their name because the domain is available. That's a really bad idea." The name of your business is a decade-long decision. The availability of one URL is a Tuesday accident.

The right order is backwards from what most people do: choose the strongest name for your business first, then solve for the domain. With more than 360 million domain names already registered, almost no perfect .com is sitting there waiting for you — and that's fine. There are legitimate fallbacks, from aftermarket purchases to niche-aligned extensions. What you can't fix later is a weak name chosen because it happened to be free.

The hidden costs of the wrong name compound quietly. Every time a customer can't spell it, you pay in lost traffic. Jason Calacanis's rule is the one to remember: "If you have to spell it over the phone, you've lost." The hosting company UnoEuro rebranded to Simply.com for exactly this reason — customers couldn't consistently pronounce or spell the original name.

Then there are the traps that feel clever at the time:

• Trend-chasing names. AI-related registrations boomed — 300,000 "AI"-ending gTLD names in 2023 alone, up 67% — but registry data warns trend-driven names are unpredictable as trends wax and wane. A domain is permanent; a hype cycle isn't.
• Intentional misspellings. Dropping vowels or swapping letters might get you the available .com, but every misspelling is a customer who lands on someone else's site.
• Failing the radio test. If someone hears your name on a podcast or from a friend and can't type it correctly the first time, the domain isn't working.

The pattern behind all three traps is the same: optimizing for availability today instead of memorability for the next ten years. As Owen Morton puts it, "Marketing is temporary. Strategy changes constantly. A domain is permanent."

When we build websites at AI Business Sites, the domain is registered in the client's name from day one — precisely because it's the one asset they'll keep no matter what else changes. Choose it like it's permanent, because it is.

Your domain name is the one piece of your website you can't easily fix later — and the founders who paid premium prices for theirs say the same four things about what makes a name work. Strip away the debates about extensions and trends, and a checklist emerges that almost every expert agrees on.

1. It's memorable. Short, pronounceable, brandable names are in growing demand, especially among SaaS and tech companies, according to domain market observers. The reason is simple: a name people can hold in their heads gets typed directly into browsers and repeated in conversations. Jannick Malling of Public.com put it plainly: "What's easy to remember, becomes easier to trust" (Defining.com case studies).

2. It's easy to spell. If people can't spell it, they can't find you. The European hosting company UnoEuro learned this the hard way — the company rebranded to Simply.com because customers couldn't consistently pronounce or spell the original name. That's a full rebrand triggered entirely by a spelling problem.

3. It passes the radio test. Imagine a listener hears your domain once on a podcast and has to find it later. Jason Calacanis's version is blunt: "If you have to spell it over the phone, you've lost" (founder interviews). No hyphens, no double letters, no clever misspellings that force explanation.

4. It builds trust. A domain isn't just an address — industry analysts describe it as a crucial branding component that shapes how your market perceives you. The proof is in the outcomes: after moving to Cover.com, founder Karn Saroya said conversions rose immediately because "we're in the trust business" (case studies). Public.com reported 2–3X conversion improvements on digital ads after securing its exact-match .com.

Here's the four-point checklist in one glance:

• Memorable — short and pronounceable without effort
• Easy to spell — no hyphens, no ambiguous letters
• Passes the radio test — heard once, found later
• Builds trust — signals a legitimate, established business

One warning before you compromise: don't pick your business name based on which domain happens to be available. Aaron Patzer, who bought Mint.com for $182,000 plus equity, called that approach "a really bad idea" (Defining.com). Choose the right name first, then solve the domain problem — through alternatives, negotiation, or the aftermarket.

When we register a domain for a client at AI Business Sites, it goes in the client's name — because a domain that passes all four tests is an appreciating asset, and it should belong to the business it represents, not the vendor who set it up.

Every business owner hits the same wall: the perfect .com is taken, and now what? The good news is that the data on domain extensions is clearer than the heated forum debates suggest — and it points to a sensible default with legitimate exceptions.

The .com remains the gold standard for a reason. Founders consistently argue that "your exact brand plus dotcom" is the ideal, and that anything else can weaken perceived credibility. Tim Campos, former Facebook CTO, put it bluntly: as soon as you introduce a "trick" like getwoven.com or woven.app, "you're going to lose a percentage of those [users]. DotCom is where people default." The problem is scarcity — traditional extensions like .com, .net, and .org are saturated, and industry observers note that even average one-word .coms face intense competition.

When .com isn't an option, repurposed country-code extensions are a legitimate fallback — not a compromise. Extensions like .io (tech), .ai, .me, and .co have gone mainstream among startups for their simplicity and global appeal. Critically, Verisign's registry data confirms Google treats these repurposed ccTLDs as generic — in May 2023 it added .ai to its "Generic Country Code Top Level Domains" list, its first change in over a decade. That means a .ai domain won't accidentally signal you're based in Anguilla.

For local and niche businesses, the newer extensions open real doors:

• GeoTLDs like .nyc and .london are gaining traction for building hyperlocal trust, according to registrar trend analysis.
• ICANN has introduced 1,200 new gTLDs since 2012, with niche-aligned options like .shop, .app, and .BANK — .xyz alone passed 3 million registrations.
• A domain is a branding asset, not just a URL — it sits at the top of your funnel permanently.

One caution: don't chase trends. AI-related registrations boomed after ChatGPT's launch — the .ai extension grew 142% year over year to 359,000 names in 2023 — but registry data explicitly flags trend-driven registrations as unpredictable in renewal rates as hype cycles fade. A name built around today's buzzword may feel dated in five years.

The practical takeaway: pick your brand name first, then hunt for the best available extension — never the reverse. When we at AI Business Sites set up a client's site, the domain is registered in their name, so this decision stays theirs to own long-term. Default to .com, fall back confidently to .io or .ai if the fit is right, and let a geoTLD do local signalling work if that's your market.

Picking a domain name doesn't have to be a guessing game — it's a sequence, and each step protects you from the most common mistakes. Here's the process that experienced founders follow, in order.

Step 1: Choose the name before you check availability. Aaron Patzer, founder of Mint.com, called it "a really bad idea" to pick a name just because the domain is free. Your name should come from your business, not from a registrar's search box. Brainstorm options that describe what you do and who you serve.

Step 2: Run the tests. Say each candidate out loud. Does it pass the radio test — could someone type it correctly after hearing it once on a phone call? As investor Jason Calacanis puts it, "If you have to spell it over the phone, you've lost." UnoEuro rebranded to Simply.com for exactly this reason: customers couldn't consistently pronounce or spell the original name.

Step 3: Check availability honestly. Most good .com names are already taken — more than 360 million domain names exist across the internet, and one-word .coms face intense competition. If your exact brand + .com is available, grab it. If not, don't panic and don't rename yet.

Step 4: Evaluate alternatives before compromising. You have legitimate options. Consider:

• Repurposed ccTLDs like .io, .co, .ai, and .me — Google treats these as generic, and in May 2023 it officially added .ai to its list of generic country-code domains
• New extensions like .shop, .online, and .site — ICANN has introduced 1,200 new gTLDs since 2012
• GeoTLDs like .nyc and .london, which are gaining traction with local businesses building regional trust
• A premium or aftermarket purchase if the name is worth it — Voice.com sold for $30 million, and founders report real returns, with Public.com seeing 2–3X conversion on digital ads after upgrading

Step 5: Register it in your own name. This step matters more than most owners realize. Your domain is a permanent branding asset — as one founder put it, "a premium domain sits at the top of your funnel forever." Make sure it's registered to you, not to whoever builds your site.

That ownership principle is one we take seriously at AI Business Sites: every domain we set up is registered in the client's name, and it stays theirs no matter what. If you'd rather spend your time running your business than running registrar searches, book a free strategy call — we'll handle the domain, the site, and everything behind it, live in 7 days.