Choosing the right domain name can play a key role in the success of your website. So what should you take into consideration when choosing and registering your domain name? Here are 8 useful tips.
1. Keep It Short
The domain name is something people are going to need to remember and type in on a regular basis. Keeping domain names short is always a good idea.
FAQ: How long can my domain name be?
- Approximately 63 characters depending on where you register it.
2. Keep it Simple, Stupid (KISS)
Choose a domain name that is relevant to your business or business area. Do not confuse people with irrelevant domain names. Additionally, do not join words with the last and first letter of each word; for example warsawidgets.com is a bad idea, unlike warsawwidgets.com.
Furthermore, unless it is your business name, try to avoid using misspellings of words or replacing words with numbers; for example 2kool.com is probably not the best idea.
Finally, try to avoid using additional padding such as "company", "agency", "ltd" and "the".
3. Avoid Hyphens
Try not to use hyphens in your domain name as a lot of people may assume your-business.com probably doesn't use one.
FAQ: What characters can I use in my domain name?
- Domain names only allow for the use of letters, numbers and hyphens. Additionally, they are not case sensitive.
4. The use of Keywords
A lot of people recommend using keywords in domain names. I, however, personally feel that these URLs look a bit spam-like in most cases; for example, manchesterwidgets.com
Additionally, if your business is likely to change direction in a few years you may need a little leeway and therefore, I personally do not recommend tying yourself to keywords. Furthermore, if your online marketing strategy is good enough your URL should not make too much of a difference in your search engine ranking.
However, you cannot ignore the argument that keywords will always help people in understanding your website before they visit.
It's a tough choice!
5. Don't Buy Trademarks and Other Business Names
Before you register your business name it may be worth checking companies house to avoid registering another businesses name. There used to be a time when people who wanted domains badly enough would pay you big money. These days they just call their solicitors.
6. Be Unique
If you are going to register a domain name similar to another popular website this is a recipe for disaster for many obvious reasons.
7. Be Patient
Unless you have an idea that you think may get snapped up, be patient. Ask your friends, family and colleagues what they think. Ask if they can spell it, how easy it is to pronounce and, most of all, does it make sense?
8. Purchasing a Domain Name and Covering your Options
So now you are at the point of registering your well chosen domain name. I always recommend that people register both the .com and .co.uk for a few good reasons:
- If you tell someone that you have a website and they only catch the name, the first thing a lot of people try is the .com.
- At an online marketing seminar that I attended in July 2010 it was mentioned that people from the UK are 60% more likely to click a .co.uk over a .com in search engine results.
- Finally, if a competitor purchases your alternative domain name you could face losing a lot of business to them if they do not offer to sell it to you (for quite a substantial fee).
It can never hurt to have too many domain names. It merely increases the number of ways people may find you. Some companies have even been known to buy the misspellings of their domain name.
FAQ: Does this mean I need to have a website on each domain name?
- No, you can host your website on your favoured domain name and point the rest to that.
