Whenever you start an online presence for your business, selecting a good domain name is perhaps the first and the most important step you take. And… This step is the foundation stone of your online success. This is because your domain name is like your online address. Its where potential customers will find you, learn about your products or services, and hopefully become your loyal customers. However, choosing a good domain name is more than merely picking a name that just sounds nice or is easy to remember. It’s more about creating a strong brand identity, and making it easier to market and advertise your business.
The problem: Shortage / Non-availability of desired domain names
These days, finding a suitable name for your e-business has become much more difficult than what it used to be a decade ago. For example, try registering any popular one-word/term – Apple, Orange, Car, Home, Furniture, Clothes, Dictionary, or just anything that strikes your mind – they all are gone! The height is, today, even if you get a two-word domain name of your own choice that makes sense, you are very lucky! Therefore, finding a great domain name is more of an art today, which requires two key skills — ‘your ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking’.
Don’t worry. In this post today, I will share 8 tips to help you pick a great domain name that will surely help skyrocket your online business.
Why does selection of an appropriate domain name matter?
Your domain name matters because it can have a significant impact on the likelihood of success or failure of your online business.
Here are some reasons why:
- The domain name you choose directly portrays your brand identity. It’s indeed your brand name itself. So, people directly associate your domain name with your business and remember it when they want to visit your website.
- Choosing a good domain name can help establish credibility and trust with potential customers. It shows that your business is legitimate and can make you appear more professional.
- A memorable domain name can help you with digital marketing and advertising efforts. It’s easier to promote a catchy and memorable name than a longer and complicated one.
Now that you understand the importance of choosing a good domain name, let me share these 8 tips to help you pick a good one:
Tip 1. Keep it short
Keeping your domain URL short makes it look professional, memorable, and also minimizes typos. For example, suppose you choose a domain name like makequickmoneyfromyourhome.com. First of all, it looks outright weird and unprofessional. Secondly, it isn’t memorable. There’s also a good chance that a returning visitor might forget the URL and mistype it. Above all, keeping your domain name short and relevant makes up a good user experience.
Tip 2. Make it easy to spell and remember
This tip closely follows the first one. Always use easy to remember words or phrases while creating your domain name. Using terms which are most likely to be misspelt can potentially spoil your branding and advertising efforts in the future. So, the golden rule is to keep it short, sweet and simple 🙂
Tip 3. Make it reflect the nature of your business
Domain names can be broadly categorized under two categories:
First, those consisting of keywords related to that specific niche. For example, usnews.com and foxnews.com
Second, those consisting of words that have nothing to do with the niche (also called branded domains). For example – walmart.com and amazon.com
While it may be difficult for branded domains to convey what your website is all about until they become popular, domain names with keywords can easily convey the nature of your business to even first-time visitors. And you know what the best part is? It is also relatively easier to rank your website with keyword rich domains as compared to branded domains. Sure, branded domains may also rank well in search engines, but only until they get popular!
Tip 4. Get creative and make it unique
In the pursuit of making your domain name branded and memorable, make sure you don’t make it look quite similar to your competitors. So, get creative with the use of words or branded terms being used. Pay attention to their positioning and closeness to the terms being used by your competitors. If you are tired of hunting for a unique domain name, you make like to take the help of a domain name generator.
Tip 5. Avoid using numbers, hyphens, and other characters
Good domain names usually don’t contain external characters like hyphens, underscores, or even numbers.
Suppose you own a domain called a-b-c.com. Now, a returning visitor might misinterpret your domain name for abc.com. He therefore types abc.com and ends up landing on someone else’s website. Similarly, numbers in domain name not only look weird and unprofessional, but also make your domain name difficult to remember.
Tip 6. Choose a domain extension that fits your business
Depending upon the type of business, you have to choose a Top-Level Domain (a.k.a. TLD) extension for your website. It is that part of your URL that immediately follows your domain name. For example, if you have an organization, whether profit or non-profit, go with .org extension. Similarly, if you run an educational institution or academy, go with .edu extension. If you are doing business in the USA locally, then go with .us extension. Needless to say, the .com extension is universally acceptable and is apt for any business with a worldwide audience.
Lastly, you could also consider embracing new generation TLDs such as .tech, .money, .academy, or even .pizza depending on nature of your online business. Opportunities are endless!
Fun fact!
As on May 5, 2023 there are 1479 TLD extensions. This list is being maintained and updated from time to time by the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority). So, what’s stopping you? Choose your favorite domain extension depending on your business type.
Tip 7. Test it out with family and friends for feedback
Before moving ahead to buy your desired domain name, it’s always a good idea to test it out with family and friends for their feedback. Let them understand the topic of your website and welcome all feedback or suggestions with regard to the domain name.
How do you come up with Domain name ideas?
I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Do you also own a website or a blog? How did you come up with your domain name? What tips or resources did you use? Please share your views in the comments below.
