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The thing is, a while back, there was this guy I was friends with and how should I put it? He had this thing about it that he always left an impression.
Don’t get me wrong, he was a great guy. He was kind, generous and loyal to his friends. He was the kind of person who would have had your back at rough times. You know the simple humble kind of a guy.
But the thing was, as great as he was, he was pretty impulsive and left an impression- that, and not in a good way.
I know. I know. We all have flaws. I have mine too, and I’m not berating him or anything, I’m making a point for the sake of discussion. So yes, there’s more to it all.
What I mean is, when we first met, he was completely engrossed into cars. For him, that meant wearing a racing jacket, Mac Tools t-shirt and talking about cars whenever you met him.
I was like okay but then a few months later, he watched a western movie that he really, really liked.
When we met the other day, he was wearing cowboy boots, jeans and had a hat and a slicker to go with the whole look. Apparently, the western movie was about cowboys.
Again, fast forwarding to a few months later, he saw this movie about pirates. I’m pretty sure you ‘ve guessed it already, but the next day, he was hoping to join in the navy and when we talked, there were all sorts of pirate jargons mixed in here and there.
Right now, just then, he was standing somewhere between a cowboy and a pirate.
What’s it to me? Honestly, nothing. The guy has his rights and he can do anything he likes, but as we got to know each other more. It became harder for me to define him. You would never know what he would be next. It made things complicated and harder to keep up with. And if it made things, this hard for a friend, who actually knows you and sees you; just imagine, how hard would it be for your viewers if you were a cowboy-pirate in choosing domain names?
If your domain name has a name that changes all the time, or has all kinds of weird themes and variations attached to it, you’ll leave people utterly confused, just like me. For you as a business, that’s a big no. Your domain name is there to help you, make your viewers recognize you and be your customers. Having a weird sounding name that changes every now and then would definitely defeat the purpose. So when you’re registering for your domain name, make sure all those weird jargons and themes stay at bay, unless your brand is directed at a particular segment. If you’re brand is all about pirates, then sure, you can feel free to use ‘Arghh, matey’ as your domain name.
With all of this to consider, here are a few tips to help you out in deciding a domain name tht actually ends up helping you.
List the Top 10 Keywords for Your Niche
The best way to come up with domain name according to your niche and target market, is to keep them in your mind and list out ten names that give out a wholesome picture of your market. Terms that will be understood and let your viewers know what your website is actually about.Remember you want your viewers to get an idea of your industry or the kind of product you might have for them, with the name you’re about to keep.
You can’t mix up two different themes in one context or else your prospective customers my just not get the point. So be clear and always ask for a bias free opinion from someone else before settling to it.
Be Original
Don’t copy and don’t try to make a variation of another popular brand. Promote yourself as you are. Your brand name is there to distinguish you from other brands working in on the same target markets. Not being original would defeat the purpose and make you easily get mistaken for another brand.Keep It Simple
Over-complicating the domain name my make it sound fancy, but it would end up not-being remembered by your customers. So you don’t want it to be fancy, you want it to be remembered. Make it short and simple. It’s easier to pronounce that way, and it might give you better chances at being recommended by your existing customers to someone who’s not.Don’t Use Hyphens
Using a hyphen makes your name look trendy and I know it’s a hard offer to refuse, but I can’t emphasize this point enough- don’t use them! I know I just used one, but you can’t and this is all for your good, because believe it or not, when people search on Google, a majority of 9 out of 10 will not press that hyphen in your domain name. For you and I, that means no sales and we definitely don’t want that happening. Adding in numbers would have a similar effect. Remember, your domain name isn’t for you to remember, it’s for your viewers and they probably have many other hyphen-less brands calling out for them too.And that’s it. There you go; four full-proof golden rules to get you to choose the perfect domain name for your website. One that will not mislead your customers and keep them chooses your website easily.
As a side note, if you haven’t yet registered your domain name online, make sure to get it registered from a company that knows what they’re doing. Or else, you might actually find yourself dealing with the real online pirates, and yeah, we so don’t want that to happen.