SEO-Friendly Domain Chooser

Domain selection

by kostja94 · MIT license · ★ 1,006 on GitHub

When the user wants to choose an SEO-friendly domain for a new site—brand vs keyword domain, TLD selection, or domain best practices. Also use when the user mentions "domain choice," "pick domain," "SEO-friendly domain," "brand domain,"…

---
name: domain-selection
description: When the user wants to choose an SEO-friendly domain for a new site—brand vs keyword domain, TLD selection, or domain best practices. Also use when the user mentions "domain choice," "pick domain," "SEO-friendly domain," "brand domain," "EMD," "PMD," "exact match domain," "partial match domain," "TLD," ".ai domain," ".com vs .io," "domain length," "domain history," or "defensive domain registration." For migration, use rebranding-strategy.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.1
---

# 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

**Project context:** Read root `contextus.md` when present and load only the modules relevant to this task. Without Contextus, use available project material or user-provided facts and ask for missing information; do not create a parallel context system.

Overview

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.

What you get

Domain typerecommendation (Brand / PMD / EMD) with rationale
TLDrecommendation
Checklist(length, readability, history, defensive registration)
Relatednext steps (website-structure, rebranding-strategy)

Manual install (npx, ZIP)

Claude Codenpx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill domain-selection -g -a claude-code

Claude Code (degit)

npx degit kostja94/marketing-skills/skills/strategies/commercial/domain/domain-selection#main ~/.claude/skills/domain-selection

Claude.ai / desktopZip the folder and upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

Codex, Cursor, other agentsPoint them at SKILL.md. The other files are plain text.

Connects with Agent Alley MCP · agentalley.io/mcp

Files included

SKILL.md5.1 KB

Read SKILL.md here

kostja94/main1 file shown

SKILL.md5.1 KB

Browse every file on GitHub↗

SKILL.md

Show the full text82 lines

domain-selection/SKILL.md82 lines · 5.1 KB

PreviewCode

Outline

RawView on GitHub

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 — detailed guide, AI brand naming, TLD recommendations, rebrand cases.

Initial Assessment

Project context: Read root contextus.md when present and load only the modules relevant to this task. Without Contextus, use available project material or user-provided facts and ask for missing information; do not create a parallel context system.

Identify:

Product type: Tool, content, e-commerce, AI product, etc.
Brand stage: New brand vs established; solo vs team
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-protection for impersonation response
Accurate WHOIS; renew on time	Avoid loss or hijacking

.ai Domain Natural Backlinks

When brand name includes .ai (e.g., Character.ai, Leonardo.Ai), the full string auto-hyperlinks in Excel, Google Sheets, Feishu, and some IM apps. Each mention = potential backlink. Useful for AI products where the generic name alone (e.g., "Character") is a common noun.

Output Format

Domain type recommendation (Brand / PMD / EMD) with rationale
TLD recommendation
Checklist (length, readability, history, defensive registration)
Related next steps (website-structure, rebranding-strategy)

branding: Brand strategy; domain selection implements brand positioning
website-structure: Plan pages after domain choice; single-domain structure
domain-architecture: Subfolder vs subdomain vs independent when multiple products
rebranding-strategy: Domain change, 301 redirects; use when rebranding
brand-protection: Defensive registration for impersonation prevention; fake site response
link-building: Build authority after domain is chosen

1	---
2	name: domain-selection
3	description: When the user wants to choose an SEO-friendly domain for a new site—brand vs keyword domain, TLD selection, or domain best practices. Also use when the user mentions "domain choice," "pick domain," "SEO-friendly domain," "brand domain," "EMD," "PMD," "exact match domain," "partial match domain," "TLD," ".ai domain," ".com vs .io," "domain length," "domain history," or "defensive domain registration." For migration, use rebranding-strategy.
4	metadata:
5	version: 1.0.1
6	---
7
8	# Strategy: Domain Selection
9
10	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.
11
12	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.
13
14	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.
15
16	## Initial Assessment
17
18	Project context: Read root `contextus.md` when present and load only the modules relevant to this task. Without Contextus, use available project material or user-provided facts and ask for missing information; do not create a parallel context system.
19
20	Identify:
21	1. Product type: Tool, content, e-commerce, AI product, etc.
22	2. Brand stage: New brand vs established; solo vs team
23	3. Goals: Quick SEO traffic vs long-term brand building
24
25	## Domain Type: Brand vs PMD vs EMD
26
27	\| Type \| Description \| SEO \| Brand \| Best For \|
28	\|------\|-------------\|-----\|-------\|----------\|
29	\| Branded Domain \| Domain = brand; no functional keywords (Notion, Canva, Perplexity) \| Long-term; Google favors brands \| High \| Teams; long-term brand building \|
30	\| Partial Match (PMD) \| Part of domain relates to function (FlowGPT, Dify, Reportify) \| Balance; signals topic \| Medium \| AI tools; balance SEO + brand \|
31	\| Exact Match (EMD) \| Domain = search query (png2jpg.com, aiartgenerator.cc) \| Fast early traffic; ceiling lower \| Low \| Solo devs; tool sites; site networks \|
32
33	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.
34
35	Recommendation:
36	- Brand building → Branded or PMD; plan for months
37	- Quick SEO traffic → EMD or PMD; good for tool sites, converters, generators
38	- AI products → PMD (xxxGPT, xxxify) or Branded; avoid generic names that cause search confusion (e.g., multiple "Speak AI" products)
39
40	## TLD Selection
41
42	\| TLD \| Use Case \| Notes \|
43	\|-----\|----------\|-------\|
44	\| .com \| Default choice; highest trust \| Most preferred; often expensive \|
45	\| .ai \| AI products \| ccTLD (Anguilla); auto-hyperlinks in Excel/Sheets/Feishu → natural backlinks; signals AI \|
46	\| .io \| Tech, SaaS \| Popular; geopolitical risk (Chagos Islands) \|
47	\| .co, .app, .pro \| Alternatives \| If .com taken \|
48	\| .new \| Instant-create tools \| For bolt.new, claude.new style; see Alignify .new guide \|
49
50	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).
51
52	## Domain Best Practices
53
54	\| Rule \| Purpose \|
55	\|------\|---------\|
56	\| Short & memorable \| Easier to type, share, recall \|
57	\| Avoid hyphens \| Looks unprofessional; can signal low quality \|
58	\| Check history \| Use Archive.org; avoid previously penalized domains \|
59	\| Defensive registration \| Register .net, .org, variants; redirect to main; do not deploy on multiple domains \|
60	\| Impersonation variants \| For AI products: register brand+ai, brand+app, brand+official; see brand-protection for impersonation response \|
61	\| Accurate WHOIS; renew on time \| Avoid loss or hijacking \|
62
63	## .ai Domain Natural Backlinks
64
65	When brand name includes `.ai` (e.g., Character.ai, Leonardo.Ai), the full string auto-hyperlinks in Excel, Google Sheets, Feishu, and some IM apps. Each mention = potential backlink. Useful for AI products where the generic name alone (e.g., "Character") is a common noun.
66
67	## Output Format
68
69	- Domain type recommendation (Brand / PMD / EMD) with rationale
70	- TLD recommendation
71	- Checklist (length, readability, history, defensive registration)
72	- Related next steps (website-structure, rebranding-strategy)
73
74	## Related Skills
75
76	- branding: Brand strategy; domain selection implements brand positioning
77	- website-structure: Plan pages after domain choice; single-domain structure
78	- domain-architecture: Subfolder vs subdomain vs independent when multiple products
79	- rebranding-strategy: Domain change, 301 redirects; use when rebranding
80	- brand-protection: Defensive registration for impersonation prevention; fake site response
81	- link-building: Build authority after domain is chosen
82