Choosing A Domain Name

Finding that perfect domain name that fits your business and is easy for customers to find can be a real challenge. These tips can help make that decision a little easier. If you need assistance let us know, we are here to help you.

Brainstorm 6 keywords

Start by coming up with 6 keywords. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo notice your domain name and associate it with what you do. If you sell cars you may want to have the word auto or car in the domain name. Using keywords in your domain name can greatly benefit you in the long run however you don't want to get too crazy and have a domain name that is so long no one remembers it. Another suggestion is to use a location in your domain name if your business is local. Having a city name in your domain name is very beneficial for search engines finding you and in turn customers finding you too.

Make the Domain Unique

Your domain name should be unique to your business. Using domain names that are similar to other businesses domain names is not recommended. Keep it unique to your brand. It's always a good idea to have your business name as a domain name however you may find that your business name isn't best for promoting easily. For example if your business name doesn't describe what you do you may find another name may be a better fit. Having multiple domain names can be very beneficial and you can have as many domain names as you wish go to the same site. With that is mind it is always best to claim your business name so a competitor doesn't claim it and point it to their site, it's completely up to you what domain name you want your website to represent.

Only Choose Dot-Com Available Domains

Dot-Coms (.com) are the highest priority to search engines and for word of mouth advertising. We always suggest to our clients to get a .com, .net, .biz and others may be tempting but you will always be better off getting a domain name that is a .com. Get creative, there are plenty of perfect domain names out there that haven't been thought of yet. Many companies buy their .net, .biz etc. domains as well and direct traffic to them to their .com domain. As cheap as domain names are to get you may want to consider this.

Make it Easy to Type and Remember

When researching that perfect domain name always keep in mind how easy it is to type it into a web browser. Using odd abbreviations that no one knows of should be avoided. Will your customers remember your domain name? That is very important for return visitors. Always keep it as simple as possible with as little thought process as possible. 

Keep the Name as Short as Possible

Before you decide to get your business name as your primary domain name that you will market be sure not to take it too far. A domain name like www.billsfurnituresalesandrestoration.com more than likely is just too much to expect for someone to remember. A domain name as such would be OK for search engines finding you but the chances of your customers remembering it would be a long stretch. Keep it as short as possible and use key words when possible.

 Avoid Copyright Infringement

This is a mistake that isn't made too often, but can kill a great domain and a great company when it does. To be sure you're not infringing on anyone's copyright with your site's name, visit copyright.gov and search before you buy.

 Hyphens and numbers are a NO, NO

Your domain name should be straight forward. When someone refers your business to a friend and tells them to go to your website there shouldn't be any guessing on what the domain name is. www.my-site.com is not the same as www.mysite.com. Your domain name should be able to be given to someone by word of mouth and they should be able to find it without having to do a search for it. Using numbers is possible but not recommended because the user doesn't know if they should type "2" or "two" when entering the domain name. stay away from hyphens and numbers and you will be much better off in the long run.

Buying a Domain Name

There are many companies that offer domain names. Prices range from $5 to about $15 per year unless you are wanting to buy a very favorable domain name that happens to be for sale, they can go for thousands of dollars but more than likely you will be getting a standard domain name. Domain names are very inexpensive today and like we said above you can buy as many domain names as you wish and have them all go to the same site. This can be good for marketing different keywords and getting listed in search engines. There are 2 things that you need to get started, a domain name and a hosting plan. Hosting is basically renting space on a server that is connected to the Internet, your website will be uploaded to this server and users from around the world will be able to access it. Hosting is usually around $100 a year but can also be purchased monthly if necessary. A domain name and hosting can be purchased from different companies but it is always recommended that you get both your domain name and hosting through the same company to simplify billing and to make life easier on your web designer. Two companies that I work with and recommend are www.siteground.com and www.hostgator.com. Both companies are excellent all around in my opinion. Companies I would avoid would be www.godaddy.com. Our personal experience with GoDaddy.com does not meet our expectations as a preferred Internet Service Provider.

We hope this helps you with your domain name research and we look forward to serving you.

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