Choose a Domain Name Perfect for Your Business
It is important to have the right domain name, which is why you must give it a lot of thought. Most people spend hours and days to come up with the perfect domain name because it is crucial. Every website owner needs to choose the right one, especially if it is for commercial purposes.
The domain name and website URL have a vital role when people do a search. This is where your visitors are going to look for you, but it also impacts the search visibility of your website. Even if there are more domain options now than before, there are still a lot of practices you must stick with for the best results.
Here are important tips you can do to choose the perfect domain name for your website:
The Right Extension Matters
Some of these extensions are .com, .org, and .net, but the best one is still “.com” There are reasons why this is a fact.
- Familiarity – Most people are familiar with ‘.com’ compared to others. It is like they are going to type ‘.com’ by default when they do a search. If the extension is unusual, they will hardly remember it. Everyone assumes that all websites have a ‘.com’ at the end.
- The ‘.com’ extension is used by 47% of all websites according to research.
That means if the ‘.com’ is no longer available, you must think of a different name or contact the person who owns the domain. Ask them if they want to sell it to you, which could be expensive.
Begin with Keywords
Before you log in to register your domain name, brainstorm a couple of ideas. It would be good to have at least three keywords when you do this. The keywords and phrases should reflect what you do. You can mix or combine them to see which one sounds right and makes sense. This process must not be forced, and allow your ideas to just flow.
For instance, you have an Italian restaurant. Some good terms to include are your city, fresh pasta, pizza, and more.
A good thing to do is to think of the prefixes and suffixes that can help you in creating the perfect domain name.
Make Sure it is Easy to Type
If you choose a domain name, make sure that it is spelled out more than once for people to understand it, choose a different one. The name should be easy to remember and simple so that entering it in the address bar is uncomplicated. Simplicity is important because your visitors must not make a mistake of typing your name which is for a different site.
For instance, Flickr.com that was launched in 2005. After a couple of years, the company had to pay a lot of money to Flicker.com so they can buy it. The purpose was to redirect many of their visitors who misspelled their domain names. If you want to have an oddly spelled domain name, you must make sure that there are available common misspellings. That way, you can register them so the visitors can be directed to the main one.
It Must Be Brandable
The name must be brandable and creative because a generic one will not stand out.
Keep in mind that the domain name is the way visitors are going to remember, find, and share your link. That is because a unique domain name is easy to remember while a generic one just has keywords and hard to recall.
A good tip is to use a domain that represents something. For example, WorldWildlifeFund.com and mapmyrun.com. When people first hear these domain names, it will not be hard for them to remember them. There is also a trust factor when they hear it.
- Come up with new words – Create catchy new words or phrases. Yahoo, Bing, and Google did that.
- Use words that reflect your brand by thinking of existing words.
- Domain name generators can help – These can help in creating a brandable and unique domain name using your initial ideas and keywords.
Go for a Domain Name That You Can Legally Own
Trademark infringement can be bad for your business. It is a fact that no one wants to register a domain name who intends to infringe a trademark, but they sometimes happen.
Therefore, if you have thought of a good domain name that you are about to register, search for the name on Google. Check the first and second pages of results to see if there are other businesses that have the same name and under the same niche or similar.
If you get results, you most likely must choose a different domain name. You do not want to be mistaken for another website because that will not look good and it affects visitor traffic.
Apprehending or Modifying the Domain Name is Okay
If the domain name you chose is not available, you can add a prefix or suffix to it. Hence, adding a different TLD extension is okay. Being a little creative with your domain name is fine.
For instance, if your brand name is Bread Basket, and maybe you own a bakery in your city. You have been selling fresh bread in your shop and you want to go online. It is perfectly fine to think of something like BreadBasketGoods.com, or BreadBasketBakery.com, or BreadBasket.net.
You can always modify it so your domain name stands out and people will easily remember your website.
Lock it
The purpose of this is so that no one can steal it. Even if it may sound odd, but domain hijacking is a reality and it happens often.
That means it is possible that someone will steal your domain name and they have several ways of doing it. The most common way is password hijack or asking you to give your password using a phishing attack, and other things.
If someone can access your registrar user account, that person can do anything with your domain. There are domain registrars where they have a feature where your domain is in a Register-lock status. This will prevent unauthorized attempts when doing domain transfers. When it is in this state, no one can chance registration confirmation and DNS configuration of your domain name. Only you can unlock it.
Think Long-Term
The idea is like marrying your domain name because this is a huge element that defines your brand and business for years to come.
Changing your domain name costs you money, SEO ranking, and branding which is a huge inconvenience. When choosing a domain name, think about it in the long-term.
For instance, if your business helps install CCTV cameras for commercial and residential, your domain name could be CCTVInstallation.com.
If there is a possibility that your business expands to other security services in the future, reconsider its domain name.
You do not want to be tied to a certain niche if there is a possibility that you will expand. That is why you must have a long-term vision when choosing a domain name.
It Should Make Sense
Generally, a domain name must be sensible. It should sound serious, trustable, easy to pronounce, unoffensive, talk to your audience, and concise. A domain name must not be confusing and it should be a collective. That means it should speak for your business.
A domain name that is sensible will be easy to remember and your audience will know right away what your business is. The domain name must be literal and not have any double meaning.
Shorter is Better
The concern is that the majority of shorter domains are no longer available from popular TLDs. They are a lot more expensive than regular ones, which is why domain investors have a huge demand for them. It is almost impossible to a 3-4-word domain that will make sense to the concept of your site.
The three-letter domains are very popular because there are plenty of organizations that use initials like NBA, NFL, IBM, etc. Since these domains are already owned, some have begun to use three letters, but they add hyphens between letters like I-B-M.com.
There are restrictions in the domain name system, but modifications are still possible. The domain name must not be longer than 63 characters which include numbers, letters, and hyphens. However, the domain name cannot end or begin with a hyphen.
Do Not Follow Trends
Trends are given that label for a reason, which is they do not last. Copying others will only drag you down and you will end up in the wrong path. Do not use odd spellings, a lot of special characters, numbers or numbers. Your domain name must be simple, focused on your business, and easy to recall. At least, when people hear your domain name, they will easily grasp what you do.
CCTVInstallation.com is obvious and it perfectly reflects what your company does. This way, people will easily think of you when they need a CCTV installed.
These are the tips you can follow on how to choose a domain name. Once you’ve selected the perfect name, you can then plan on how to design your website. If you need help with that, you can rely on our Singapore web designers for assistance.
