Choosing a good domain name is essential in building a great blog. When it comes to picking a good domain name, there are many criteria one must keep in mind.

1. A domain name should reflect your business - Believe it or not, there are many bloggers that use their own name as their domain name. Unless you're a celebrity, this is not recommended. First of all, it does not clear the air on what the blog is all about, and secondly, it does not help you in search engines. Although a good domain name does not necessarily have to be related to the nature of the blog, it's always recommended to do so.

2. Make It Easy To Remember - Domain with an easy to remember name are more likely to spread by word of mouth. You don't want to be the company with terrific website that no one can remember to tell their friends because they can't remember the domain name.

3. Choose a .com - If you are debating between several different domain names, go with the .com. It's what most people think of when they are typing in a domain name. It's true the best names are gone, but you can still find a good .com if you look. Thousands of .coms expire and are released back in the market each month so there is always a steady supply of new domains coming into the market.

4. Keep it short - Although some places allow you to register a name with up to 63 characters, you have to keep in mind that people need to be able to remember it, and easily type it into their browser. Try to register the shortest name that your customers and visitors will associate with your Website. The general rule of thumb is, keep it under seven characters if possible. (Not including the suffix.)

5. Avoid hyphens and numbers - Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type. I'd suggest not using spelled-out or roman numerals in domains, as both can be confusing and mistaken for the other.

6. Keep it simple - Make sure the domain name is easy for people to spell. Don't spell words unusually. Unless you have incredible branding, people will type in the common spelling of your domain and your competition will get visitors who were looking for you. For example, BlueRight.com is much better than BluRite.com

As choosing a good domain name is an important step in building a great blog, it is best to brainstorm a few domain names before making the final decision.