The domain name of your business is akin to your home address on the internet. It plays a hugely important role, not just in your online identity but also in search engine optimization. So, it is clear that you should not take this decision lightly. To help you, this guide will provide some tips on how to select the best name, as well as explain the process of registering it.
Picking the Perfect Domain Name
Keep it Short and Sweet
A domain name should be easy to remember. If it is too long or complicated to spell, this will not be the case. You want your potential customers to see an ad and remember the name later on, typing it incorrectly. Therefore, try to avoid any complex words or unconventional spellings. Additionally, it’s best to avoid symbols like numbers or hyphens since it will become more confusing when saying the domain name verbally.
Incorporate Keywords
If possible and relevant, keywords inside your domain can help rank your website on search engines. This is most commonly done when a business is in a niche industry, such as accounting or industrial flooring services. Similarly, you could include keywords related to the country or city that you are covering to attract local customers.
However, be careful not to narrow your business down too much, as this may cause issues when scaling it in the future.
Do Your Research
Before you register any domain name, make sure you research that it doesn’t already exist. While the same domain can be out there with a different domain extension, you don’t want to share a name with a potential competitor. Even worse, a competitor that ranks higher than you on search engines will be mistaken. Use a domain names generation tool to check available options.
Choose the Right Domain Extension
Last but by no means least, the domain extension that you choose will have an impact on how visitors perceive your website. The universal extension of “.com” or country-specific ones, like “.co.uk” for the United Kingdom, are already widely recognized and trusted, so you will not go wrong with them.
However, other options like “.net,” “.store,” “.info,” “.io,” etc., are getting increasingly common and have their own associations.
Registering Your Domain
Now that you have your heart set on the perfect name, you can go ahead and register it! For this, you will have to use a reputable domain registrar, such as IONOS, to ensure that your domain is protected with SSL security. You will typically pay a yearly price for your chosen name, which will then be locked, so it can’t be transferred or used by anyone else.
Remember that you will have to renew ownership of your domain if your current plan has a time limit (i.e., one year’s purchase only). You will typically receive a reminder before your plan expires, urging you to pay and secure your domain again. It’s not uncommon for competitors to seize the opportunity by purchasing an expired domain name, so make sure you always renew before this happens.
Conclusion
Registering a domain is one of the first steps you have to take when creating a business. After that, you can start building your website and branding. Exciting times ahead!
