If I knew 9 years ago what I know now about choosing a quality domain name, things would be slightly different. Live and learn right? Below, I talk about the 5 simple tips in choosing a good domain name for your business.
Choosing a good domain name is crucial to the success or failure of your business. You may wonder how something so slight but important could have such an impact on your business. A good analogy to compare this too, is to think about how essential location is to an offline business? If your business isn't located in a good location, you will not get many visitors, am I right? The same holds true for a good domain name for your website.
Here are the 5 simple tips in choosing a good domain name:
1. Make your domain name memorable
Domain names must be memorable. Although we have the option of bookmarking a site that we enjoy visiting, many people do not take advantage of bookmarking websites. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that your domain name is one that is easy to remember and makes an impact on a visitor. Your domain name should be easy, memorable and compliment your business niche.- Extensions
The .net extension falls second best. However, most people will type .com before they will .net if they cannot remember which extension you use. A great solution would be to also purchase the .com domain name if you absolutely need the .net extension. That way, when a visitor types in the .com when your site is in the format of .net, they'll land on your site as well.
The type of extension you use might also have a bearing on the type of website you create. Some people have come to expect certain things when a particular extension is used. For example, .org is typically used by not-for-profit organizations and educational websites. The .info extensions are generally used for informational websites.
All of the extension options above depend on your business goals. Please choose carefully.
2. Keep it short, sweet and simple
Twenty characters are the maximum for a good domain name, ten is even better. Keep it short, sweet and simple. Long and complicated domain names will not help you. A great domain name is less than ten characters; a good domain name is less than twenty characters. Please keep this in mind when choosing your next domain name. Check out namecheap.
3. Spelling is everything
A good domain name contains only words that are easy to pronounce, have a good combination of words or letters that are used in everyday language. Most domain names do not contain foreign words that may be difficult to non-native speakers. Your domain name should be easy to spell and also used as a keyword throughout your website for better search engine ranking and traffic back to your site.
4. Descriptive
A good domain name should be descriptive. When your visitors or potential customers see your domain name, they should instantly be able to tell what they are going to find. For example, if it is your business, you should use your business name as your domain.
5. Avoid numbers and symbols
It is never a good idea to use numbers, hyphens or symbols within your domain name. Even if your domain name is memorable, many people will not pay attention to the symbols and might leave it out when typing it into a browsers' address bar. If this happens, it can lead them to another website and you risk the chance of losing that visitor/customer.Don't wait until it's too late. Will you use the above 5 simple tips in choosing a good domain name? Please share by leaving your comments below. Thank you!
bout the author: Sonia Colon is writer/publisher of My Fashion E-Mall Blog & The Biz Buzz of A Latina Mom Blog. She is also owner at Books About Me. Sign up for the newsletter and never miss a powerful business marketing article plus receive a FREE eBook on ‘How to Rock Your Business with A Blog’.
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