Choosing your Domain Name is very similar to choosing your company name, it’s an extremely important part of your business setup process. When choosing a domain name there are many factors to be considered, not only choosing a name that reflects your business, but one that is easy to find and easy to promote. If you have not yet decided, or are struggling to come up with a domain name for your website, here are our top 5 tips to get you started.
1. Make it memorable
The competition online is fierce today, so coming up with a catchy, memorable name is important. Alot of companies opt to use their business name which is always an easy choice, but coming up with something unique can give your company a real point of difference. If your wanting to come up with something unique for your domain name, a good place to start is by brainstorming all the relevant keywords associated with your business and its services. Once you’ve come up with a few names you think may be suitable, share them with your friends and family to see if they sound appealing to them. Always remember though when coming up with a domain name that you want it to be brandable, which means ensuring your users will easily associate your domain name with your brand whenever they see or hear it.
2. Keep it short
Nike, Gucci, Google… so many big brand names are short and snappy and this is no coincidence. Short and precise can make your brand more memorable. Users are much more likely to remember a shorter name over a longer one, simply because there’s more chance of it actually sticking in their minds. Another reason to consider a shorter domain name is that if your name is long and complex you will run the risk of users misspelling or mistyping it.
3. Research the domain name
Once you’ve found that perfect domain name, research, research, research! Before purchasing that domain name, you need to firstly find out that it isn’t copyrighted, trademarked, or more importantly being used by another business or domain owner. Make sure to double-check on social media too. Do a quick search on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – whichever platforms may be relevant to your business. This would also be a good time to check that the social media handles you want are still available, if so secure them as soon as possible. Using the same name across all platforms will help build brand consistency not to mention help users find you easier.
4. Protect your brand
You should always be thinking about protecting your brand in all areas when setting up your business and the domain name is no different. One way of doing this is to purchase multiple domain extensions. For example purchasing .com, .co.nz and .org. There are also many other domain extensions that may be suitable for your business especially if you are targeting international users. Purchasing multiple extensions means that other businesses and even competitors won’t be able to snap up the same domain name as you only with a different extension. Just think if you had a website under the domain name www.greengrass.co.nz and another company used the domain name www.greengrass.com there would be a lot of confusion from users most likely causing redirection away from your business.
5. Don’t wait, act fast
The domain market is crazy, over 250,000 domains are being registered daily. So, if you’ve found a name that works for you and your brand and has that perfect extension you’re after, then buy it and buy it fast! Domains are relatively inexpensive, so why not secure this a soon as possible. It could be a matter of minutes to decide before someone else does, as the competition for a domain name isn’t just from your country but worldwide. It only takes a few minutes to register your domain so run, don’t walk!
How Yodle can help…
Picking your domain is the first step! The next is designing your website. At Yodle we create professionally designed websites for a very competitive price. We will build a website for you that will stand out from your competitors and build trust in your brand, give one of our Web Developers a call today on 0800 001 285.
