First Site Guide runs a good article on how to choose the right domain name. I mostly agree with it, except for maybe this part:
No numbers or hyphens
Numbers and hyphens (especially hyphens) cause confusion. Stay away from them at all costs. Even something as clever as the number1website.com will cause confusion. Make the name speak for itself.
Especially the part about hyphens. Ideally, I’d say you should use a single word domain. But if you do have two or more words, use hyphens. Hyphens act as separators, much like spaces, and make your domain more readable. Have a look at these domains and imagine them hyphened – that’d be a totally different story, don’t you think?
It can also be about money. Regardless of seo/sem. if you can throw enough money into branding the most obscure names will become synominous with a product. For the average Joe I agree we have to be more conventional
Since that social bookmarking site del.icio.us became popular, I really stopped worrying about domain names. All but hyphens! :)
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