A domain name is the most essential component of a website. As your domain name represents your brand identity, you need to think and think enough to choose the right one.
Believe it or not, a domain name can make or break a business. Therefore, you should opt for a brand name that is easy to remember, pronounce and type.
Here, we’ll take a look at eleven tips to help you choose the best domain name.
1. Avoid confusion with research
It is ideal to use the same name in your domain and social media to establish your business as a brand. This is why it is important to do thorough research before choosing a domain name.
Check if the name is registered for someone else and if it is available on social media. Always stay away from brand names to avoid legal issues. If the name already exists, find another name to create original profiles on social platforms.
2. Carefully choose an appropriate extension
Extensions are essential parts of a website address. These are the suffixes you use at the end of the address, such as .com, .gov, or .org. Although .com is the best extension, it may not be the best one for your business intent.
You can opt for any top-level domain (TLD) such as .net, .org, .info, .me, .co, .edu, and .biz. There are new generic TLDs available as extensions such as .app, .photography, .today, .xyz, and .guru.
3. Choose something easy to pronounce and spell
One thing is common to all the most popular websites in the world: all of them are easy to spell. If you have a hard-to-spell domain name, the public may have trouble remembering it. But with a domain name that has a simple spelling, you can make a lasting impression on their memory.
Also choose an easy-to-pronounce domain name. If people can easily say the name, there will be a better chance of spreading it by word of mouth.
4. Be brief but unique
A great way to keep a domain name memorable is to keep it short. Try to limit the length of the domain name to 15 characters. It will be difficult for users to remember domain names for longer than that.
Also, people can end up making typos when typing long domain names and going to another website. For this reason, also try to keep your domain name unique.
5. Avoid numbers and hyphens
A domain name should be smooth and catchy. Unfortunately, numbers and hyphens get in the way of that.
Domain names containing these elements will confuse your audience and trick them into entering the wrong website address. Therefore, you should stick to the letters when it comes to domain names.
Including numbers might seem reasonable in email addresses, but don’t end up choosing a domain name with a number. Also avoid using hyphens, as people might consider a hyphenated address as a spam domain.
6. Don’t use double letters
If you use double letters in your domain name, you will actually lose traffic due to typos. Doubled letters are not only difficult to read, but they are also difficult to type correctly. Therefore, you should try to avoid using the same letter back to back in your domain name to make it easily typable.
In addition to confusing it with a similar domain that might belong to a competitor, people will have to spend more time remembering the correct spelling.
Of course, there are some exceptions to this advice. If you already have an established brand name with a double letter, you should follow the same spelling in your domain.
7. Check domain history
This point is particularly crucial if you have chosen a domain name that already exists. Sometimes your favorite domain name is already in use and you’re all thrilled to know it’s on sale. Before rejoicing, check the history of the domain.
Even a seemingly innocuous domain name can have a controversial history. Wayback Machine is the most widely used domain history checker that can take you back in time and show what a website looked like on a specific date.
Before buying an existing domain name, look through the domain’s history for each available month to find if anything fishy was going on there.
8. Target your business and your locality
Not every business has to focus on the world. You can also achieve growth by targeting a specific location or country. You can do this by getting a domain name that contains a localized web address extension.
For example, to get better search engine rankings in France, you might want to get a .fr extension in your domain name. A geographic domain extension will also help you gain trust from local users.
9. Focus on branding
Think of the domain name as a branding opportunity for your business. With the right type of domain name, you can increase your brand recognition. So, always go for branded domain names rather than generic ones.
Since a generic name is usually keyword-driven, it becomes difficult to distinguish your brand from others with that domain. On the contrary, a brandable domain name stands out in the crowd.
You can use existing words and use them creatively to come up with a unique name, or you can come up with a new word or phrase.
10. Always think long term
Never view your business from a short-term perspective. While it’s wise to choose a domain name that reflects your industry, don’t be so specific that you don’t leave room for growth.
If you use a flexible domain name right from the start, you don’t need to switch to a new domain even when you change jobs. While choosing a smart domain name, you should keep enough room to grow or grow your business.
11. Buy multiple domains if possible
Once you have found the perfect domain name for your business website, you can also purchase the domain name with all available TLDs. This action will save you from a tricky competitor having a website with your domain name but a different extension.
After purchase, redirect them to your primary domain. If possible, you should consider buying common misspellings of your domain name.
Choose the domain name wisely
The biggest problem with getting a domain name is that the perfect name for your website may not be available. In this situation, you may need to change the name while maintaining its commercial value.
Follow the tips mentioned here when selecting a name for your domain. It is always good to have alternate domain names ready before domain registration.
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