Selecting the best domain name for your business plays a vital role in your business’s success. If you end up choosing the wrong domain name, then it can be a problem to change it later without affecting your search engine rankings and branding. That is the reason why it important to choose the best domain name initially.
When initially starting, it can be difficult to come up with attractive business name ideas with the right domain name. But wait, have you ever thought about why a domain name is important. If not, then have a look at these reasons which will make you understand the importance of a domain name and how to choose the best domain name.
· It is considered as your brand’s “first impression”. It is the first thing that visitors see when they visit your website. The right domain name can make a positive and long-lasting impression, whereas a bad domain can ruin your brand image and can send visitors away from your website.
· A good domain name affects SEO rankings. While correct domain names are no longer mandatory, keywords in the domain name can help in SEO rankings.
· A domain name helps in defining your brand. It is regarded as a branding opportunity. The perfect domain name can improve brand recognition.
These are just a few of the several reasons why a domain is important. Now that you have understood the importance of a domain name, let us get into the tips to choose the best domain name for your startup.
10 Tips for Choosing the Best Domain Name
While starting a brand of your own, selecting the best domain name can be a stressful task as you do not want to end up making a mistake. To make this process simpler, we have a guide that will help you to choose the right domain name for your website.
1. Always use.com- There are a lot of new domain name extensions available these days, from the real .com, .org, .net to niche extensions. photography, .pizza, and. blog making the process to choose the best domain name difficult.
If you are looking for the best domain name, it is always recommended to choose a .com domain name.
Though it may be exciting to choose clever blog names with new extensions, .com is to date regarded as the most credible and one of the best domain name. New domain name extensions like. photography or. the ninja can be unreliable.
.com domains are the easiest ones to remember. Several users, mainly those who are not tech-savvy, will be able to type .com automatically at the end of a domain without memorizing it. If for example, your website’s name is jane. photography and a user accidentally types in jane.photography.com, they will be redirected to an error page on the website. You can avoid this risk by following the .com domain name extension. Nowadays, most smartphone keyboards come with a .com button, making it easy for anyone to type the domain name.
2. Use your keywords in your domain name- This is one of the most important tips to follow while choosing the best domain name for your startup. Keywords play a significant role while choosing the best domain name. By using your keywords in the best domain name, you are telling the search engines what your site is all about. Together with a good user experience and quality content, keywords used in your domain can help your website rank higher in the search engine.
It is difficult to find a perfect domain name that consists of your target keywords, and one which is not taken by anyone else. You must be creative and combine all the keywords with various other words to make your domain unique.
3. Keep the domain name short- While keywords play a significant role, do not go overboard with the length of the domain. It is better to have a short domain name that can be memorized easily. It is suggested to keep your domain name below 15 characters. Long domains are difficult for the users to keep in mind. Not to mention, most of the users are not comfortable in writing long domain names, which in turn can affect the traffic of your website negatively. That is the reason why it is a good idea to keep the domain length small.
4. Choose a domain name that is easy to spell- You must be able to easily share your domain name no matter whether you are writing or speaking about it. Nobody knows when you will be requested to share your domain name. If you are thinking to use your domain name to create a professional business email address, then make sure it is not only simple for you to spell it but also easy to understand by the listener.
5. Always keep the domain name unique- While choosing the best domain name, make sure it is unique, something that stands out in the reader’s mind. You can always research other blogs in your forte and find the names they are using. Do not use a trademark name or get accused of copying any other blogger. You must also choose a domain name that is quite brandable. Brandable domain names are catchy, memorable, and unique. For instance, “Amazon.com” is a more brandable name when compared to “BuyBooksOnline.com.”
6. Avoid Double Letters- It is a great idea to avoid domains that include doubled letters, as it increases the chances of losing traffic because of the typos. For instance, a domain like Pressesetup.com will have more typos and result in a loss of traffic. Avoiding domain names with double letters will not only make your domain name simple to type but also brandable.
7. Leave some scope to expand- No doubt, it is always better to select a domain name related to your niche/ industry as it gives the users an idea about your website. But again, you do not want to restrict your long-term choices too much.
For instance, a florist might select a domain name like orchidblog.com, but then he may decide to start blogging about other flowers apart from orchids. In such a case, the previously selected domain name might avoid you from attracting readers who have an interest in other flowers.
Correctly moving your website to a new domain can be frustrating, and it can cause you to lose your search engine rankings if you do not do it the right way. This is the reason why it is vital to choose a flexible domain name from the beginning.
8. Research your domain name- Before you register a name for your domain, you should first find out whether the name is already registered or not. For checking this, you can always perform a trademark search to find out if there is a similar or exact name that has been used by somebody else. You can even do a Google search and check the availability on top social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
A similar kind or matching name will not just create confusion, but it can lead to many legal complications also which may cost you a large amount of money.
Once you create your site, you can understand more about how to copyright and trademark your website’s name and logo.
9. Use Domain Name Generators- Recently, there are over 360 million registered domain names. By seeing the number, most of us believe that all the good domain names are taken.
Looking for an individual domain name manually can be a time-consuming process. This is the time when domain name generators can help you. These are free tools that help you to find the right domain name based on your keywords automatically.
10. Select one name fast before it is taken by somebody else- Every day thousands of people from different parts of the world search for domain names. If you found a name that you like and which goes with your niche, then buy it instantly. If you do not buy it fast, then somebody else may register it.
So, once your startup is all set, follow these tips to choose the best domain name. Which of these tips helped you choose the right name for your name? Share with us in the comment section.