Choosing the right domain name is critical for your success. It can hurt your brand and search rankings if you need to change it later on.
In this guide, I’ll share some tools and tips on how to choose the right domain name for your brand.
1. Use a .com if you can
People always assume that your site ends with .com, so it’s going to be easier for them to find your site. Data says 50% of all websites use .com.
In case you find the right name but it’s taken, consider going for a non-traditional extension like .blog, .shop, and .io. Just make sure that the extension you use to make sense with your brand.
2. Use a unique and brandable name
We all know that brandable names are important to long-term success. This will allow you to stand out in your user’s minds.
Brandable domain names are memorable, catchy, and unique. For example, Amazon is a more brandable name than BuyBoooksOnline.
Make sure they are easy to pronounce, they are unique, easy to memorize, and trustworthy (example: InstaCart sounds better than BuyGroceriesToday).
3. Expandable
Choosing a name related to your industry is smart because it’ll tell your users what your website is about. However, you want to consider not limiting your long term options. For example, imagine trying to expand your bookselling business with ‘BuyBooksOnline.com’.
4. Getting ideas
Use keywords related to your brand and use domain name generators to find clever domain names. Example: Nameboy.
You can also use a site like Thesaurus.com to find synonyms for the keywords you defined before.
5. Research your domain
Before registering your domain, make sure there is not business registered with the same name.
You can do a quick Google or social media search to see if you find a business with that name.
You can also perform a trade mark search to see if there is already a name trademarked.
6. Social Media
Try to come up with a name unique enough that the exact username is available in all of the social media platforms. This will allow you to be easier to find. You can use a tool like Launchaco, you can instantly search for social media handles and domain names.
Where to buy your domain?
There are a lot of places where you can buy a domain name nowadays, but it’s very important to choose carefully because it can be difficult to move your domain later on. The price can vary from $9-$24. It could even cost more than $40 if you choose one with a special extension (example: .io).
Popular Domain Registrars
Domain.com is one of the best domain registrars on the market. They offer all top-level domain names, with a smart search feature, premium domains, and all the necessary tools to manage your domain names.
GoDaddy is the largest domain registrar in the world. They manage over 63 million domain names for over 14 million customers.
If this is your first site, you can register your domain with the same web hosting service that you choose. They often offer free domains (free for the first year) if you buy a hosting plan with them.
We will be talking about web hosting providers in the next post of this series.
Over to you. Do you have any tips or tricks to choose a new domain name for your brand?