Choosing The Right Domain Name: A Look Inside

You have established your business plan, developed a great product, and are now ready to take your business to the next level. Developing a website and promoting your business online can be a challenging task. The biggest challenge business owners face is trying to pick a domain name. You want a name that is easy, relatable, and memorable. Coming to this name, however, can be tricky.

Here are 8 rules for choosing the right domain name.

Chose 5 Top Keywords

When you first begin searching for the best domain name, it can be helpful to think of 5 keywords or phrases that best fit your business. For example, if you are a bakery and you sell muffins, cupcakes, and cookies, you may start with these keywords to try and spark a good idea. From there you can play around to find a domain that best fits how you would describe yourself.

Have A Unique Domain

The biggest advantage any brand can have is to be unique. Separating yourself from other businesses like yours is a big advantage if you can find a clever way to do it. This applies to choosing the right domain name as well. Never create a domain that is similar to an already established brand.

Never chose a plural, hyphenated, or misspelled version of an already used domain as well. This can cause consumers to be directed to other domains when trying to search for your business.

Always Chose A Dot-Com Available Domain

Besides professionals in the industry, most people assume that every website ends in .com. This said, when deciding the best domain name for your business, try to find an available dot com address. This will help build a successful website in the long run. Examples of other website domains include .org, and .net. These other domains are perfectly fine however, many assume a website automatically ends in .com.

Easy Does It

Ever hear that old expression keep it simple stupid? Don’t over think your domain name or make it too complicated for users. The best domains are those that are easy to type, easy to remember, and short.

When domain names require attention to type correctly because of spelling or use of unmemorable words, users often mess it up. When it comes to creating a name that is easy to remember, this can be helpful in exploiting word of mouth marketing and is even helpful for SEO purposes. SERPs take into consideration the ease with which a website can be called to mind. When you have created a domain name that is easy to type and easy to remember, remember to keep it short. The final step in creating an easy domain name is keeping the length to a minimum. Generally short domain names are easy to type and easy to remember. Funny how that works.

Create A Name That Reflects Your Content

Put yourself in the users shoes. When you are typing a website address in the address bar to go to a website, you expect the words to resemble the type of content you are about to see when you press enter.

In other words, if a domain name has the word car in it, you would expect that when you get to the website, you would see relevant content about cars. Domain names that do not reflect the type of content on the website often require much more branding so users actually know what the website is about. Good examples of creating a domain name to reflect the type of content are AutoTrader.com and ApartmentGuide.com.

Steer Clear Of Copyright Infringement

Copyright infringement can be a huge setback for a company. It does not happen often but it can really diminish a brand when it does. To check if your domain name and ensure you are not infringing on someone elses copyright, visit copyright.gov.

Avoid Hyphens And Numbers

Hyphens and numbers make your domain name hard to type and also hard to remember. Domain names should be neither of these things (as previously discussed), so try to avoid them as much as possible and use something simple.

Roman numerals are also a point of conflict as they can be misused often.

Build Your Brand

Most importantly, when you have gone through all these guidelines, remember to build your brand. Domain names with good keywords and other unique names can be a great way to build your brand.

For example, domains such as fishandtackle.com may be a great way of telling users the type of content to expect on your website and it is simple but it can be spiced up a little bit to help build the brand. An example of a better domain name would be basspro.com. It provides a keyword of what to expect when visiting the site and also does a great job of building a brand.

For more information on building a website that best fits your business, contact Horton Group today and get a quote.