The Do's and Don'ts of Picking a Domain Name

A good domain name has the power to make or break your business. It’s not just the name that makes people remember your business, but also how it looks and sounds, as well as what feelings it inspires in them when they see it or hear it said out loud. Here are some tips on how to choose a great domain name so that you can start building trust with your audience right from the beginning of your online presence.

Pick a .com

First, you need to pick your top-level domain (TLD). This is one part of your site’s URL that doesn’t have any impact on your site’s performance, but it will have an impact on how people perceive your brand. More than anything else, people trust domains ending in .com or .net because they know these domains are owned by someone in North America or Europe. They can be expensive—especially if you buy them when they first become available for registration.

Pick something short

This is one of those instances where less is more. You want something short and memorable, so when you tell your friends about your great new site they can actually remember it. The longer it is, then more likely people will call it something else.

Choose something descriptive but not overly specific

This is an important rule to keep in mind when selecting your domain name. You want something that’s memorable, but you also want it to relate to your business. Make sure that no one else has taken it! It’s difficult to market to customers who can’t find you online. Also, if someone else has already secured their domain, check for any trademarks registered by others with a similar name.

Don’t use numbers

Using numerals as your domain is a big mistake. You should remember that good domains must be easy for visitors to remember, so avoid any numbers in your domain. A great way to come up with a domain name is to focus on keywords; think about which words you would like your website visitors to use when they are looking for you online.

Make it easy to spell, but avoid common words

Domain names are searchable terms, so they should be easy to spell. This can help people easily find your site when searching online, which is a great way to increase traffic. But many popular words (like the or and) have already been used by someone else as their website title. You may have to get creative in order to come up with an original domain name that is both easy to spell and doesn’t already exist.