A domain name is an asset of your brand’s online identity. It’s what people use to search for your business online. It also allows your audience to tell your website apart from the competitors.
Being able to pick a domain name that represents your brand is exciting and important. This guide explains how to choose the right one and thrive online.
Choose Something Short, Sweet & Brandable
Picking a domain name is a crucial step when making a website for your business. If your domain name stands out, your business website becomes easy to find. A great domain name also helps support your branding efforts.
For marketing and branding success, pick a short, brandable domain name. This type of domain name consists of one unique and easy-to-pronounce word. It doesn’t use complex vowels, weird vowels or characters like hyphens or semicolons.
Look for inspirations from renowned brands like Google, Twitter, TikTok, Tesla or Alibaba. Think of using a combination or a twist of actual words.
Reserve Your Old Domain Name
Brainstorming domain name ideas can take time. Yet, there’s no guarantee that your best choice is available. You might discover that your desired domain name is already taken.
If this happens, you have two options─ give up your preferred domain name or pick another one. It would be best to stick to your first choice until you’re sure it’s impossible to get it back.
If another business picked your domain, you could approach them to see if they can release it. Track their contact information from their website or use Whois.
Sometimes a taken domain name might be in the hands of domain flippers. They’re willing to sell it to the highest bidder. If this is the case, it’s plain sailing regaining your domain name.
A practical and less arduous way is to backorder a domain name. Let specialists help you find the exact domain name you desired from the start. With back-ordering, you can pounce on your old domain name the moment it falls due.
Pick a Domain Name Extension
A domain ending in .com is the most preferred domain name extension because of its SEO viability and easy recall. Most people are more familiar with .com than any other extension. Reputable brands and organizations like schools, hospitals and non-profit organizations use .com (or sometimes they use .org).
You can pick a different extension if your domain name is already taken. If your domain name was business.com, you could buy a business.net. This allows you to keep your brand name, but your reach is a bit compromised because of competition.
If your favorite .com is not available, it would be best to backorder it or consider a different name. You don’t want people to confuse your brand with competitors. This often happens with international brands.
If your audience is local, avoiding a .com extension can be a great way of boosting your SEO results. For instance, a .uk extension is likely to be well received in the UK. People can tell they’re interacting with a local company right away.
Sometimes, it’s best to pick all the domain name extensions as long as they have your brand name. Pick your business.com, business.net, business. uk, business.org to the last available extension. This helps you counter imposters and prevent brand misinterpretation online.
Make Sure the Domain Name Isn’t Someone’s Registered Trademark
You can possibly sue or get sued if you pick a domain name that infringes a competitor’s trademark. If someone holds hostage a domain name you legally registered, they can pay you damages.
As a rule, before you pick a domain name, do some legal research. Make sure your business name isn’t trademarked to avoid unnecessary litigation.
Look up on Google to see if they’re businesses in your niche using your domain. Most of the time, another already picked a domain name that you believe is unique.
Base Your Domain Name on Your Business Niche
Another way of generating domain name ideas is to focus on your niche or industry keywords. Pick a domain name that reflects your products or services. Keywords or niche phrases make your domain name relatable.
Keyword domain names are also suitable for SEO. People searching for products using your brand keyword can find you faster. SEO takes longer when you use an unknown word for your domain name.
Keywords work best if you run a niche business. For example, a furniture shop selling ergonomic chairs can use ergonomicchairs.com. This helps it attract the right audience and improve its conversion rates.
Picking a keyword domain name involves keyword research. Use tools like Answer the Public or Keywordeverywhere to the right keywords. Look for keywords with a high search volume and less competition.
Buy Existing Domain Names
Rather than picking a domain name from scratch, you can buy an existing one. Sometimes making a website for your business with an old domain name can help it rank faster.
An existing domain name might have active traffic. It might also have backlinks that can help your SEO efforts. The best old or existing domain names have high page rank and domain authority.
Make sure you audit the domain names before buying. Use Ahrefs to check for backlinks and Moz to measure domain authority.
Expired or on-sale domain names are more useful if they are in your niche. With the right SEO strategies, you can have your website on top search engines quickly.
Use a Domain Name Generator
A domain name generator speeds up the process of coming up with a perfect domain name. With a single keyword, these tools can auto-generate tons of domain name ideas.
Every keyword you click brings both available and unavailable domain extensions. If you’re happy with a suggested domain name, you can click register to buy it on the spot.
Pick a Domain Name That’s Right for Your Business
Pick a domain name with your customers in mind. A short, relatable and memorable domain name is the key to the success of your business website. It’s even better if you use a keyword domain name.
Don’t overthink your domain name. You are able to change it later if you absolutely need to. For more tips on online business, check out our blog.
