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

Check for product marketing context first:

If

.claude/product-marketing-context.md

or

.cursor/product-marketing-context.md

exists, read Sections 2 (Positioning), 3 (Target Audience), 8 (Brand & Voice).

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)