Techblog
Top tips in choosing the right domain name
Choosing a domain name is one of the most important things you can do before creating a website for your business. Read on to find out what you should know before you register your domain name.
By the myBusiness techblog team
Having your own domain name makes your website sound more professional, and makes it easier to promote your brand. However, before you rush out and choose your domain name or name your website, you might want to consider the following points:
Discovery vs. Brand
What's your strategy? Are you solely relying on traffic from search engines? If so, then you should use real words and phrases like TopCurryPuffs.com increase your search ranking. If your marketing focus is using paid search listing or banner ads, you should come up with a brandable name like EggyPuff.com that people will remember. Do keep in mind that a "brand" is more than just a combination of words, and this is why names like fundyourhome.com or shoesandsocks.com aren’t as compelling as branded names like bankrate.com or lendingtree.com.
Start by brainstorming top keywords
When you first begin looking for a domain name, it helps to already have terms or phrases that best describe the domain you're looking for. Once you have this list, you can start to pair them or add prefixes and suffixes for good domain ideas. For example, if you're launching a bicycle shop, you might start with words like "bicycle repair, bicycle gears, bike helmets, spokes", and then mix and match to find the best names.
Making your domain unique
Avoid choosing domain names that are plural, hyphenated or misspelled version of an already established domain, as you don’t want to end up confusing your target audience. You can also try to find a domain name that only has one possible spelling. That said, if your chosen name is difficult to type due to spelling, length or the use of un-memorable words or sounds, you might end up losing a good portion of your branding and marketing value.
Make it easy to remember
Remember that word-of-mouth is dominant in marketing, and relies on the ease with which the domain can be recalled. You don’t want to be known as the company with the terrific website that no one ever remembers to tell their friends about because they can’t remember the domain name. A good way to ensure that it is easy to remember is to keep it short. Short names are easy to type and easy to remember.
Create and fulfil expectations
When your domain name is heard for the first time, it should instantly and accurately provide the listener with an accurate guess at the type of content that might be found there. That's why domain names like Hotmail.com, JobsDB.com and PropertyGuru.com are very popular, and domains like Monster.com and Amazon.com required more branding because of their un-intuitive names.
Avoid hyphens and numbers if possible
Both hyphens and numbers make it harder to share your domain name verbally and remember or type. We suggest not using spelled-out or roman numerals in domains, as they can be confusing and be mistaken for the other - especially the number 0, which can be mistaken for O. However, if every form of a domain name is already taken, and you feel that you still want to use the name, then using a hyphen isn’t a bad way to go - if it is kept to a maximum of two hyphens.
SEO and Keyword matches
An exact match domain, or EMD, is a web address that is a character-for-character match of a particular keyword. EMDs give your site a boost in the search engine results pages for the keyword being matched, making it possible to rank for the given keyword with far fewer backlinks than competing sites with comparable content. You need to ensure that the spelling and word order must be identical. If the keyword is "bike accessories", then accessoriesbikes.com or accessoriesforbikes.com, while still useful in themselves, do not have the same power as an EMD.
It is somewhat true when people say that all of the good domain names are taken, but if you cast a wide enough net by building a large keyword list, you can be pleasantly surprised at what is still available - even in very competitive segments. Spend a few hours to build an extensive set of keywords to check, and you’ll probably find a few domain names that you won’t believe are still untouched.
Have you just created website with a unique domain name? Did you find the process difficult? What are the responses to your new website like? Please share with us your experiences in the comment box below.