[Bougie]

Does my domain name have to have t-shirt or tshirt in it?
Do search engines take into account the words in the domain name?

 

[tshirtworld]

Yes search engines take that into account and it is probably better to have tshirt or shirt in your domain.

 

[Twinge]

BUT You can certainly do fine without one; it is only one of MANY factors. (Fairly large examples without would include www.thinkgeek.com or www.syswear.com)

 

[jdr8271]

you don't need to have t-shirts in your domain name. The only time that it really helps is if you are looking for a specific key word. Lets say you want people searching for "bugs bunny t-shirts" to find your website. If your domain name is www.bugs-bunny-tshirts.com it will help you alot. Other than that I dont think it matters. Rodneys, ihateclowns.com doesn't even mention anything about t-shirts, and he sell lots of shirts.