Choosing the domain for your website can be just as important as choosing your company name. It shouldn’t be done on a whim because it will be your company’s identity online. Coming up with the best domain name will take a lot of time and consideration. The ideal domain name for your business should coincide with your brand, be easy for people to find and simple to promote. Below are some of the top tips for selecting the perfect domain name for your website.
1. Choose Appropriate Domain Name Extension
Even though .com domain extensions are still the most popular and common in the industry, there are plenty of other extensions that can be used. Different extensions can be used for specific purposes. Choose one that works best for your type of business. Common extensions are .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info and .co. There is a bevy of newer general domain extensions that work well for certain industries such as .photography and .guru. To build your website, buy multiple domain names with different extensions and have them all pointing to your one website. A great design agency can build you a memorable website to have all of your domain names pointed to.
2. Keep It Short And Simple
Choosing a domain name that is easy for your customers to type is crucial for your success online. If your website name is complex and long, your customers may end up spelling it incorrectly or mistyping it and ending up on another website. Keeping it short and simple is the best way to go. Try to steer clear from domain names that are comprised of slang words or unique spellings of common words. This will make it harder for your customers to find your site.
3. Use Keywords For SEO
Another key to online success for your business is making sure your domain name and your website is optimized for the search engines. Try to put keywords in your domain name that describes the services or products your business offers. Keywords relevant to your business will improve your ranking in the search engines and increase traffic to your site. Keywords in your domain name will make it easier for your customers to find you.
4. Target Service Area
If your business is one that serves customers locally, consider creating a domain name that includes your city or state in it. You may also choose to purchase a geographic domain extension that will suit the needs of your business and make it easier for your customers to find you.
5. Avoid Adding Hyphens And Numbers
Adding numbers or hyphens to your domain name can make it very confusing for your customers. If you say your domain name out loud, people can get confused when you use things such as numbers. It will be confusing because they don’t know if your domain uses a numeral or the spelling of a number. If you require these in your domain, be sure you register different variations in order to be safe and ensure your customers have no trouble finding you online.
6. Be Unique And Memorable
If you could count the number of domain names online, they would be in the millions. Choosing a domain name that is memorable and catchy is essential for your company to stand out and not be easily forgotten. Before you settle on a domain name, ask people you work with or trust to tell you what they think of your domain name choice. If you think you have a great domain name that is not used, register it before it gets taken, even if you end up not using it. If you need it, you will be glad you got it before someone else did.
7. Research Your Domain Name Choices
When you pick a domain name, you want to make sure you aren’t getting yourself into any legal troubles with your choice. Do some research to make certain the name you are choosing is not copyrighted, being used by another company or entity or is trademarked. Any of these could land your business in legal trouble with many fees to pay. You may also choose to determine the value of a domain name before you purchase it. This is a great way to choose your domain with a purpose.
8. Protect Your Company’s Brand
In order to fully protect the integrity of your brand, it is important to buy multiple domain extensions, including various misspelled versions of your domain name. This will help to prevent any of your competition from registering similar versions of your domain name to steal your customers.
9. Act Quickly
A domain name can be gone in an instant. As soon as you are able to, register any and all domain names you want to be associated with your business and website. Thankfully, there are many options left and finding the perfect domain name for your site just takes a little time and patience.
About The Author
Rodney Warner
Rodney Warner heads the team at Connective Web Design and is also a musician, outdoor enthusiast, and ice cream connoisseur. You can find him on his company website or on Instagram.
