Picking Your Domain Name? 7 Tips to Choose Wisely
Your domain name plays a vital role in building your brand’s online identity. Many companies opt to use their company name as their domain name, but this isn’t necessary and actually may not be the best choice. Go into the process knowing how to pick a winner – use these tips to help you choose the perfect domain name for your business.
1. Easy to Type
Slang terms like “ur” instead of “your” or “lite” instead of “light” may look cool, but they can be confusing for people to find online. The goal is to make it virtually impossible for anyone to mistype your domain name – choose one that’s straightforward and avoids spelling confusion.
2. Short and Sweet
Long domain names increase the odds that customers could misspell it and get directed to a different site. Simple and short makes it easier for people to find you and ensures they don’t wind up somewhere else.
3. Remember Keywords
You know how important keywords are for SEO. Imagine how much higher your site will be in the rankings if you use keywords as your domain? For example, if you’re a dermatologist, skindoc.com or skindoctor.com would make great domain names. And if your business is local, consider including the state/town in your domain. For example, skindocnaples.com for a dermatologist in Naples, Florida.
4. Stay Away from Numbers and Hyphens
Much like abbreviations, numbers and hyphen may look cool, but aren’t quite so cool when spoken. “3-L” could also be “threeL”, “3ell”, etc. A dash (-) can be left out or even spelled out as “dash.” If you must have them in your domain, register different variations and have them forwarded to your intended domain to be safe.
5. Research It
One of the pitfalls in choosing a domain is accidentally picking something that’s trademarked or copyrighted. Even though you had no idea, this can lead to a huge legal mess and will likely force you to forfeit your domain. Avoid all that by taking few minutes to research it first.
6. Protect Your Brand
Competitors can be sneaky sometimes. They may try to register similar sounding domains in hopes of catching traffic intended for your site. You can prevent their attempts to siphon your customers by registering various extensions as well as different misspellings for your site.
7. And Speaking of Extensions…
Although the .com extension is most common and has many benefits, it can also be challenging to find the domain you want simply because it’s been around for so long. Consider other possibilities that may work for your business like .net or .org. Some, like .photography or .tv even help people know what you do!
Need help choosing the right domain name? Contact My Marketing Firm today to for a no-risk project consultation!