Choosing a domain name: tld vs cctld vs exotic

Before creating a website with one of the best website builders, you will need a domain. But how to choose a domain name? You want to make a great first impression, and so not only must it be memorable, but it must also send the right message to your website and, by extension, your business.

It’s essential to make the right choice from the start, and to be honest, in addition to choosing a provider from the best web hosting services, choosing a domain name is one of the most critical decisions you can make. you will need to take before putting your site online. . Once you have the right domain, you can ensure that your website can be found easily and often by your target audience.

While knowing that you need a memorable domain name is one thing, achieving that goal is easier said than done. We’ve compiled a list of things to consider as you begin your domain name search and when choosing a domain name below.

1. Be brief

The more characters potential visitors have to enter, the more likely they are to make a mistake and not get to your site. Some people will check their spelling, realize their mistake, try again, and still get to your site. But that may not always be the case. Some people will instead assume that there is something wrong with your website and not bother to try again.

Research shows that the most common domain name length is 12 characters, so try to aim around that mark.

2. Choose the right TLD

TLD stands for Top Level Domain and is the collection of letters that goes to the end of the domain after the last period. At the start of the internet age, there were only a few choices of TLDs, with most sites opting to use .com.

These days, each country has its own two- or three-letter TLD, and there are also specialized TLDs. The most common TLDs are:

.co or .com — for businesses
.info — for informative sites
.net – for Internet infrastructure sites
.org – for nonprofits and other noncommercial organizations
.biz – short for business, for those who don’t want .com
.me – for personal sites and blogs

Many of these can be combined with two-letter codes representing countries to create national TLDs, such as .co.uk for businesses in the UK.

Many larger companies will buy a selection of country-specific domains, eg example.com, example.co.uk, example.com.au, etc., then redirect them to the main site or create separate regionalized versions.

Picking the right domain starts with picking the right TLD, as that could make the difference between getting your site discovered or not. We recommend choosing .com, as it is widely considered the best for business entities, especially those that operate globally.

3. Check existing domains

Once you’re done brainstorming domain name ideas, you next need to check to see if anyone else has already registered any. Many domain name registrars, like GoDaddy, have tools to do this.

It might also be a good idea to register domains that are obvious misspellings of the one you want to choose, so you can redirect them to your main website. For example, if you wanted to register socialiser.comyou can also register socialiser.com. This way, if someone types a wrong spelling, they will still reach your website.

On the other hand, don’t choose domains that are misspellings of established brands in hopes of getting some of their traffic, like Amazen.com or Gooogle.com. It could lead you to a lawsuit.

4. Check the language

What we mean by language check is knowing if a word that seems innocuous in English actually has negative meanings in other languages.

If you’ve spent money on a marketing campaign that proudly showcases your new domain, the last thing you want to know is that you unintentionally insulted people in a foreign country or language speakers of that country in your own country.

An example of this is when the Ford Kuga was launched worldwide. It was only after the official launch that it was discovered that “kuga” is the word for the Black Death in the Balkans.

5. Research existing brands

If another company has trademarked a word you use in your domain, you could be in legal trouble, especially if the word you chose is a coined word that isn’t covered by use protections. common.

The knowem.com username search website is a good place to check, as it will show you words that have been used in existing brands, domains, and even social media sites.

6. Avoid dashes and numbers

Hyphens and underscores should be avoided as they can be easily confused. The same goes for numbers, as they can often look like letters, such as a zero and a capital “O”, and the number 1, a lowercase “l” and a capital “I”.

7. Consider focusing locally

Putting the locality in which your business operates in your domain name can help attract searchers from surrounding areas.

For example, if you run a shoe repair business in Boston, BostonShoeRepairs.com would be a good choice. However, you should be aware that in this example there is more than one Boston. There’s the famous one in Massachusetts, but there are also 15 others in the United States, the original in Lincolnshire, England, and a host of others in countries like South Africa, India. Ireland, Uzbekistan, Costa Rica, Colombia, Jamaica. , Peru, Italy, Cuba, Bolivia and Andorra.

So, you need to be careful and consider all angles when choosing a domain name.

8. Memorable is good

The easier it is to remember your website’s domain, the more likely it will be found and passed on by word of mouth. To get people talking about your website to others, it helps if the domain is easy to pronounce. If you are targeting a global audience, the domain should also be easy to say in languages other than English.

Finding something that meets all of these criteria is a tricky task, but the time you spend doing it right will be rewarded with higher levels of traffic to your website.

9. Try a word generator

If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, you can try online word generators like TextFixer. These online tools take keywords and merge them in interesting ways to create something unique.