Domain names are as important as your brand or business name. They are one of the most prominent aspects of your brand’s identity and have a huge impact on your brand’s reach and visibility. Therefore, a lot of thought has to go into narrowing down the ideal domain name for your website. Here are some tips on how to pick an effective domain name, which in turn, can launch your business successfully in the web space!
Go for Unique, Pronounceable Names
Being unique has become the norm for every aspect in a business and without a doubt, in choosing the domain name, as well. The name you choose should be unique, yet pronounceable and easily remembered. You can put your brand’s identity in jeopardy if you choose names that are difficult to spell and remember.
While choosing names, make sure that they are not too similar to your competitor sites’ names. In addition, thoroughly research on whether the domain name you have chosen is not trademarked or copyrighted. If you face a copyright issue later, it can literally wreak havoc on your business!
Pick Short Words
Domain names that have a minimal length are always better, as they can easily be remembered and typed. Words which include hyphens and punctuations are often misconstrued, which can, in turn, reduce the potential traffic of your website. When it comes to sharing your domain name in social media, shorter domain names always do better than the lengthier ones.
“.com” Still Stands Tall
Once you have got your domain name, it is going to remain for the lifetime of your website. It may sound cliché, but the top-level domain (TLD) “.com” is still the most commonly used TLD. So using domain availability checkers, verify whether you can purchase the “.com” name. Other preferred names are country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) such as “.ca” in Canada or “.it” in Italy, “.in” in India.
Names Should Speak For Themselves
Relevancy in the domain name is important for any website. Your domain name should give an instant indication of who the target audience of your site is. While choosing the right domain name, the availability of your preferred name is often a hindrance. Simple and short domain names are often already taken. In those cases, you can choose combinations of words which are relevant to your business, products or audience. On the whole, the name should be a representative of your business!
Keywords are Not Compulsory
There was a time when it was important to include keywords in the domain name. Even now if your domain name has targeted keywords, it is well and good. However, the priority for this has gone from mandatory to optional.
Acquire Relevant Domain Names
To make things work for you in every possible way, you can probably buy domain names that are a close match with yours and redirect them to your website. This way, you can draw a greater amount of traffic.
When it comes to purchasing domain names, it is always on a first come first serve basis! Therefore, if you are looking to choose a domain name for your brand, do spend time in choosing a catchy name but make sure to do it at the earliest.