Select Your Perfect Domain Name For Brand & SEO
A Top Tier Guide On How To Select Your Perfect Domain Name
Most marketing and business professionals agree: your website is your most important marketing tool.
Choosing a domain name is one of the most consequential decisions you’ll make. Your website and its accompanying domain name (also known as a URL or web address) represent your brand and aid with SEO, albeit indirectly. This domain name will be broadcast on almost everything moving forward: social media sites, business cards, posters, advertisements, and your @email address, to name a few. Therefore, it’s essential to select a domain name that not only reflects your brand but is also easy to remember and type.
Here’s our top-tier guide for selecting the perfect domain name and creating a lasting impression.
Strategies for Choosing a Domain Name
If you’ve already chosen a business name, you may think selecting a domain name is as simple as replicating your business name and adding a .com to the end. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy, but these tips will guide you in your decision-making.
Keep It Short & Make It Memorable
Much of your business will come from word of mouth, so you want something easy to remember and, ideally, unique. With the proliferation of e-commerce sites and online entities, most of the common URLs have been claimed long ago. Now, intentional misspellings, combined words, verbs, and unusual extensions have become the norm. Think Flickr, Bebo, Insightly, Lingua.ly, Shopify, or GoDaddy.
Describe Your Brand, When Possible
If you’re lucky enough to find an available domain name that mirrors your intended business name, you’ve hit the jackpot. Your URL will not only help describe what you do without further need for explanation but can also assist in search engine rankings and SEO. For example, if you own a family construction lawn care business called McCall & Sons, consider a domain name such as www.McCallLawnCare.com.
Register Your Other Brand Handles
Social media sites are another critical part of your brand and lead generation strategies. Customers are more likely to check out your Facebook page for updates than your website. You want to make it easy for them to find you across platforms. Whenever possible, get the same social handles as your domain name. @McCall is likely taken, but you could check @McCallLawns or @McCallCare. If those are taken, you can get creative and still reflect your brand by adding a short prefix or suffix, such as “the,” “now,” “today,” “app,” or “get.” The same holds true for your overall domain name.
Register as a .com First, Then Add Other Extensions
Despite the availability of hundreds of top-level domain (TLD) name extensions (e.g., .edu, .buzz, .de, .info, .store, .blog), .com continues to be the gold standard. When in doubt, most users start with a .com extension when they don’t know the ending of a domain name. The .com extension also has the most perceived credibility among users. Once you’ve secured the .com domain, it’s a good idea to selectively purchase other fitting extensions, for example, .uk to identify your country location or .vet if you provide veterinary services.
Additionally, consider registering common misspellings of your domain to catch a few outliers (e.g., McallLawnCare.co, or McCalLawnCare.com). This ensures that potential customers find you even if they make a typo.
By following these strategies, you can select a domain name that not only represents your brand effectively but also supports your marketing efforts across different platforms
Consider SEO
When someone searches for a product or service on a search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo, they type in keywords or phrases. The engines search through millions of records to find websites that correspond with these terms. If you’re a furniture manufacturer, consider using that word in your domain name (e.g., www.WilliamsFurnitureStore.com).
While there are arguments that keyword-based URLs don’t significantly impact SEO due to the numerous factors influencing SEO performance, integrating relevant keywords can still provide an edge. Additionally, search algorithms evolve, potentially impacting SEO strategies over time.
Get Creative
If you’ve tried the strategies above and are still coming up empty, get creative. Use an online thesaurus or other brainstorming tools to find new ways to convey your brand. Both Shopify and NameBoy offer name-generating tools.
It’s common to go through dozens of iterations before settling on a final candidate. Creativity can help you stand out and find a memorable and unique domain name that resonates with your audience.
Research & Test It
After brainstorming and discovering your ideal domain name is available, conduct further research. Search for similar domain names using different spellings, extensions, or variations. If you’re purchasing a domain from someone else, check its history using the Wayback Machine to ensure you’re not buying a domain with a questionable past.
Ask friends or colleagues for feedback to ensure the URL makes sense and that you haven’t overlooked anything. Finally, check to ensure you’re not infringing on someone else’s trademark. Once you’ve done this due diligence, it’s time to register your domain names.
Avoid These Pitfalls
- Don’t pick a domain that can be confused with existing sites (e.g., by adding an “s” or using a .net or .org when the .com is already in use by someone else).
- Even though intentional misspellings can be okay, stay away from tricky or “cutesy” names that can be easily mistyped (e.g., EZDuzIT.com).
- Avoid numbers, hyphens, and underscores which are confusing to explain (e.g., do I spell the number six or type in a 6?).
- Don’t make it too long. You’re not doing yourself any favours with a long URL such as “johnshomeconstructionofboise.com,” especially when you’ll also probably use it as your email extension (e.g., john@johnshomecontructi…. you get the idea!).
There are many variables to consider, but in the end, your domain name should be unique, simple to memorize, and easy to pronounce or explain over the phone. Taking the time to choose the right domain name will pay off in creating a strong, memorable online presence.
Final Recommendations
Now that you’ve taken the time to find and register the perfect domain name, it’s a good idea to set your domain to auto-renew to ensure you don’t lose it inadvertently. Additionally, consider enabling domain ID protection to mask your contact information, protecting your privacy and reducing spam.
All of your hard work is pointless if you don’t have a reputable company to host and maintain your website. Whether you’re hosting a site for the first time or switching hosting providers, choosing a reliable host is crucial for your website’s performance and security.
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