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5 Tips For Choosing The Perfect Domain Name

by Article by Rachel Begg Rachel Begg | April 10, 2015 at 3:30 PM

shutterstock_244994911-761062-editedChoosing a domain name is like choosing a name for your child. It requires a lengthy thought and consideration process. It should be something that represents your worldview, your goals for their future, as well as be a name that is easy to understand and won't bring ridicule or confusion to your offspring. The same is true with your domain. There are also additional factors that come into play when selecting the perfect domain name for your business. Use these easy tips to get you started on choosing the best domain name that will help get your business known and thriving.

1. Avoid numbers and hyphens

Your domain names needs to be one word or a few words that make sense together. It's difficult to verbally communicate a domain name that has a space, hyphen, or number. When your domain is said aloud, people may not know if it uses a numeral or the number spelled out, or they could misplace or forget a dash. The best practice is to stick to the letters A-Z and leave numbers and other symbols out, regardless of how tempting it may be. When reviewing the readability of your domain name, you'll also want to make sure that when it's written together without spaces it doesn't read differently. Even if you have the best intentions, you don't want to accidentally spell out a dirty word!

2. Only use keywords when possible

Fitting your website's keywords into its domain is ideal, but not required. If you are unable to achieve this, it's ok, don't lose sleep over it. Never choose a word for your domain name because you think it's catchy or want to squeeze in a keyword. It's more important to gear your domain towards your website visitors and your brand message that you're looking to communicate. Besides, there will be a ton of opportunities for you to take advantage of keyword optimization on the pages of your website and your blog posts.

3. Emanate your brand

You want your domain name to speak for itself. In a simple and concise way, your domain name should identify your business and what it does. You don't want people surfing the web to be confused by your domain and have to work to figure it out. If the first thing your visitors are met with is confusion, they will not likely click through your website, let alone, buy your service or product. After you know who you are and the message you want to communicate, you'll want to make sure your term is broad enough to be relevant five years from now. If your business currently provides only blog writing services, you might not want to pick "blogsonly.com" because in a few years you may add SEO services, web design, and branding to your available product list. Wiggle room is crucial when selecting the perfect domain name.

4. Keep it short and sweet

As I mentioned earlier, you'll want your domain to be one or a few words maximum. Even if your company name is Smith, Garcia, Johnson, and Associates, smithgarciajohnsonassociates.com is a bit too long. Long domain names give visitors the opportunity to misspell or mistype your name. You want your domain name to be easy and memorable, a phrase or name that will pop into someone's mind at a moment's notice and be easy for them to type into a browser. Fight the urge to put your entire message and name into your domain and instead, keep it short and sweet.

5. Be memorable and unique

Be unique! Don't try to make a similar domain to someone else or your competition. Be sure to do some research while choosing your domain and make sure it isn't the same, or extremely close, to anyone else's. With that being said, there are millions of unique domain names out there, so finding one that is memorable and catchy should be fun and easy. Choosing a memorable domain is an important aspect of your business strategy because it will forever affect how your visitors find and view your products and business. A good idea is sharing your domain name ideas with your friends and colleagues to make sure it sounds appealing and makes sense to others.

Choosing a domain name shouldn't be a five minute process with no revision. It's an important part of your online business efforts that should get a good amount of your attention. You should give it the same amount of thought as you do to naming your child or a pet. Your domain name will affect you for the rest of your business's life. Picking the perfect domain name will build your brand, strengthen your message, and promote your culture. Be memorable, be unique!