Choosing a domain name needs a lot of thought and consideration. The domain name is your company’s identity on the web, and you need to pick a name that suits the services or goods you are offering. The name should also be easy to find and market.
The following are the tips to use when looking for an ideal domain name for your business:
The domain name should easy to spell and type
The domain name should be easy to type to enable more interactions online. Avoid using slang or choosing names with difficult spelling, as it may be challenging for customers to find your site. You can try the domain checker tool, for example, from www.hostinger.com which is free just to see how the search works.
Likewise, be careful with names with multiple spelling like “express” and those with the same pronunciation but different spelling and meanings, such as “principal vs. principle.”
If you have to spell out your domain name more than once, then get rid of it. Such a name will be hard to remember and challenging to enter in a search. A good example lies in the case of the popular Yahoo photo-sharing website, Flickr.com.
Most of Flickr.com customers would misspell the website name as Flicker.com, and the company ended up losing large sums of revenue.
Eventually, Yahoo was forced to acquire the website Flicker.com to redirect clients who misspell their original website name.
Keep it short
A domain name that features many letters is not appealing to the online community. The rule of thumb for a great domain is to use one memorable word. However, if that is challenging, consider adding one or two more words maximum.
A combination of two words can work great for you. However, you should not make the name too short. You should not also use acronyms as people can hardly remember letters.
Besides, a complicated name may confuse customers who end up misspelling or mistyping it. If you want greater online success, go for short and simple names.
A great name should be unique and sticky. It should prompt your customers to tell their friends and colleagues about it. People should not forget it when they hear about the name. No customers can remember a name that they are indifferent about.
Add keywords
You should include keywords in the domain name that best describe the services you are offering. For example, if you are a roof maintenance company, you should register a domain name such as roofrepair.com.
When you include the keywords in the domain name, people will enter them when searching for your business, and this enables a higher ranking on search engines. With a higher ranking, you will benefit from an increase in traffic and customers.
Include details of the geographical area
If you are running a local enterprise, you may want to include your geographical area like the town, city, or state in the domain name. These details make it easy for the local clients to find and associate with your business—for example, bostonroofrepairs.com.
Don’t use numbers or hyphens
You should also avoid the use of numbers and hyphens in your domain name. Hyphens and numerals often confuse customers. In a domain name such as sixroofrepairs.com, a potential client will be in a dilemma whether to use the numerical “6” or spell it out as “six” during a domain search process on the internet.
Likewise, when you use a hyphen, most customers end up misplacing or forgetting the punctuation mark altogether. If you must use punctuations and numerical in your domain, go for different variations that won’t confuse your clients.
The domain name should be memorable
The internet world hosts millions of domain names. Besides, many more are being registered daily. You will be competing with other domain names for the same customers.
It is, therefore, essential to make your names as catchy and memorable as possible. Before registering a name, you can share with those close to you, including business associates, friends, and family, and let them give their opinion.
They should tell you if the name is appealing and catchy enough to weather the fierce competition out there. However, don’t just go for any other catchy word.
The name should make sense to give references to the products or services you are offering. It should also trigger a lasting emotional response in the minds of your clients.
Research the domain name
At times you may come up with a great domain name only to be disappointed later when you are told you can’t use it because it has already been trademarked. The name you have chosen mustn’t be copyrighted or trademarked to avoid legal issues arising in the future. Do thorough research on your preferred name before registering it.
Use the ideal domain name extension
Domain name extensions refer to suffixes such as .net or .com. they are typically placed at the end of the web addresses, such as roofrepairs.net or roofrepairs.com. Some extensions are explicitly designed for specific uses.
Before you choose one, ensure you are picking the ideal extension for your business. Currently, the .com extension is the most popular across the world.
Although it is an ideal one when starting, you may experience challenges getting short and memorable domain names because the .com extension has been in use for a long time, everywhere around the globe. You may want to consider trying other extensions if you are experiencing challenges with the .com domain extension.
Brainstorm using ideal domain tools
Once you have settled on an ideal domain name, it is time to crunch the letters. You can use the many available online tools to brainstorm the best domain name for your business. These tools include:
In case you come up with more names that you really like, you can still register and redirect them to the main websites.
Bottom line
The best domain name should be short, memorable, and spellable. There is a lot in a name when it comes to business. The right domain name can be the difference between quick success and fast failure. Before you choose a domain name for your company, consider the tips we have provided in this article.
