So, you’re about to launch your business on the Internet but you’re worried about choosing the right business domain name? You do well to give it some serious thought because your domain name is probably the single most important aspect of your company’s online presence. You can easily change the look of your website or blog. You can easily change the copy. You can easily change the images. But once you choose your domain name and spend time and money promoting it in your advertising and online, changing it will be an expensive exercise. Changing your business’s domain name would mean changing your stationary, publicity, e-mail addresses, losing those ever so valuable links to your website and many more inconveniences. So choose wisely!
Branding domain name? Or keyword-rich domain?
Basically, there are two ways to go about choosing a domain name for your business. One is to come up with something new, such as inQbation.com, and develop it into your unique branding. Many of the household names on the Internet started this way - Google, Yahoo!, Digg, E-Bay… the list goes on. This could be a good strategy if you are ready to put the right marketing effort - and money - to build your brand both online and offline.
Another alternative is to use your primary search keywords in your domain name. So if your company is going to be selling sweets online, you could choose a domain name like sweetsncandy.com, or thesweetshop.com. Such domain names will give you a boost in the search rankings for the keywords they contain.
As you can see from these last two examples, you can also include some element of branding in a keyword rich domain to get the best of both worlds. Keep in mind that if you go the branding domain route, you can also include keywords in the addresses of your sub pages, so not all is lost there either.
Keep your domain name short and memorable
The longer your domain name, the more difficult it will be for people to remember - and to type out correctly. Even if you go for a keyword-rich domain name, you should aim to keep it short and sweet. Also keep in mind that the domain name you choose will affect what your e-mail addresses look like, and nobody likes typing out something like joe.bloggs@thelongestdomaindnameyoucouldeverimagineinyourentirelife.com every time they want to drop you a note!
Don’t use your own name
Pop stars, famous athletes and other celebrities please ignore this one, but otherwise you should avoid using your name as your domain name. Your business is about your customers and the services or products you are offering them, so don’t let your ego get in the way of delivering your message when you’re choosing a domain name. Go for something that describes your business instead.
Go for the main domain name suffixes
Try and stick to .com, .net, or your country’s domain suffix when choosing a domain name because these will give your business a more serious and professional image. Domain suffixes like .biz, .tv, and so on just don’t carry the same prestige. Avoid the country domain suffixes if you serve clients outside your country, as it might make people think you don’t.
Include your location if you only serve a particular region
If you offer pet care services in Seattle, a domain name like seattlepetcare.com is definitely a good idea, since you only serve people in that area and will benefit from the search engine boost for the ‘Seattle’ keyword. On the other hand, if you deliver nationwide or worldwide, do not include a location as this is likely to give the wrong impression to people from outside that region.
Look out for variations of your domain name
If you decide upon mydomain.com, you may want to consider also buying the variations of your domain name, like mydomain.net, my-domain.com and so on if they are available, and make them point to your website before one of your competitors points them at his. Also watch out for possible misspellings and think about getting those too. If the variations of your domain name are already taken up but you still want it, take a look at what sort of websites these variations host to be sure that in the event of a potential visitor making a mistake they do not end up somewhere unsavory.
Get a second opinion on the domain name you choose
This is probably the most important bit of advice when you’re choosing a domain name. And we’re not talking about simply asking a friend or the cat it thinks. Get some professional advice from someone with online marketing experience. Consult an expert who can point out any potential pitfalls in the domain name and you are thinking of and suggest alternatives before it’s too late to go back.
Also see: Choosing a Name For Your Business
