We all know that these days, it has become mandatory for businesses to have a website. Even if they are not selling anything online, customers expect them to have a basic website. But before starting with a website design process, it is important to have a domain name.
A domain name is an address that is typed into a browser address bar to find a website. In other words, it is the face and the address of a business on the internet. The domain name is basically made up of three parts: Machine name (www), Mid-level domain name, and Top-level domain (.com, .org. , .edu, etc.).
The importance of a domain name is similar to a business name. Both become a unique identity of a brand. Both help businesses move up ranks and draw traffic. For some people, choosing a domain name is like ticking off a checklist, but for some, it can be a daunting task. In this blog, we will be sharing a few tips to help you choose the right domain name. Let’s get started!
- Choose the right domain extension:
Today, many businesses go with extensions like “.pro” or “.me”. But going with a unique extension (TLD) is not always a better idea. If you want to expand your business globally, then nothing is better than the .com extension. It is because it is the most recognizable extension and moreover, whenever someone searches for any website, they first search it with the .com extension. If you do not find a name with .com extension, you can go with other popular extensions like .net or .co. or .biz.
- Keyword Usage:
We all know that the right keywords help in improving SEO. And the SEO benefit can bring more traffic to the website. Adding keywords in the domain name can help search engines know what the website is all about. For instance, your business is related to providing yoga services. You may go with a domain name www. (Your Company name) yoga.com. To add keywords, you need to research about the keywords people are using to find your products or business. The best way to do that is to explore Google Trends and use the keyword planner tool on Google Adwords.
Tip: Avoid using generic keywords. They are not only difficult to remember but also don’t carry the same SEO benefit as well-researched, personalised keywords
- Keep it short:
Although it is important to use keywords in the domain name, it doesn’t mean it can be too long and still work. Shorter names are easier to remember. Moreover, in today’s world where people always want a superfast internet, slowing them down by making them type a long domain name can make them switch to competitors’ websites. Moreover, most people use their smartphones to surf the internet, which is why you need to make it easy for them to type your domain name. A good rule of thumb is to keep the domain name under 15 characters.
- Make it easy to spell and pronounce:
Just like your domain name should effortlessly roll off your fingertips, it should equally effortlessly roll off the tip of your tongue too. You probably have heard about the concept called processing fluency. We, humans generally have a cognitive bias towards things that can easily be spelled or thought of. The simpler it is for our brains to process the data, the more fluent we become with the concept. We tend to form positive associations with words that can be pronounced and spelled easily.
Tip: To check the difficulty level, you can ask your friends, family or colleagues to spell or pronounce your website domain name in one go. If maximum people find it difficult to spell or pronounce it, this means you need to simplify it.
- Keep it unique and brandable:
As discussed above, a domain name is the face of a company. Therefore, it should be such that whenever someone hears or sees it, it should look like a brand. Brandable domain names are unique and can distinguish a brand from its competitors, whereas generic domain names are stuffed with keywords and are unmemorable. Let’s take the example of Amazon. The brand started its journey by selling books online. If the company chose the domain name as “BuyBooksOnline.com”, not only would it be generic, but it also may not have caught the attention of the audience. Other popular brands that have chosen to go with brandable domain names are YouTube, Google, Tinder, etc.
Tip: Brandable domain names don’t have any meaning. They simply need to be credible enough.
- Avoid hyphens, numbers, and special characters:
Another thing that you need to take care of while choosing a domain name is that it should not contain hyphens, numbers or special characters. The common problem that lies in adding these elements to a domain name is that these are difficult to remember. While typing, a slight change in these elements may either end up showing some error or landing on some other page. The users will not only lose credibility but also get irritated while experimenting with the options. This will turn them towards competitors’ websites.
- Use domain generators for the ideas:
After putting so much of effort, if you still struggle to choose the right domain name, it is advisable to use domain generators. Just like there are logo maker tools to create professional and unique logos, domain generator tools help in generating original domain names. This tool is easy to use. You simply have to type a seed keyword, and in return, you will get thousands of valid options.
Conclusion:
Nowadays, it has become quite challenging to choose the right domain name. This is because, every day, millions of people are joining the competitive race of entrepreneurship, and they are all required to have a website. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot find a great domain name. Just follow the above tips. We are sure that you would be able to find a domain name that perfectly matches your brand and brings sufficient traffic to your website.
