When it comes to choosing the perfect domain name it is extremely important that you get it right!
Your Domain name is your identity online and first impressions count, so make sure when choosing your domain name, that it is memorable!
Your Domain name is the way that people will find your business online, therefore it should be as consistent with your brand name as possible.
How do you go about choosing the perfect domain name?
1. Think like a customer
Imagine you are a customer browsing online for someone who provides the service that you do. What might you search for? What are the keywords associated with your type of service?
Trying to include an associated keyword in your domain name will really help with your SEO and will help get your rankings high in the search engines.
2. Don’t be boring
So you have an associated key-word….great, however, you don’t want your domain name to be too generic, as it just won’t stand out in a crowd!
Use the key-word in your domain name, but try to be creative with any other words you use.
Maybe try creating new words by changing spellings or removing a vowel etc?
(This is how Tumblr was created!)
This can be tricky, for example, if you are a business providing a service.
Your key-word tells your customers exactly what it is you do, you don’t want to change the spelling of that otherwise your service may get missed.
Maybe try combining your brand name with the service?
For example: saylandscaping (SAY is the brand name, landscaping is the service)
3. Be clear and concise
Bearing in mind all of the above, you don’t want to get carried away with a really long domain name!
The most successful domain names are only 6 letters long! This is pretty hard to achieve, however as a general rule,you want it no longer than 16 letters!
The reason for this is the longer your domain name, the more likely people are to make spelling errors or even to just forget your name in general!
Another key thing to mention here is do not use hyphens or numbers in your domain name.
Again, these can easily be confused / left out etc when people are searching for your domain name, meaning your website could get missed out.
4. Choose the right extensions
These days there are so many extension names to choose from, ones like .arts, .money, .me
However, the majority of people don’t know about these extensions and therefore are less likely to search for a business using them.
Also, as they are largely unknown, they are less likely to be trusted.
Ideally, stay with what is known, .com or .co.uk are the best!
5. Think long term
Your domain name is one that will likely stay with your business for life!
So when choosing the perfect domain name, think about the future of your business and what your ultimate goals are for the future.
You don’t want it to be too specific if you are looking to expand on your services a few years down the line!
6. Stay in the Law
Once you have chosen your domain name and before you register it, be sure to check it hasn’t already been trademarked or copyrighted by someone else. You certainly don’t want any legal complications down the line!
Now you should have an idea of what you want your domain name to be.
However before you finally go ahead and register it, you may want to consult with your family and friends, just to make sure they think your domain name is as great as you do!
