Does it really matter what your website’s domain name is? After all, if you have a good business and a quality website, people will visit regardless, right? Not so. In fact, your domain name is crucial to the success of your business. Your domain name is your business’ first impression. It’s the first thing visitors will see. A good domain name can have a positive impression, while a bad domain name can turn people away. Furthermore, your domain name affects your SEO. These are just a few ways that your domain name affects your business.
To help you choose a good domain name, we’re going to walk you through the elements you need to consider when coming up with your name.
- Choosing the right extension
Domain name extensions are the letters to the right of your domain name. The most popular domain name extensions are .com, .net, and .org. However, .com is the most popular extension. If you want your domain name to be easy to remember, you should go with .com. The .com web extension is also familiar to most web users and will help to legitimize your site. If your domain with the extension .com is taken, try the next most popular extensions i.e., .net and .org, or come up with a new domain name.
- Making yourself memorable
Your domain name is how visitors will find, remember, and share your company on the web. For this reason, your name needs to be memorable. A memorable domain name is unique, easy to remember, and differentiates you from your competitors. It should not be stuffed with keywords or overly long. To make your domain name more memorable, consider creating a new, catchy word. Consider the example of Google, Bing, and Yahoo. You can also use a thesaurus to find interesting words that go with your brand. Or you can use a domain name generator. This type of tool will help you create a unique name from your initial ideas and keywords.
- Getting the length and spelling just right
The rule of thumb for domain names is the shorter, the better. DataGenetics.com reports that the most common name length averages about 12 characters. Furthermore, you want your domain name to be easy to spell. If it’s challenging to pronounce or spell, then people will make mistakes when typing it into a web address bar. To avoid this, make sure the spelling is intuitive. Avoid silent letters (example pneumonia), multiple pairs of letters (successful), and words that have multiple spelling variations (adviser/advisor).
You’ll also want to avoid using hyphens and numbers. This will make typing your website difficult and raise questions like, “is that number spelled out?” And “where does the hyphen go again?”
- Using Keywords with care
Keywords help potential site visitors understand what your site is about. They also work towards improving your SEO. However, you need to be cautious. If you put a bunch of keywords into your domain name haphazardly, it will come across as generic. If you’re going to use keywords, use them strategically by placing them at the beginning of your domain. This position is where they’ll be the most useful to your ranking.
- Making the commitment
Your domain name will define your business and brand going forward, so you’ll need to be committed to it for the long term. Changing your domain name if you decide you don’t like it is almost as complicated as getting a divorce. It will cost you money, SEO ranking, and possibly customers. For that reason, you need to make sure that you like your domain name and that it remains appropriate as you grow and expand. For example, if your domain name is WebsitesRUs and then you expand into marketing, you will find that your original name is no longer accurate.
Now that you have a domain name picked out for your website, it’s time to look at creating your site. Here are some resources to help you get started:
If you need help building a website,
Read https://www.greengeeks.com/how-to-create-a-website for an in-depth guide.
For marketing advice,
Visit https://www.business.com/articles/market-your-website-on-a-shoestring-budget/ for step-by-step instructions.
To learn how to monetize your site,
Read https://www.searchenginejournal.com/content-monetization/367558/ for a thorough guide.