Domain Selection
Pick an SEO-friendly domain and TLD for a new site before you commit to brand, landing pages, and long-term search positioning.
Overview
Domain Selection is an agent skill most often used in Validate (also Launch SEO and Idea research) that guides SEO-friendly domain, TLD, and brand-vs-keyword naming choices for a new site.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills --skill domain-selectionWhat is this skill?
- Compares Brand vs Partial Match vs Exact Match (EMD/PMD) domains with SEO and UX tradeoffs
- Guides TLD selection including .com, .io, and .ai with readability and perception notes
- Covers domain length, defensive registration, and history checks before purchase
- Pulls positioning from project-context.md when present for audience-aligned naming
- Points to domain-architecture for multi-product setups and rebranding-strategy for migrations
Adoption & trust: 733 installs on skills.sh; 586 GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You are about to buy a domain for a new product but cannot judge whether a brand URL, keyword match, or trendy TLD will hurt SEO, trust, or future rebrands.
Who is it for?
Indie founders naming their first marketing site, waitlist, or SaaS landing page who want SEO-aware domain rules without hiring an agency.
Skip if: Teams executing an active rebrand or multi-brand domain hierarchy—use rebranding-strategy or domain-architecture instead.
When should I use this skill?
User wants to choose an SEO-friendly domain, or mentions domain choice, pick domain, brand domain, EMD, PMD, TLD, .ai domain, .com vs .io, domain length, domain history, or defensive domain registration.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You leave with a reasoned domain and TLD recommendation plus checks for history and defensive names, with clear escalations to domain-architecture or rebranding-strategy when scope grows.
- Brand vs keyword domain recommendation with TLD rationale
- History and defensive registration considerations for finalists
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Domain choice is the canonical Validate shelf because solo builders lock naming and URLs while scoping the first public site and landing presence, before full Build and Launch SEO scale-up. Landing captures the first customer-facing URL and brand hook that prototypes, waitlists, and marketing sites depend on.
Where it fits
Shortlist three brandable domains while exploring product name ideas and competitor URLs.
Lock the waitlist domain and TLD before publishing the first landing page and analytics setup.
Confirm the chosen domain will not conflict with planned content hubs and international TLD expectations.
How it compares
Focused on first-site domain purchase and SEO naming rules, not ongoing technical SEO audits or content keyword strategy.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is domain-selection for?
Solo and small-team builders launching a new web presence who need structured help choosing brand versus keyword domains, TLDs, length, and defensive registrations.
When should I use domain-selection?
Use it during Validate when picking a landing URL; also in Idea (discover) when researching naming options, and in Launch (seo) when aligning domain choice with search positioning before DNS goes live.
Is domain-selection safe to install?
It is naming and SEO guidance that may read local project-context files if present; confirm trust via the Security Audits panel on this Prism page before install.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Domain Selection
# Strategy: Domain Selection Guides initial domain choice for a single site: Brand vs Partial Match vs Exact Match domains, TLD selection (.ai, .com, .io), length, readability, history check, and defensive registration. A good domain affects SEO, brand perception, and UX. See **domain-architecture** when planning for multiple products; **rebranding-strategy** when changing domain. **When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output. **Reference**: [Alignify: Domain SEO – How to Choose SEO-Friendly Domains](https://alignify.co/zh/seo/domain) — detailed guide, AI brand naming, TLD recommendations, rebrand cases. ## Initial Assessment **Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read Sections 2 (Positioning), 3 (Target Audience), 8 (Brand & Voice). Identify: 1. **Product type**: Tool, content, e-commerce, AI product, etc. 2. **Brand stage**: New brand vs established; solo vs team 3. **Goals**: Quick SEO traffic vs long-term brand building ## Domain Type: Brand vs PMD vs EMD | Type | Description | SEO | Brand | Best For | |------|-------------|-----|-------|----------| | **Branded Domain** | Domain = brand; no functional keywords (Notion, Canva, Perplexity) | Long-term; Google favors brands | High | Teams; long-term brand building | | **Partial Match (PMD)** | Part of domain relates to function (FlowGPT, Dify, Reportify) | Balance; signals topic | Medium | AI tools; balance SEO + brand | | **Exact Match (EMD)** | Domain = search query (png2jpg.com, aiartgenerator.cc) | Fast early traffic; ceiling lower | Low | Solo devs; tool sites; site networks | **Google stance**: Keywords in domain no longer directly affect ranking; domain still matters for UX and brand. EMDs work when paired with quality content; branded domains with entity recognition matter more long-term. **Recommendation**: - **Brand building** → Branded or PMD; plan for months - **Quick SEO traffic** → EMD or PMD; good for tool sites, converters, generators - **AI products** → PMD (xxxGPT, xxxify) or Branded; avoid generic names that cause search confusion (e.g., multiple "Speak AI" products) ## TLD Selection | TLD | Use Case | Notes | |-----|----------|-------| | **.com** | Default choice; highest trust | Most preferred; often expensive | | **.ai** | AI products | ccTLD (Anguilla); auto-hyperlinks in Excel/Sheets/Feishu → natural backlinks; signals AI | | **.io** | Tech, SaaS | Popular; geopolitical risk (Chagos Islands) | | **.co, .app, .pro** | Alternatives | If .com taken | | **.new** | Instant-create tools | For bolt.new, claude.new style; see Alignify .new guide | **AI products**: Prefer **.ai**, **.com**, or **.io**. Avoid niche TLDs (.im, .xyz, .inc, .art, .dev)—higher risk of resolution issues (e.g., Notion .so outage). ## Domain Best Practices | Rule | Purpose | |------|---------| | **Short & memorable** | Easier to type, share, recall | | **Avoid hyphens** | Looks unprofessional; can signal low quality | | **Check history** | Use Archive.org; avoid previously penalized domains | | **Defensive registration** | Register .net, .org, variants; redirect to main; do not deploy on multiple domains | | **Impersonation variants** | For AI products: register brand+ai, brand+app, brand+official; see **brand-pr