Choosing a Domain Name

Choosing a Domain Name It’s only a few characters long, but your domain name is just as crucial as your company name. Your domain name is the core of your online identity. If you pick the wrong one, your website won’t be doing half its job, which is to draw in potential customers.  A bad domain name affects your entire marketing strategy and can have lasting effects on your public image. So how do you choose a good domain name? With over 100 million sites in existence, most of the good names will have been taken by now. But think of it as a way to make your site even more unique and creative. Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a domain name for your site. Be consistent with your brand name. Ten years ago, the trend was to stuff your domain name with keywords to attract people and search engines alike. That’s why you have lousy names like CheapPlaneTickets.com and BuyRareBooks.com. But these days, people are looking for credibility, for proof you’re an actual company. If your brand name is already taken, try adding “company”, a hyphen, or some other variation.Choose a good TLD. The top-level domain (TLD) is the extension at the end of your web address, such as .com, .net and .org. The best choice is always .com, as it’s the easiest to remember and often the first thing people think of when they recall your site. .Net and .org are good alternatives, but there are also seldom-used ones like .biz and .info. If you cater mostly to local clients, country code TLDs like .ca and .co.uk may be more preferable.

Keep it short but informative.  A domain name can have up to 67 characters, but you don’t have to use it all. Most of the time, just your brand or company name, plus variations if it’s already taken, will do the job. Acronyms aren’t a good idea for small businesses, unless you’ve already built a strong association with it (think MSN.com or NBC.com). If your company name doesn’t exceed 67 letters, spelling it out may be a better option.

Register several TLDs. Many experts recommend registering all common variations of your domain name to make sure no one else gets it. If you’ve got businessworld.com registered, for example, consider registering business-world.com and businessworld.net as well. That way, you won’t be confused with a company from another continent using the same company name. It also helps people find you better, if they add in that extra hyphen or can’t remember the right extension, they’ll easily be redirected to you. Avoid trademarks.  Some site owners have faced legal issues regarding the use of trademarked names. A company may make the best iPod accessories, but they may find themselves in trouble with Apple if they use the domain ipodaccessories.com. Some are simply unfortunate and unknowingly register a trademarked domain name. Research is the best way to avoid this. Know what laws apply to your state and make sure your website complies.

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