Domain names are no longer just a web address these days. Many profitable companies have been completely built around their domain name making it the brand and heart of the company. Choosing the right website domain name should be as important as naming your product. Given that status, here are some pointers on how to find the right web domain name that will ensure online sales and search engine success.
Branding Versus Keywords
Choosing between branding and keywords for your website domain name is probably the most difficult to determine. Yet, should be the first place to start because the rest of the considerations will one way or another relate to this. There are two schools of thought. One group believes you should have your keywords in the domain so that search engines pick up on the keywords and rank you better. To what extent this really affects your search engine ranking is not clearly known or proven. Consider why you are putting the website up in the first place. Most likely it’s for your customers or visitors. So choose a domain that also puts your audience first. The other group believes a webmaster should go for
In the early days of the world wide web, everyone wanted a generic domain like searchengine.com, books.com, auctions.com and the likes. Today, very few of those are truly successful sites that rival Google, Amazon
Having said that, a brand name made up of keywords could be best, and you would have the best of both worlds – literally. Take Filtervac.com for example. Filter Vac chose the domain and each page’s specific URL because of their keywords. But apart from being keyword rich, this website is also very marketable and can be a strong brand. If you are building a resource website, a website for affiliate programs or one that’s temporary in nature, keyword rich and generic domains would be a better choice.
Finally, there is no harm in buying both branded and keyword domains that point to the same site. Just make sure you only use one for submissions, directory listings, link exchanges
Business Or Product Name
This is the most common because in today’s increasingly small and competitive world, businesses tend to have rather creative and catchy names. On the other hand, if your business name is very nondescript such as Johnson Corporation, you might want to take the approach that combines part of your company name and a keyword. Although the importance of brand name was emphasized earlier, here the situation is slightly different. Non-descriptive company names aren’t particularly helpful to audiences. Someone looking for you would find it difficult to differentiate your company and the other company with a similar name. In this case, keywords tied to your name are worth considering. For a company like Durham Instruments, they do a great job of picking a descriptive URL with Disensors.com (click here to visit their website) since their company specializes in accurate sensors.
Domain Length
Short domains are supposed to be best but it’s increasingly difficult to find one without paying someone a lot of money to take over the domain. There are alternatives though, such as expired domains which we will explore a little later on. Just because a domain is a little longer doesn’t make it bad. For example, Heat-Line‘s domain name HeatLine.com is meaningful, short and to the point, as well as memorable. On the other hand, ThisIsAnExampleOfAWayLongDomain.com is too long, difficult to remember and prone to errors. The other extreme is needless abbreviation. TTT.com for a refurbished goods company is meaningless to almost everyone (and easily confused by other potential abbreviations) because TrashToTreasure.com works much better ins this case.
Aim for some balance while taking into account ease of use for
Hyphens, Suffixes & Prefixes
Hyphens in your domain name aren’t necessarily evil especially if it’s in your brand name or is the correct way to write a word. However, they are difficult to remember, type and prone to user input mistakes. Avoid them as much as you can. Suffixes and prefixes are
Pronunciation
This isn’t always a top consideration but it makes sense you should have a domain name that can be verbally communicated. Take your list of chosen domains and tell it to someone. Does it confuse them? Do you find yourself having to constantly repeat it or spell it? If that is so, move on or go back to the drawing board. Copyrights and Trademarks: In this day and age, many companies particularly those with strong brand names are increasingly protective of their trademarks. Avoid the trouble and expense of a lawsuit by spending some time to research your chosen name. Start by looking up the name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to do a trademark search.
Expired Domains
Anyone who has looked for a domain name finds out soon enough more than half the desired names are taken. If you cannot find a suitable one despite numerous searches, why not explore expired domains? Expired domains are those whose original registrant fails to renew commonly are due to website closings or companies going out of business. Within the list of expired domains are some real gems. There are many services that allow you to monitor expired and soon to expire domains for a fee.
Before you sign up for them, a good place to start researching for free is ExpiredDomains.net. Some believe recently expired domains with good traffic and rankings allow you to benefit from someone else’s hard work and give your site a head start. Theoretically, that may be true. Realistically, you shouldn’t expect that to last. People consistently return to a website for a reason. If your topic is very different from the original site, visitors will stop coming back because the information or resource they previously had access to be no longer there. If you assume such a domain and want to convert as many visitors as possible, make sure your content is very closely related or similar to that of the old site. You might want to also check that the old site has completely ceased operations. If the previous site still exists under a different domain, loyalists eventually find their way back there; Word gets around among them and could create a negative image on the old domain that’s now yours.
Domain Name Ownership
When you do register a website domain, have it registered under your name or your company. If you are registering through your host, remember a lot can happen within a short space of time. Companies go out of business or you change hosts, scams, scandals and more. Making sure you own the domain reduces the risk of losing your domain name in the future. Check your host’s domain registration policy. If there are unnecessary expenses to transfer your domain, try to register it yourself instead.
Registering a domain is a very simple and straightforward affair. Some good registrars and digital middlemen to try are Network Solutions, Hasty Domains, Google, WordPress and GoDaddy. Finally, when you do find the best available domain, get it immediately. Any delays no matter how minor may cost you. Finding the right domain is not easy. It takes a lot of brainstorming, patience and creativity. Once you find the right website domain name, don’t let it slip away to another buyer or into expiration. Get registered and get renewed today!
Don’t Forget About SEO & Social Media Marketing
It doesn’t really matter much what you choose for your domain name if you don’t optimize your website for search engines like Google. That means including unique content, keywords, and earning valuable backlinks. You can have the best website out there, but if nobody is visiting your website through organic search traffic then it might as well not even exist.
Smart SEO experts also know all about social media marketing and its impact on search engine optimization strategy. Growing your following on social media accounts can help your SEO tactics tremendously. Social media grows overall website traffic, builds links, amplifies branding and increases search queries for your business. Strategically utilizing Instagram direct message can help a great deal with growing an engaged Instagram following, which can be leveraged to expand your overall social networks on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube
Conclusion
Choosing the right domain name is a big first step for your business. A lot of factors need to be taken into consideration to ensure that your new website will be successful.
We hope you enjoyed this article on how to find the right website domain name for your personal brand or your business.
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