How to Choose Your Domain Name
In this Written With Design blog post, we’re going to talk about domain names. More specifically, how to choose the best domain name for your upcoming website (or an old website that desperately needs a different domain name).
The Importance of a Good Domain Name
Before anyone tries to accuse me of picking at details, I want to tell you that picking your domain name is no small matter. Think of it this way: your domain name is your second business name. When a person mentions an online story they just purchased products from, they usually say something like this…
“I got this dress off of fakename.com, they’ve got tons of clothing that fits my style.”
So when you’re choosing your domain name, you need to keep in mind that whatever you choose is going to be associated with your brand and will have at least a small effect on its overall image.
The customers aren’t the only ones who will be taking notice of your domain name either. Search engines like Google, Yahoo, etc. register everything that’s included in your website while deciding where to rank you. Mostly, they analyze your content for keywords matching a person’s search, but your domain name does play a tiny part in it as well.
Now that I’ve (hopefully) made my point about the necessity of putting in enough time and effort to create a good domain name, it’s time to create yours.
The Ins and Outs of a Good Domain Name
There are going to be several factors that will heavily influence your choice of a domain name, ranging from your actual business name to the domain names of your competitors’ websites. However, there are two domain creation rules that I feel stand out above all the rest: the “dot com” rule and the “easy memory” rule.
The “Dot Com” Rule
The first thing to remember when choosing your domain name is to always, ALWAYS go with a .com name. Don’t go with .org, .net, or .io, or one of the many other options that domain registrars will offer you, you need to always have a .com name.
The reason this rule is so important is that search engines will automatically put .com websites higher in search results than a website ending in .org, .net, etc, so if you don’t have a .com name you’ll be putting your business at a disadvantage. What’s even worse is when this scenario plays out:
Bob and Steve both own flower shops in FakeTown Louisiana, which makes them competitors for business. Bob is setting up a website for his shop to attract more customers and he plans on using the domain name “faketownflowershop.com”. While ordering his domain name bob realizes that he can’t use that domain name because it’s already been purchased by Steve.
Bob really liked that domain name and is perturbed that Steve got the better of him. Then he realizes that he can still purchase the .net version of that domain name, so he happily purchases “faketownflowershop.net” and continues setting up his website.
This scenario makes me shutter because all Bob has managed to do is put himself at a disadvantage. He’ll be lower in the rankings because he doesn’t have a .com name, and because the two names are almost identical, customers who may be looking for Bob’s website will be led to Steve’s website and purchase from him instead. By ignoring the “Dot Com” rule, Bob just helped his competition take business away from his own shop!
The “Easy Memory” Rule
When you come up with a domain name you need to make it as easy to remember as possible. In other words, don’t try to be cute or clever and mess with how words are spelled or trying to add in numbers. I’ll give you an example…
Susi runs a jewelry and accessory store whose target market includes engaged couples, teens, and romantic partners in general. Her store is called “Love and Dating Jewelry”. The ideal situation would be for her to buy the domain name “loveanddatingjewelry.com” because it’s the same as her business and her customers would be able to remember it easily.
Unfortunately, Susi decides she wants something more unique. She still wants the domain name to include the name of her business so she decides to go with the domain name “luvandd8ingjewelry.com”.
This is a terrible decision for several reasons. First, the .com version of her business’ name was available which would have been easy for customers to remember. Second, she won’t be able to quickly tell someone the name of her website; she’ll have to remind them of all the spelling changes and the number eight that she threw in there, all of which the person will probably forget before they make it back home. The third reason is that this domain name looks like it belongs to a scam website.
I’m sure you’ve had a scam email come into your mailbox with a crazy-spelled domain name attached to it. Susi is much better off just using normal spelling for the domain name and using the “unique stuff'' in some of the website’s graphics or logo.
There are a few other rules that, while not as crucial as the first two, can still help you come up with a professional yet catchy domain name.
Keep it Related to Your Business
Your domain name should always be related to your business name. Sometimes the .com of your business name will already be taken, and in that scenario, you’ll have to get creative and abbreviate things, incorporate your name, or use a domain name connected to your brand’s main message.
Just be careful to make the abbreviations make sense. It’s best to use initials instead of using half of a word. For example: If Rockstar Guitars can’t purchase the domain name “rockstarguitars.com” they could purchase “rsguitars.com” or “makeitrock.com”, but they shouldn’t try and purchase something like “rostaguitars.com”.
If You Haven’t Named Your Business Yet
This last rule I’m going to mention is only for businesses that haven’t been named yet. When you decide to name your business try and make sure it’s unique, that way people won’t get you confused with another business and you’ll be able to snag the .com of your business name. It’s a win-win.
Now that you have the basic rules down, it’s time to go create your domain name. Enjoy.