As a potential website owner, you should know that choosing a good domain name is a step that you cannot afford to miss. If you start off with wrong or improper domain name, it might be really difficult to cross back later on. Switching back later can have bad effects on your search rankings and brand as well.
You have probably thought at some time or the other that the only things needed to make your business and website thrive in the quality displayed, well we hope this article helps to shine more light into that aspect. You must know that your domain name is a key element in your website, and if you do not get a catchy, exciting, and memorable domain name, visitors would not be able to check you out no matter how qualitative your business is.
This is why it is pretty important to choose the domain name that best suits your website from the onset. Upon just starting out, it can be a pretty difficult task to get a catchy business name that can be used as your domain name. In the course of this article, we will be sharing guidelines, tips and tools needed to get a really good domain name.
Tips on How to Select the Perfect Domain Name
- Go For ‘‘.com’’
Although there are various domain names extensions available, we recommend using the .com domain name. This is because about 75% of most websites use ‘’.com’’ domains. This is because it is one of the most preferred extensions, and it is also quite easy to remember. Also, it is the most credible and established domain name around. In case your first name choice is not available, you should try the second one before going for other TLDs.
You should also note that specific browsers take address-only entries in their address column. Some newer domain names like .photography, or .ninja are not so trustworthy. It is quite common to find users that would normally type .com at the end of almost any given website, so in the light of that, the dot-com domains can be memorized quite easily. Most keyboards on smartphones now have .com buttons. Given all the listed factors, it might be smart to simply go for the .com domain names.
- Select a Distinct Name and Keep it Short
Since you are trying to market yourself, you should probably opt for your first and last name. In the event that you do not plan on marketing yourself, it is still always advisable to register in your name as the domain name. This can prove to be really helpful for you in the nearest future.
When marketing your business, you should know if your proposed business name is available. You can get this by using a popular search engine like Google and then searching for your name. If your search shows any other domain name that is quite similar to the one you want, then try another name. If you name your site after an existent site, you might be already in troubled waters.
Do not also attempt to choose names that are pluralized or incorrectly spelled versions of other sites. Although you probably already know the importance of keywords, you should know that getting a domain name entails going for something that is not too long. Longer domains can be very difficult to remember for your users. Also, users would be more prone to making typographical mistakes when dealing with domain names. All this suggest further that you select a distinct domain name and keep it short.
- Make Your Domain Easy to Spell and Pronounce
Your domain name should be easy to spell, pronounce, and also write. This is because an opportunity to present your domain name in person may rise and you also need to rise to the occasion. You cannot do this if your domain name is somewhat difficult to pronounce and spell. If you have plans of using your domain name to create a business email address for yourself, it definitely has to be easy to spell and understand for your listener.
You can carry out a test on this by writing your domain name on a piece of paper and asking about 5 random people to pronounce it. If about 3 persons cannot pronounce it successfully, then you should really consider simplifying it.
- Avoid Hyphens or Numbers in Your Domain Name
As a prospective domain owner, one thing you should always keep in mind is that you should never use hyphens when creating a domain name. This is one basic rule that has to be adhered to. We are emphasizing this because hyphens make your domain name difficult to pronounce and spell. Spam domains normally use hyphens, and you definitely do not want to be associated as part of those.
Hyphenated domains often serve as precursors for typographical errors. If you prefer to go for a hyphenated domain name because the name you want is already taken, then there is every chance that your prospective visitors would end up visiting your competitors’ site.
- Check For Trademark Problems
Before you proceed with a domain name, you should check social media sites to see if your proposed name is available. This is done because you need to know if there are any trademarks registered already under the name. In order to effectively and efficiently build your brand, you are expected to use the same name across your social media networks and your domain as well.
This helps to promote uniformity and authenticity, as your visitors can trace the domain name on the social media platforms. Also, your fans, visitors, and customers can find you more easily on the web. In order to avoid legal issues, it is best for you to avoid names that have trademarks already. Using a tool like Knowem, you can easily check trademarks and social networks for the purpose of your potential domain name.
The tool searches across about 25 popular social networks to see if the name you’re interested in is available or, there are trademarks already registered to it. If the names are taken, then you might have to consider tweaking it a little to create your profiles on the social networks.
- Go For a Domain Name Generator
At this stage, you should have ideas on some of the words you can put in your domain name, this is what you need a domain name generator for. Innocently, on your part, you might have entered some words that may already have been trademarked, taken or don’t represent what you stand for. The best thing is to go for a domain name generator.
These generators primarily serve the purpose of converting your ideas into cool, and available domains. Some of the cool and available domains that we can suggest to you are ‘DomainHole’, ‘Lean Domain Search’, and finally ‘Wordoid’. To use them, all these generators need from you are ideas and a simple keyword, and in return, you get tons of suggestions and domain names that you can register immediately.
- Go For Brandable and Unique Names
It is always better to go for brandable and unique names when compared with the generic ones. You should always note that your domain name is how your visitors will remember, find and talk about your company on the web. This indeed serves as a foundation for your brand.
A unique and brandable name stands out from all competition while a generic name, on the other hand, is unmemorable. Go for names that are brandable and excite your visitors, not the usual old, dull, and boring ones. You also have the option to go for a thesaurus to find exciting words that fit your brand. You can also make up new, catchy words like Yahoo, Bing, and Google did.
- Have a Long-Term Goal
Are you interested in becoming one with your domain? If yes, you should know that this will be one of the biggest factors that will determine your brand and business for some years for now. If you then decide to change your domain name in the future, you should know now that it will cost you a lot of money, SEO rankings, and branding. In essence, it would be very very difficult to achieve that.
You could save yourself the stress of going through all that by having long-term plans that would benefit both you and your business. For instance, if your company helps to boost websites for SEO for businesses, then you could go for a domain like ‘‘boostSEO.com’’. If there is a probability that you would want to expand your business to general digital marketing services in the nearest future, like PPC, email marketing, etc. then it would be advantageous to try to reconsider the domain name you would go for.
You certainly do not want to pin yourself on a specific niche if you have plans of later expanding out of that niche. Ultimately, you would do well to keep your long-term vision in mind when you select a name for your domain.
- Avoid Trends
This is equally also another important aspect to take note of. Trends are bound to always occur in our societies, but something peculiar to them is their temporariness. Anything that deals with an issue causing raves in the society is normally considered a trend. You should also know that anything trendy will fade away as expected, just like the trend.
We would hence like to advise you to stick with a classic name, i.e. a name that will last for generations, and not have any ties with any fad or trend. Although, deciding on something being a trend is still personal, and hence subjective as well. Do not forget that trends can be easily identified on the social media platforms and networks.
- Brainstorming
We’re pretty certain we all have different conceptions on what it means to brainstorm. Well, to do this, there is no specific rule or guidelines. You could just pick about five phrases or words that perfectly encompass the key idea of your website. You could write them on paper, and then mix and match them to get possible domain names. You do know that you have to pick one that is indeed memorable, catchy, and exciting.
There is one common rule in advertising that can be used across almost all facets of life and the rule is that you need to have a list of ten possible names when considering a name for a product. The reason for this is not so far-fetched. This can be tried out with the aim of going ultimately for about 3 names, before further streamlining it to the one that best suits your business.
Do not be scared or timid to ask your friends for their suggestions, opinions, and viewpoints, as this would further help in examining things from a potentially superior objective eyes. That is definitely the best way to get your domain name.
Conclusion
Now that we have successfully written an outline of ways to select a domain name, the decision ultimately lies with you. Making a decision of such nature must never be rushed, or hurriedly taken. This is because it has far more superior bearings on the trajectory of your brand and business.
Changing of a domain name over the years is becoming increasingly more difficult than people think it actually is. This is one of the many reasons why you should take your time when selecting a domain name. In the event that you have found a domain name that perfectly suits your needs and it is available for a premium price, do not settle to fate and forget about it. Instead, see if you can contact the seller to negotiate for a lower price. In case your intended domain name is reserved, you can also contact the domain owner to see if they are interested in selling it.
We hope this article helped you to understand the guidelines, rules and thoughts to follow through on, when planning to get a domain name. If you need more ideas or tips try reading how domain names started and this might help you when choosing your domain name.
