Everyone knows that when it comes to having a website the domain name itself is the arguably the most important part of that process. It’s your brand, it’s your name, it’s your online identity in a nutshell. So, how do you choose a good domain name? That’s what we’re here to help you with:
1. Choose something memorable
When it comes to picking a name you want something that your visitors will be able to remember, something that can stick in their brain. Once you’ve found a few that you like, mention it to friends and family members and see what they think. Then, ask them again in a few days which ones they remember. That will help test the domain to make sure it’s memorable.
2. Make it easy to type
You want people to be able to get to your site with as much ease as possible. If you come up with a name that you absolutely love, like mypinkfuzzysoxrox.com you’re going to end up confusing people with the soxrox part. You would be better off if you had mypinkfuzzysocksrocks.com. People will always naturally spell things correctly. Avoid things like u instead of you or 4 instead of for, etc.
3. Choose the ending that fits your business
There are tons of endings out on the market, .com, .net, .org, .me, etc. Everyone knows .com is king and that is the right ending for most business. However, in some types of business you should also get another ending. If you are a non-profit organization you should also register the .org. If you do most of your business in a particular country you should also register that country’s ending. For example, if the majority of your business is done in Canada you should register the .ca version of your domain.
4. Avoid hyphens
Hyphens make it hard to remember and hard to type. My-pink-fuzzy-socks-rocks.com is a lot harder to remember and to type than mypinkfuzzysocksrocks.com. Hyphens are pretty much never a good idea. Stay away from them.
5. Avoid numbers
Numbers again, are hard to remember. 4tipstosuccess.com is going to be harder for people to type and remember than fourtipstosuccess.com. Again, at the very least you should probably have both versions to protect yourself.
6. Watch for hidden words
When you choose a good domain name and you use these tips you’re going to have a domain with a string of words pushed together. You don’t want to end up with something that you didn’t mean to be there. For example, sallyjanetherapist.com can end up being read as ‘sally jane the rapist’ and you don’t want that.
7. Keep it as short as possible
You want a domain that’s short in length, ideally less than 15 characters before the ending. However, really the shorter the better. Try to eliminate extraneous words that don’t need to be there. For example, in thebestbusinessintexas.com could really be changed to besttexasbusiness.com to try and keep it short and sweet.
8. Try to include your location, if you’re a local business
If you do mostly local business then your domain should have the name of your city or area in it. This will help increase your search results and make sure you’re getting calls and emails from valid leads.
9. Try to include keywords
A domain that includes what you do is going to give you much better search engine results than one that doesn’t. For example, if you sell cars a domain like HansonsTexas.com doesn’t really tell people what you do. However, adding the word cars to your domain will help tremendously like HansonsCarsTexas.com.
10. Make it your own
Avoid any sort of trademark issues or something that could be confused with another business name. Choose a domain that’s unique to you and stands out, not one that’s a play on words from someone else.
Choosing a domain can be a daunting task and it may seem impossible to follow all of these 10 steps. To be honest, it can be an extremely difficult process. However, take it one step at a time and try to follow these steps as close as possible.
