Is the domain name important?
If this is a question, then the straightforward answer is Yes, of course.
Whether you have decided to start an online business or expand your brick and mortar business on the digital platform or simply mark a presence on the web, a website is crucial. And as a website, your domain name is also equally crucial.
From search engines to social media, from building brands to referring links, the domain name has a huge impact. A right domain name can instantly add credibility to your business and create a lasting brand image.
A powerful domain name can:
- Create a positive and lasting first impression
- Extensively help you in SEO ranking
- Increase brand visibility and attract potential customers
- Instantly develop brand recognition
Basically choosing a domain name can be the most significant decision while shaping your business online.
How to choose the right domain name?
Since you’ve understood that it has a great impact on digitally building your brand and also in online marketing, here are time-tested tips that will help you in choosing a perfect domain name for your online business.
Domain extensions matter
If you think it is just a ‘.com’, then you are absolutely wrong. And anyway while looking for domain names on domain name hosting websites you will automatically after seeing the heavy price tag and demand, understand that it is definitely not just a .com.
According to one of the latest research, 43% of domain names, worldwide have a ‘.com’ extension.
And not to forget they are widely recognized.
Though it is the safest bet, many a time the domain name you are looking for might not be available with .com extension since it is so popular. In such conditions, you can go for better alternatives like .org or .net. Even these domain extensions are now widely recognized.
Wait, a minute! Do not ever fall for fancy or weird extensions like .space, .food, or .club as they are the most untrusted domains and this might negatively affect your website traffic.
Let the name sound brandable
Generic is general but brandable is unique. If you want the name to get etched in the minds of your visitors and not at all sound familiar then think of some creative and brandable name.
You can think of some catchy words that rightly describe your brand, services, or products offered. You can use the thesaurus to find uncommon words or create your own quirky word by blending 2 or more different words. You can also search for unique names on domain name generators where you will find a range of brandable and unique domain name suggestions and also handily check if it is available or not.
Short and sweet
When it comes to a memorable domain name, short and sweet always works. If you want the name to get easily processed and memorized by the target audience, better keep it short.
According to research, domain names with 6 to 12 characters length are more common.
And yes, easy to remember too
Shorter names are not just easy to remember but they are also easy to type, share, and better for social media and search engine findings. Look at all the big names – Facebook, Instagram, Google, Pinterest, CNN, Discovery, Amazon, aren’t they short, easy to spell as well as to type?
Bigger names are most likely to get misspelled, mistyped which again can affect your site traffic.
It should be pronounceable
How about, ‘anemone.com’, ‘choosespain.com’? Don’t they sound confusing and hard to pronounce? Okay, first let us clarify, the domain name – choosespain.com, is not ‘Chooses Pain’, it is actually, ‘Choose Spain’. There are many such websites around the globe that put us in the tight spot and make us wonder what do they exactly mean.
Hence, the best and wise piece of advice is to stick to domain names that are easy to pronounce. If you opt for some tongue twisters or complicated words, it will definitely get misspelled and your website will lack traffic it was aiming for as it can’t be found.
Avoid special characters or numbers
Why do you want to make it difficult for your potential website visitors to reach out to you? The more clumsy and complicated the domain name is, the more likely people will avoid visiting it. Nobody on this earth is interested in searching for each and every character on the keyboard, type, and then find your website. Who has so much time and patience?
Hyphens, special characters, numbers are way too knotty. So for god sake, please avoid them. Let the domain name be smooth and as simple as ABC. If you want to differentiate two words, rather than using a hyphen, you can capitalize on it in the logo like ‘LinkedIn’, ‘LiveRail’, this is much preferable.
Use keywords that reflect your brand
Eyebuydirect, Mailchimp, Shopify, Snapchat, what’s common between them? Well, each of this domain name, slightly reflect what they have to offer. You are building a website to reflect your brand and help the potential visitors know what they can expect on your website or online store. So consider using niche keywords in your domain name. But make sure it should sound unique and uncomplicated.
It is mostly possible, you will land up having generic names. At that time you play creatively with words and blend. For example, you can use the niche keyword in the first half of the domain name, and in the second half just use something unique or simply blend two keywords and make it look interesting like Mailchimp or Snapchat.
Domain name generator tool can help you in creating such SEO-friendly and innovative domain names. Remember, Google is biased towards keyword-driven domain names. So, try considering this point.
Avoid similar sounding domain names
Nothing can be worst than your visitor landing to a different website while searching for yours. It mostly happens when your domain name is similar to some other domain name, especially if it is the popular one. Just by adding an ‘s’ or slightly changing the spelling of an already existing domain name and making it yours is so not cool and of course a bad decision.
This comes across like you are fooling the visitors and search engines but unfortunately, you are in loss. So, without a doubt, think of something unique rather than getting inspired or copying.
With all these tips and advice, hopefully, you are able to create an exceptionally interesting domain name. Be careful and thoughtful because as we said before, it has a great impact on the success of your online business.
