Finding a good (available) domain can be a challenge for many businesses. Take for example a used car dealer who is opening a lot in town and wants to get a website going. He has to get a good domain name. Of course domains such as “usedcars.com” are long gone.

Most services that peddle domain names will make suggestions, and unclaimed domains like “reliable-used-cars.com,” “2ndhandcars.tv” and “peakusedcars.com” scroll across his screen.

So many choices. So many bad domain names. What’s a budding entrepreneur to do?

Here are six tips for choosing an effective domain name.

1: Focus on the idea instead of the keyword.

This definitely takes come creative thinking since those of us who live in the world of e-commerce are so centered on keywords. A good example of this approach is gotomypc.com. That simple domain name clearly communicates what the service does.

Had the brains behind GoToMyPc insisted on a keyword rich name, they might have found themselves stuck with something like freeremotedesktopsoftware.com, which wouldn’t have been nearly as effective. (Search engines are starting to decrease the ranking benefits given to websites with the keyword in the domain.)

2: Add a keyword to your name.

I know, the first tip was to steer clear of keywords, but for many businesses adding a keyword to the domain name is a good idea. It can create a domain name that is similar to one already taken and may give the new website better placement in search results. Whenever you’re dealing with a creative process like selecting a name, there aren’t hard and fast rules. There are various approaches that can sometimes take you down very different paths.

Adding a short, relevant keyword is a good option if your site will depend on organic searches. For someone who sells used cars, adding words like reliable, easy credit, or the location of the business would make a lot of sense.

3: Be careful with hyphens.

If your ideal domain name has already been taken, there’s a good chance various hyphenated names will be suggested as alternatives. Understand that people will often forget to type in the hyphens. You need to know where your visitors will end up if they omit the hyphens. Is it at your competitor’s website? Research this before you make your decision.

4: Play with words.

There might be a clever way to modify a word or add a word to your desired domain name that will work well for you. Perhaps tacking on a word like “town” or “country” to your name would land you a domain that hasn’t yet been taken: “ohiousedcarcountry.com.”

Similarly, you could shorten or put a twist on a word. Toys “R” Us used both of these tactics in their name and created a phrase that no one can forget.

The key to this approach is to create something that gets you noticed and is easy to remember. There’s no reason to twist words or add words that result in a domain name that is forgettable or impossible to type into a browser window.

5: Consider an alternate Top Level Domain name, carefully.

What sits on the right side of the “dot” in your domain name is the top level domain – “.com” is the most common. While someone may already have the “.com” version of your ideal domain name, there are others: .net, .org, .tv, .info and many more.

If your target group is in another nation or nations, you might consider using the TLD of those nations. In some cases TLDs like “.tv” or “.info” make a lot of sense. But, check out where people will go if they use the “.com” TLD with your domain name because it’s going to happen.

6: Think about length.

Although a domain name can be any length between two and 63 characters, it’s best to keep it fewer than 20 characters. Shorter is better, but don’t reduce your web presence to an acronym or abbreviation unless you’re an organization like the YMCA or FBI. It’s always preferable to form your web address using the name of your business as it is spoken.