Last updated on December 21st, 2023 at 08:48 am
Having a domain name is essential to having an online presence. Your domain name is how people find you online, and it’s often the first thing people see when considering doing business with you.
That is why it’s important to choose a good domain name.
To help you out, here are 13 tips for choosing the right domain name.
1. Keep it Short and Simple
One important tip for choosing the right domain name is to keep it short and simple. This can be difficult, especially if the domain you want is already taken. However, you can do a few things to increase your chances of finding a good, short domain name.
Try using abbreviations or acronyms. If the full name of your company is too long, try using a shorter version or an abbreviation.
For example, if your company’s name is “The International Business Machines Corporation”, you could try “IBM” or “TIBM”.
Why keep it short?
The shorter the domain name, the easier it is to remember and the more memorable to potential customers.
Another advantage of short domains is that they are easier to type in and make for simpler URLs.
You can also try using a single word as your domain name. For example, if you are a bookseller, you could use the name books.com.
But be aware that this is not always possible, and someone else may be using it already. This brings us to the idea of premium domains.
Getting the name you want may be impossible if you are a new company.
In this case, you will have to settle for what is available.
But if you find your short domain idea is taken, try reaching out to the owner and negotiating with them. You may be able to buy the domain for a premium or even rent it if you do not want to own it forever.
2. Make it Memorable and Brandable
You want to choose something memorable and brandable. See, your target readers may not google your domain name. They will most likely visit your site through a link or search engine result.
So, you need to make sure that they can remember it easily so that they can revisit you the next time they need the services you provide.
A brandable domain name means that it is catchy and easy to remember. It also means that it will be easier for you to make a brand out of that domain name. Think about the big brands today. They have unique names, and they are memorable.
You can apply this to your business as well.
3. Use Keywords
What are keywords? Keywords are the words that people type in search engines to find something. It could be a product, service, event, or anything – but it is what people use to find things.
When choosing a domain name, you can include relevant keywords to help people easily find your site.
For example, if you run a website about travel, you might want to include the keywords “travel” or “tourism” in your domain name.
However, don’t stuff your domain name with too many keywords, which can negatively affect your search engine ranking.
4. Avoid Hyphens and Numbers
Avoid hyphens and numbers, if possible, when choosing a domain name for your website.
These can make it harder for people to remember your domain name and may also give the impression that your site is less professional.
If you must use a number or hyphen in your domain name, keep it as short and concise as possible.
Hyphens and numbers also bring about the picture of a scammer’s site. Most scam websites have this kind of domain name.
This means that if you want your target audience to take you seriously, avoid hyphens and numbers.
5. Be Careful with Country Code Domains
When choosing a domain name, be careful with country code domains. These domains end in a country code, such as .uk for the United Kingdom or .jp for Japan.
While these domains can be good for marketing your business to a specific country, they can also cause problems.
For example, if you want to expand your business to other countries, you may have to buy new domain names.
Additionally, country code domains are often associated with spam and may be blocked by some email providers. So if you plan on using email marketing as part of your promotional strategy, you may want to avoid country code domains.
What should you do instead?
If you want to market internationally, the best solution is to use a domain that uses a generic top-level domain (gTLD). These domains include .com, .net, and .org. They’re easy to remember and won’t cause problems when expanding your business.
6. Consider Your Future Plans
Before settling on a domain name for your business, consider your future plans.
Ask yourself, if I decide to expand my business in the future, will this domain name restrict me? Does it have the potential to limit my company’s growth? If you’re not sure, try a few different domain names. You may find that you prefer one name over another.
This means that do not pick a specific domain name with a keyword only identifying a tiny market. If you were to expand to other industries, this can be a problem because it means you will have to register a new website name!
For example, if you settle for bestwoofers.co.uk, what happens when you expand to other electronics?
7. Protect your Brand with a Trademark.
As your business grows, you will want to protect your brand with a trademark.
A trademark is a sign or symbol that distinguishes your business from other businesses. It can be your company name, logo, or slogan.
You can apply for a trademark through the United Kingdom Patent and Trademark Office. The process can be complex and expensive, so you may want to hire an attorney to help you.
Once you have a trademark, you need to enforce it. You can do this by sending cease and desist letters to businesses using your trademark without permission.
You may also need to file lawsuits if the infringement is serious.
These include people who have registered other versions of your domain name.
You may also decide to register all other available extensions of your website name to protect your brand.
Enforcing your trademark can be costly and time-consuming, but it is important to protect your brand.
8. Do Some Research
Once you’ve found an available domain, check to see if it is been registered before. This can be done by doing a WHOIS search on the domain.
If the domain has been registered before, try to find out why it was abandoned. This can give you insight into whether or not the domain is worth registering.
We’ve also talked about infringing on other brands’ trademarks, but what happens when you’re faced with a trademark infringement of your own?
Before settling on a domain, make sure it is original to avoid landing on the wrong side of a trademark dispute.
If you realize someone else has registered a different extension of your domain, consider reaching out to them. Inquire about whether it is their trademark or something.
The last thing is building your business on a domain only to lose it down the line just because you ignored some things.
9. Get Creative when brainstorming domain ideas.
Try to be creative when brainstorming. Think of puns or plays on words that relate to your niche.
For example, if you’re a photographer, you could try something like “SnapMyPic.com” or “PictureThis.com”.
Creative domain names are actually the most memorable and the easiest to remember. People are likelier to remember a unique and clever name than the one that’s just plain boring.
Something else, if you are creative, there is a higher chance that your chosen domain will be unique.
Be creative and have fun with it!
10. Bounce Ideas off Friends or Family
Having trouble coming up with the perfect domain name for your website or business?
One of the best things you can do is bounce ideas off friends or family.
See what they think about your potential domain names and get their feedback. This can help you narrow down your choices and come up with a domain name that you’re happy with.
11. Run a Domain Name Search
You need to ascertain that your website name is available. As you can guess, thousands, if not millions, of domains are registered daily.
As such, there is a high chance your chosen domain is already taken by someone else.
And it turns out no two people can register the same domain name.
So, to search your domain name, you need access to a registrar like Truehost Cloud.
Head over to https://truehost.london/cloud//cart.php?a=add&domain=register and type your website name into the box and hit search.
As you can see, this domain is available.
It means I can go ahead and register it for £8.75 per year. If it is not available, try another domain name.
12. Register Your Domain Name as Soon as Possible.
Unfortunately, too many businesses make the mistake of waiting too long to register their domain name. By the time they finally get around to it, their desired name is already taken.
Don’t let this happen to you.
Register your domain name as soon as possible, even if you’re not ready to launch your website yet. That way you’ll be sure to get the domain name you want before someone else does.
13. Stay Away from Domain Hacks
When it comes to choosing a domain name, steer clear of anything that could be considered a “domain hack.”
So, what counts as a domain hack?
Domain hacks are made up of two or more parts put together to form a new word or phrase, and while they can be clever, they’re also difficult to remember and often look unprofessional.
Anything that unconventionally combines words, like using the .ly extension to create a word like feed.ly.
Or combining words with numbers or hyphens, like fresh-books.com or 50centfanclub.com.
Using creative misspellings can be considered a form of domain hacking, as Tumblr does with its tmblr.co address.
While there are some exceptions – like bit.ly., which is a great example of a high-quality domain hack most domain hacks are tacky or just plain confusing.
Domain hacks may work for Google and Twitter because their brands are already well established and their domains easy to remember. Still, in general, they are not recommended for your business.
Using domain name generators
If you’re stuck trying to find the perfect domain name for your website, you’re in luck. There are now many domain name generators available online that can help you create a unique and catchy name for your site.
What is a domain name generator?
A domain name generator is a tool that uses algorithms to generate an unlimited number of different domain name ideas randomly. This is a great way to get creative and develop some unique domain names for your website or business.
To use a domain name generator, simply enter some keywords related to your website or business and the generator will provide a list of potential names to choose from.
You can then check to see if the domains are available and select the one you like best.
Final thoughts
As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a domain name. However, if you keep these tips in mind, you should be able to choose a domain name that is right for your business or personal website.
Choosing a domain name is an important decision for any website owner. But with so many options and considerations, it can be tough to know where to start.
Following the tips in this article, you can narrow down your choices and find a domain name to help you achieve your online goals.
So what are you waiting for? Start brainstorming and choose the perfect domain name for your next website today!