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Your domain name will have a better internet presence if you maintain it for a long time and gain the trust of your visitors over time. Bear it in mind that your website needs to portray your business in a good light to potential customers.
So the primary aim of your website should be to promote your brand name. Sometimes, you may be able to get a .com domain with your exact business name if your business name is short. But if you have a long business name, you will have to shorten it. Make sure that your customers can remember the name easily.
Now let’s look at tips that will help you pick a good domain name.
1. Your Name Should Beat The Competition
Determine whether your business name can beat the competition.Know how many websites are using those terms in your business name. Do a search with your proposed name (in quotes) and see the number of results you get. You may get thousands of results. It gives you an idea of the number of results you have to compete with. Adjust your name to get something with lesser competition if possible.
2. Check For Copyright
Make sure your domain name does not violate any Copyright Laws. You need to conduct a thorough search using search engines to ensure that your proposed name is free to use.3. Your Name Should Not Be Restrictive
Your business name should embody your present and future business model. The name has to remain the same if you intend to keep your domain name consistent for a long time. In this case, pick a name that is not restrictive. Your name should leave room for you to add more components to your business in the future without any problems.For instance, let’s say you want to start a web design company and you name it Jack’s Web Design. This name will become restrictive in the future if you want to add other components like SEO to your company’s service. The best thing is to use a broad business name that covers all internet marketing components. You will be able to add more components without trouble when your company begins to offer additional products and services.
4. Shop For A Domain Name
There are many places to check for available domain names. It is advisable to pick a .com domain name because that is the most common and easy for people to remember. Note that there are other domains that are also popular. The ideal thing is to pick something that is memorable and represents your business. It does not have to be exactly your business name.5. Your Name Should Bring Out The Concept You Have In Mind
You can test this out by running a survey. Observe the reaction of people to your domain name. What comes to their mind the first time they hear your domain name? They should be able to guess what your business is all about when they hear your name. This may not be the case all the time though.6. Make It Easy To Spell
Not everyone can spell correctly. So while it is good to make it memorable, try to keep it simple so that people can spell it easily. Don’t use complex words just to create an impression. It can turn out to be counterproductive. Keep it simple.7. The Shorter The Better
As a way of keeping things simple, try to use a short name. It is easier to remember and spell. Remember you are trying to make things easy for your prospective customers.8. You Name Should Command Authority And Trust.
You can achieve this by choosing a quality name. Do not choose a name that does not command trust. Coin your name around a popular name. When your name sounds like a trusted brand, you will get many customers. People tend to trust popular names. It’s a psychological thing.9. Should You Pick More Than One Name
It is not ideal to have two websites for the same business. You can, however, have a secondary domain for advertising your business. You can use less popular domains for print ads and redirect people to your primary domain.If you must have more than one website, each website should be treated as a separate website. Each should have a different name and different content. It is easy to do this if your business has different segments. You can assign one website to a segment and successfully promote each segment independently.
10. Avoid Using Hyphens And Numbers
Using hyphens and numbers makes it easy for someone to misspell your name especially when you tell them by word of mouth. Someone may not know whether the number is spelt in words or written as a figure. This can also make it difficult for people to remember your name. So avoid them as much as possible.11. Include A Location Component
Consider including a short version of the name of the city if your business has multiple locations and websites for the different locations. Since you have a customer base in these locations, adding the two-letter state designation will make it easy to remember. It also differentiates the websites.There you have it. Eleven tips for picking a good domain name. These tips will help you make a good choice. As earlier pointed out, remember that your domain name is important for the success of your business. So you need to choose it carefully. If you apply the tips above you will come up with a good name that will clearly represent your business today and for many years to come.