One of the first things you do when you want to legalise your business is to have it registered at your state’s agency as a legal entity. The state usually requires that your business is registered with a name that is different from all the others that have been registered already. That name will be your unique identity. A domain name is the online equivalent of your business name with the state. It is your unique identity on the internet. It’s your business address. When you’ve decided to get a website for your brand; whether it’s a business, a passion project or a personal website, one of the first things to decide on is your domain name. It’s easy to buy any name you want but there are best practices. I’ll share a few things you should look out for to help you make that decision.
Keep your domain name simple and short
Some people are tempted to go for long names that explain what they do or who they seek to serve but it is important to keep your domain name simple and short. Something people can remember and easily register in their minds when they look at it. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram . All these popular social media platforms have simple domain names! You can easily remember them without having to think too much about them.
Make sure your domain name is in line with your brand name
As much as possible your domain name must be your brand name or a name closely linked to it. Example: If your brand name is Turnips, you should look for a “turnip.com” or “turnipstudio.com” (if Turnip is the name of a photography, music, or beauty studio). It’s pretty rare to find brands that choose domain names that have nothing to do with their brand name. As a part of brand building, it is advisable to stick to your brand name or something close to it. It establishes your brand name (and identity) on the internet. You have spent time and money deliberating and researching the best name for your brand. You’ve spent money promoting the brand name and getting your clients familiar with it. Why veer away from it? Using your brand name also helps your website to rank well in searches for your brand name. That means that your website appears higher on the list when people search for your brand name.
If your brand name is taken you can add some keywords to your brand name. Here’s an example: A barbering shop with the brand name Fresh Cut would prefer to use “freshcut.com” as a domain name. If they check for it and it’s not available, they can opt for “freshcutbarbers.com” which includes a keyword they would want to be ranked for (barbers).
Consider including a keyword
While a brand domain name is strong, you can also consider adding a keyword. This is not a foolproof way of increasing your search rankings but it will definitely boost them. This works just as well as having one with a brand name. That is why I suggest that if your brand name is taken, add a keyword to create the perfect domain name. But don’t neglect the fact that we need to keep it short and simple.
The Extension of your domain name
The extension is the word that comes after the full stop(.). You know the popular ones like .com, .org, .net. Those are the first few that were created in the ’80s so they have gained popularity over the years. As these extensions became crowded, new extensions propped up like “.io” “.me” “.live ” and “.shop”.
With over 400 extensions created in the system, you have a myriad of options to pick from. Bear in mind that there’s a “best use case” for every extension. Let’s look at a few.
.com is the most popular extension and it can be used for any website but was initially used for commercial websites. (recommended)
.net is the next best option and can also be used for a variety of websites now especially if you’re in the tech industry as “net” stands for networking and technology.
.org is best used for organisations and non-profit or social enterprises. Do not use this if you are a commercial business.
.me is best used for personal websites such as blogs
.edu is used primarily for educational institutions
Check the spelling
A domain name is more often than not, a one-time investment. There’s no joy in buying a domain name you don’t want and won’t use because you spelt it wrongly the first time. Double-check the spelling of your domain name before clicking to pay.
Avoid Hyphens, Double Letters, and Abbreviations
Unless your brand name is abbreviated and popularly known by its abbreviations, do not pick an abbreviation of your brand name as your domain name. An example of an abbreviated domain name is https://www.wgts919.com/. This radio is popularly known as WGTS and most of its listeners barely know that that abbreviation stands for “Washington’s Gateway To Service”. In this case, WGTS chose a domain name that their audience was accustomed to and one that resonated with their brand: from their jingles right down to their paraphernalia. If your brand name is an abbreviation all your clients are used to, go ahead and use it. Otherwise, do not use an abbreviation for your domain name. Also, try to avoid hyphens and double letters. Remember we want something that can easily be read, and pronounced (in ads), and something that is easy to remember.
Buy it fast
Once you find the perfect domain name, purchase it quickly! They do not stay on the market for long. Think about the fact that people all around the world are thinking about new ideas and coming up with new business names that need to be registered. The price of some domain names also increases with time. The earlier you secure the perfect name you find, the better.
Now that you know all the tricks, go ahead and secure that domain name for your brand today while it’s still available and cheap. Want to check if your domain name is available? You can search for them on any of these domain name registration sites. I recommend either GoDaddy or NameCheap.