Choosing the Right Domain Name, The Ultimate Guide

How Choosing the Right Domain Name Matters

Your business’s domain name is like an online storefront for your business; it is often the first thing people will notice about your business when looking for you online, so choosing the right domain name is essential. Internet web addresses are identified by IP numbers, but as those numbers can be difficult for users to remember, the domain name system (DNS) was created to convert words into IP addresses. Having a domain name for your business is important for several reasons. It shows customers that your company is technologically progressive, and having your own domain, as in www.yourbusiness.com, instills more faith in your customers than if you use a web-hosting service that tacks their name onto your name, such as www.webhost.com/yourbusiness. Owning your domain also allows you to take that name with you if you decide to move web hosts for any reason. A domain name makes people take your company seriously; it shows that your company is committed to providing people the best possible products and services. Choosing a good domain name for your business is crucial. It is almost as important as what you name your business and where you locate yourself. The right name lets customers and clients know that your business has a strong web presence and provides dependable services. You may want to choose the name of your business or a name that represents your business. The name you choose should be short, easy to spell, and easy to remember. You want your name to drive customers to your site – both customers who have heard of your business and want to know more and customers who are looking for a particular good or service and trying to find a business that will meet their needs. Read on to find some great tips on how to choose a domain name for your business.

Make Your Domain Name Brandable

You want your business and your domain name to be brandable, meaning you want it to be a name that people will easily recognize and remember. You want your domain name to set your company apart. The internet is a vast place with a multitude of websites and businesses, so it can seem daunting to select the perfect domain name, but there are many ways to make your domain name brandable. It is often a good idea to choose a name that is vague rather than specific to your business. You do not know how your company may grow and change over time, so you want a name that can evolve with your company. Vague names also have distinction with companies and make it easier for them to seek you out. Instead of choosing a name that directly describes your company, you want to choose a name that represents an idea or feeling you would like people to associate with your business. If you decide to go with a keyword, try to keep it as specific as possible. You want to do everything you can to make yourself unique. It is important to choose a name that is short, easy to say and spell and has a trustworthy and professional connotation. Once you have chosen your domain name, you should check social media sites to see if that name is available. If you are planning on developing a social media presence, you will want your name to be the same or as close as possible so that people can easily find your company across platforms. If your chosen domain name is unavailable with the “.com” extension, you may be tempted to use one of the newer extension names such as “.guru” or “.club”, but that is not a good idea. Newer TLD (Top Level Domain) extensions are not familiar enough with the majority of online consumers. We recommend using new TLD extensions only as additional domains to your main “.com” domain name. If you look at our own domain name above, you will see that we utilize the modern TLD extension “.marketing” (methodic.marketing), but we’ve made it completely interchangeable with methodicmarketing.com. This allows us to promote a “.com” domain format that is familiar enough for human memory, but configured to utilize a modern TLD for optimal computer algorithm indexing. Try typing “methodicmarketing.com” into your browser and watch the magic happen!

Make Your Domain Name Memorable

When choosing a website domain name it is important that it is memorable. You want clients to be able to remember your name so that they can easily find you on the internet. Domains are easier to remember if they are easy to pronounce and spell. That does not mean that you can’t intentionally misspell a word or create your own word, but it should be something where people can easily remember the spelling and will not have trouble saying it. Perhaps the most important aspect of making a domain name memorable is keeping it short and descriptive. If your name is catchy, people will not have trouble remembering it. Try to make the domain represent your company, but avoid something that sounds too generic. For example, if you have an online hardware store, you would want to choose the name “BuildSmart” over “Tools”. “Tools” is too generic and doesn’t set your business apart. When you have chosen a domain name, try it out for a few days. Write it down, read it, say it and have others say it. Look at the name all together, with no spaces, as it will appear in your browser’s address bar. Make sure nothing awkward appears when it is in an address bar.

Make Your Domain Name Original

One of the best tips on choosing a domain name for your business is to make it original. You don’t want your name to sound too much like another company’s name, particularly if that company is your competition. If your name is creative and unique, then customers will associate your company with these same qualities. You may begin with thinking about what your company does and what it represents. Then make a list of words that you associate with those things. You may even want to use a thesaurus. You may want to think of a familiar foreign or Latin root word, as these can sound exciting and exotic, but are still well-known. Once you have settled on your name, you will want to do some research to make sure the name actually is unique. Do a web search to see if other businesses have the same name as yours. Do not be discouraged if you find that the name you have chosen is already taken. There are so many startups on the web now that a lot of names have already been chosen. If this happens, just keep working on your name until you find something unique. There are also some great websites that can help you choose unique website name ideas by giving you suggestions and letting you know what has already been chosen.

Make Your Domain Name Relevant

You want to make sure that your domain name is relevant in many ways. You want the name to have something to do with your business and you also want it to be a name that registers with search engines. SEO or search engine optimization concerns choosing keywords that will drive web searches to your website. As the web has evolved, choosing domain names based on SEO is no longer as easy as stuffing your domain or website with keywords. Google now discourages and often even punishes those practices. Google and other search engines now ranks sites based on whether they seem like a trustworthy branded company. Now, you want to focus on brand signals when choosing a domain. These signals point to a legitimate business with employees and valid products and services. Carefully choosing keywords for your domain name can still be beneficial, especially when it comes to back links. This alerts search engines about the focus of your company and will drive searches your way. Thus, including a simple and focused keyword in your domain is more effective than putting several keywords into the name.

Things to Avoid When Choosing the Right Domain Name

In addition to the things you should be doing when brainstorming a domain name, there are also several mistakes that you want to avoid making. Obviously, you want to make sure you do not pick a domain name that is already taken. Even if you come up with one of the best domain names ever and find that it is already taken, do not opt to choose an extension other than “.com” as a primary for field marketing purposes. Names other than “.com” have yet to prove themselves as trustworthy in people’s minds as the common extensions like “.com”, “.gov”, and “.org”. Again, make sure that the name you choose isn’t too long or difficult to spell. Avoid choosing a name that sounds like another company name, otherwise customers might confuse your business with another. Do not use numbers or hyphens. You may be tempted to use a hyphen as it may allow you to use a name that is already taken in a form without hyphens, but it can often pose more problems than just choosing a different name. You want a name that is easy to communicate. If someone hears your name rather than seeing it, you want them to easily be able to find it. Using a hyphen or numeral makes that difficult. If you have a number in your domain name, spell it out. Other factors to be cautious about are trademarks and infringement. If your business name is too similar to another company’s name, you may be sued and wind up losing both money and the name you worked hard to choose and establish. You do not want to infringe on another company, so when selecting a domain name it is important to do a lot of research to ensure that your name is unique enough to avoid legal problems. If you are worried about the name you have chosen, you may want to seek professional help before you go through with using it. As court cases involving domain name issues can be lengthy, tedious and costly, it is best to avoid these disputes if at all possible.

Final Thoughts on Choosing the Perfect Domain Name

Choosing the right domain name is the first and one of the most important steps in creating your online identity. There are many factors to keep in mind when coming up with creative domain name ideas. Your domain name will often be the first experience customers will have with your business, so you want something that is memorable and instills a sense of faith in your business. Your domain name is a part of your brand, and building a business is about so much more than just creating a name. You want to build a brand and your domain name is an integral part of that. Choosing a domain name that is short and easy to spell is a great first step. It is often a good idea to choose a name that is vague and representative of your companies ideals and policies rather than specific. Vague domain names generate client interest and allows your company to evolve over time while keeping the same name. It is important that your name is relevant so that search engines will give your sight preferences when people search for your product or service. Remember to avoid numbers and hyphens. Try to find a name that allows you to have a “.com” extension rather than ONLY a newer extension. Also make sure that no other companies are using your name or a name similar to your name to avoid legal ramifications. Contemplating a domain name can be a lengthy process, but once you have chosen one it is better to act now rather than later. Names can go quickly, so if the name you like is available (you can check with us here) it is time to buy. You may also want to buy names that are similar to yours – which is a perfect way to utilize new TLD extensions. You can use these names to redirect traffic to your website and avoid other companies starting up with names similar to yours.

In case you are wondering how to buy a domain name, you’ve come to the right place! Choosing the right domain name is simple! Visit us at https://methodic.marketing/domains/ to check your domain name availability right now.