It may seem like a relatively easy task and also maybe not the most important thing on your to do list, but in fact, having a good business domain can be the key between failure and success.
As dramatic as this sounds, the truth is that whenever a potential customer looks for your business, they’ll have to find it using the right domain so having a good foundation of your online identity can really make a difference.
At first glance, it may not sound like a challenge to find the right domain name, but you may quickly find yourself stuck on a mind blank, so read on to find some tips to create the perfect domain name for your business!
Go with .com
Even though other TLD’s may be cheaper or sound more interesting, ultimately it is .com that most if not all consumers are familiar with. In fact having this association is likely to make potential customers trust your website more and consider it legitimate, as opposed to less recognizable TLD’s which can sound or look off-putting.
On this topic, you may want to scoop up similar domain names within the scope of your own .com domain. For example, youtube.info and youtube.net should directly take you to youtube.com. This is a great way to make sure your brand is unique to the domain name and you’re likely to avoid copycats and even outright scammers!
Keep it short
It goes without saying that a domain name should be short, memorable, and sweet. Your domain name should be easy to type on the search bar, especially for smartphone users as its likely most of your traffic will come from smartphones. It may seem hard to find a single short word to describe your business, you can try to use more than one and turn it into one by a play on words, or you can go online and use name creators which can definitely inspire you with a name.
On this topic, try to avoid cutesy names or abbreviations even if you think it may sound funny, in reality it makes your business look unprofessional and once again it may generate mistrust amongst potential customers.
Watch out for unfortunate awkward names
Remember that domains have no spaces, so if you use more than one word for your domain, it’ll read like a long sentence. Not only may this be difficult to remember but also, take into account two words read together may lead to some awkward combinations that are unfortunate as a domain name to say the least. Be very mindful of which words you combine and make sure they don’t read like something else when typed or read out loud!
Think long term
Thinking long term with your domain is about making sure that whatever you pick is what you’ll stick with for the whole duration of your business. Once you pick the domain name, you’ll have to pay for it so it becomes yours, if you decided to change it you’ll have to pay for it again which isn’t necessarily ideal. On top of this, if you start making changes you’ll confuse your audience, and some customers may flat out not be able to find your domain anymore as they may not be aware that there’s been a change.
On this topic, be sure to choose your niche carefully, and be sure you won’t regret it later. After you’ve worked on your SEO rankings for a while, changing your niche would mean losing ranks which essentially lessens your exposure and will give you less traffic, a nightmare!
Be wary of copyright issues
Once you’ve picked your perfect domain name, you need to do some research around the domain brand to make sure it’s not too similar to other website domains. The reason for this is that you may run into some trouble if your domain is too similar to someone else’s’. To begin with, it can create brand confusion, but worse, if the brand that your website is associated with has a bad reputation, your website and brand may be tainted with that same negative reputation even if you’ve done nothing to earn it!
On top of this, if your domain name is too similar to another, you may be stepping on the toes of someone’s trademark. This can be a huge problem and can run you into some legal trouble so it’s essential that you do your research around this before paying to get your domain registered.
Avoid double letters
When people use their devices to go online, they’re likely looking for fast results. If a website takes too long to load or doesn’t have a user friendly layout, its likely people might click off to never return. This applies to domains as well. If a user looks for your domain but makes a typo because there are double letters or dashes, they may not be aware of, your website may not pop up to them, and if it doesn’t the likelihood of them going out of their way to find it is very small. You must make sure your domain is very memorable and easy to type, otherwise you could be losing a huge amount of traffic!
Stick with your domain name but don’t close yourself in
Earlier on we talked about the importance of being consistent when picking a domain name and sticking with it through and through, which is relevant advice, however, it is also very important to not close yourself in. What is meant by this is that when you choose your domain name you should leave room for change or expansion that may happen further down the line without you needing to change the domain name completely if your business changes directions. For example, if you pick a domain name that has a specific product you’re selling, let’s say TV’s, but further down the line you want to start selling other tech, your domain name my close you out of the customer basis you want to be able to sell other tech, as they may assume you only sell TV’s. This means you need to be wise about choosing your domain name so you’re not missing out on potential business in the future and you’re also not confusing your customers.
Summary
Creating and running a small business is a very difficult task that requires a lot of effort, blood, and tears, so picking the domain name shouldn’t contribute to more stress. If you follow these tips, you should have a seamless experience and hopefully you’ll be able to pick a domain name that represents you, your brand and helps you succeed in your business endeavours.
Remember that SEO is a very important part of this process, so using key words is the best way to be high up in the rankings but be mindful of closing out certain markets you may want to participate in the future. All in all, a good brainstorming session and a few cups of coffee should get you there in no time!