The most significant decision you will make during the start-up process of your business will be choosing a great domain name. You'll find yourself spending hours in research simply to find the domain name that is right for your business. It's a process that cannot be avoided.
And, that's why we put together this simple list of tips that will help you pick the perfect domain name and get results. Simply keep in mind the points below and begin the search at PureEdge Domains.
Additional Reading: Why PureEdge Domains?
1. Keep in Mind Your Corporate Brand and Identity
Always remember; your domain name is a part of your corporate identity. And, your corporate identity is more than just a logo. It's about everything that represents who and what your business is. A specific color, typestyle, tagline, design, or photo can all say something about your business, who it is, and what it does.
Your domain name isn't any different. It's your identity on the web because of this, one needs to make sure the domain name chosen does two important things.
It fits your business persona
It's easy to find and promote
In many cases today, with the web being so important, choosing a domain name will go hand-in-hand with choosing a business name. Many find their domain name first, which then becomes the new business name. Then after finding the domain name and the business name, will begin creating other branded materials like logo, tagline, colors, social media accounts, and business cards. It's a great strategy that makes sense.
2. Choose a domain name that is easy to type
Choosing a domain name that’s easy to type is critical to online success. Unless you plan on spending thousands of dollars every month in advertising, using slang ('u' instead of 'you') or words with multiple spellings ('express' vs. 'xpress'), it might be harder for customers to find your site. Keep it simple and spell out your words.
3. Keep it short
With .com domains, this is getting increasingly more difficult as most short domains are spoken for. If your domain name is long and complex, you risk customers mistyping or misspelling it. Short and simple is the way to go.
That's why you may want to keep in mind the extension you use with your domain name. The .com domain extension is the most popular, but it can be tough to get a short and memorable .com domain name because it’s been around for so long.
Pro Tip:
Extensions are the suffix part of the domain name, such as .com or .net, at the end of web addresses. These can have specific uses, so make sure to choose one that works for your business.
Believe it or not, there are many generic top-level domain names like .app, .photography, .nyc, and .guru. These are becoming increasingly more popular as they offer excellent opportunities to register short and highly relevant names.
Here are some additional top-level extensions and how they're used. You'll find many more during your search.
- .co : an abbreviation for company, commerce, and community.
- .info : informational sites.
- .net : technical, Internet infrastructure sites.
- .org : non-commercial organizations and nonprofits.
- .biz : business or commercial use, like e-commerce sites.
- .me : blogs, resumes, or personal sites.
Related: See the full list of common TLD's
4. Use keywords
Using keywords in a domain name can improve your ranking in search engines (which increases traffic) and just makes more sense to your customers. Always include a keyword into your domain name that people enter when searching for your products or services.
For example, if your business name is Reach, and you instruct kids in basketball leagues, then ReachBasketball.com makes great sense. Basketball is the keyword. If your business name is Clean Bottom Pools, your domain name already has several great keywords - clean and pools. CleanBottomPools.com works perfectly.
5. Target your area
If your company does local business, consider including your city or state in the domain name. This makes it easy for local customers to find and remember. A Collision Center in Arizona uses MesaValleyCollision.com.
Pro Tip: From .boston to .vegas, you’re likely to find a geographic domain extension that suits your business.
6. Avoid numbers and hyphens
Numbers and hyphens are often misunderstood or looked over. People who hear your website address may not know if you’re using a numeral (5), if it’s spelled out (five), or they misplace or forget the dash.
If you need these in your domain, register the different variations to be safe. If your business is 10Top Clothing, then you should own multiple domain names; 10topClothing.com, TenTopClothing.com, top10Clothing (customers may mix up words), and TopTenClothing.com.
Pro Tip:
You don’t need to build a website for every domain. Just forward any additional domains to your primary website.
Another Great Pro Tip:
It's always good to protect your brand through the purchase of multiple domain extensions, as well as misspelled versions of your domain name. This prevents competitors from registering other versions and ensures your customers are directed to your website, even if they mistype it.
7. Be memorable
Find a domain name that people will remember. There are millions of registered domain names out there, so finding a domain that’s catchy, engaging, and memorable is essential.
Once you’ve come up with a name, share it with your close friends and family. Get their input and find out if they think it sounds appealing and makes sense.
Pro Tip:
Got a great idea for a domain? Search for that domain name today and attach it to your current website or one of your social media profiles to help build your brand online.
8. Research it
This step is crucial. There are several important areas of research that need to take place. Specifically the legal, branding, social media aspects of your domain.
When you choose a domain name, make sure the name you’ve selected isn’t trademarked, copyrighted, or being used by another company. It could result in legal mayhem which could cost a fortune, as well as your domain! In every state, you can search for the government site that will allow you to find copyright and trademarked names.
Check all the social media sites and see if your domain name and business name are available. Name consistency with all of your social media platforms makes things easier to remember. Remember 10Top Clothing. They own all the domain names that point to their site, and their social media names are consistently the same across the board.
- facebook.com/10TopClothing
- instagram.com/10TopClothing or @10topclothing
- twiter.com/10TopClothing or @10topclothing
- youtube.com/10TopClothing
9. Act fast
Domain names go quickly so it's always smart to register your favorite domain name(s) as soon as possible. If you’re having trouble finding an available name, domain registrars like PureEdge Domains will suggest alternate names during your domain search to help you find the perfect domain name.
