The Art of Choosing a Good Domain Name for Your Website

How to Pick a Good Domain Name for Your Business & Why It Matters for Your Online Brand, find out how in this post.

No matter what your business focuses on or whether your business is new or several years old, having a website is inevitable in today’s competitive market. If you are not online, you practically do not exist. This is why a good domain name for your website is so important.

 

Domain names can have a huge impact on your digital marketing, and other things for that matter. That is why we have put together some advice, tips, and tricks on how to think when choosing a domain name for your website. As we know, choosing a good domain name is an art – but you do not have to make it more complicated than it already is.

Why a good domain name is important

In a time when more and more people are using the internet to brand themselves, the quality of the domain name can be crucial to the success of the business. 

 

Among other things, the quality of the domain name affects the first impression of customers. A good domain name can make a positive impression, while a poor name can lead potential customers to choose a competitor instead.

 

The domain name can also have an impact on your business SEO, even though it is not as important today as it was a few years ago. This is because the domain name itself is not considered to have to do with the Google ranking factor, but rather the elements of your domain name can be beneficial to your overall SEO strategy.

How to come up with a good domain name

A good and strong domain name helps people find your site without any intervention. But coming up with a unique domain name is easier said than done – there were, after all, 350.5 million registered domain names in the first quarter of 2022. So we have put together some helpful strategies on how to come up with a good domain name below.

1. Make it easy to spell

It may seem very obvious, but time and again we come across websites with domain names that are long and difficult to spell. In addition to the fact that you may not even be able to access the website at all, such domain names are also more difficult to remember.

2. Use broad keywords

Using keywords in your domain name can help customers find you more easily, but also with SEO. However, you should steer clear of using keywords in your domain name just because. Search engines do not index them as they used to, and they also have a negative reputation as they often become too obvious.

3. Buy a premium domain name

Coming up with a domain name that is easy to pronounce, contains broad keywords, and is also available is not very easy. To make the process easier for you, we, therefore, suggest that you turn to Domainify. Domainify is a marketplace that specializes in branding and with them, you can buy premium domains that are unique and reflect your brand’s identity.

If you have a business concept in mind, chances are that you already have a specific idea as to how you want to name it. Take one glance at some of the world’s most beloved brands, and you’ll notice that many, like Coca-Cola, Adidas, or Google have names that would have no meaning without the brand reputation attached to it. 

Then again, you have brands such as McDonald’s, Johnnie Walker, and Armani, using personal names to build global phenomena. As much as they now have immense recognition and authority, they all had the same humble beginnings that you now have to endure to earn the same standing in your industry, if you’re ever so lucky and hard-working.

In the meantime, you need to pay attention to these details such as choosing your brand name, and by extension, your domain name as well. This step alone can define your digital presence and help you stand out in a growing crowd. Here are a few tips to help you choose a catchy domain name that will resonate with your business.

Think long-term and choose short

Just like when you’re about to select a logo for your website, you want to choose something that is intuitive, sleek, and memorable. You don’t want to overburden your website visitors with too many details that they cannot describe or replicate your logo easily, or that they end up forgetting it altogether. The same principles go for your brand and domain name, you should pick something short and sweet, to make it easier for your audience to remember it.

This will, in turn, prevent long-term issues and help you build up authority over time, instead of constantly changing your domain name and thus the name that people will associate with your business. Above all, think of a name that will have substance and meaning for your business, so that people can genuinely connect the dots when they first hear your name. Shorter names are also more appealing from a usability perspective, which we will also cover. 

Extensions complement your name

As creatures of habit, we like to reach for what we know and trust. This is reflected in our online behavior, too, so you’ll find that people trust extensions that are most frequently used by other trusted businesses. For example, classic extensions such as .com or .org are very common, and most larger brands use them, so we gravitate towards domains with these extensions as we know that they are trustworthy. Over 50% of all websites use .com, so it goes without saying that the internet community does indeed favor what’s known and familiar. 

In fact, when a person isn’t certain about your website address, they will most likely type in .com after your brand name expecting your site to end in that extension. Of course, if you’re about to build a local presence in a different country, then aim for a geographically relevant extension to help distinguish your brand’s addresses. 

A personal brand deserves a personal domain

However, if you are building a personal online brand to provide a service, represent yourself as an entrepreneur, or anything of that nature, you should do your best to create a personalized experience, starting with your domain. In addition to selecting a personal domain name to represent your personal brand online, go for a personalized .me extension that will add another layer of memorability and relevance to your name.

This extension is a great, reputable option for one-person operations, where you plan to build up your reputation on your name, nickname, or a shorter version of your first and last name. You can get creative, of course, but the personalized extension will go a long way in making your business all the more relatable. 

Keywords for context

New business owners will often reach for their selection of keywords to impress their target audience. Of course, they also want to benefit in terms of SEO and give search engines more content to recognize what their business is all about.

Alas, you need to strike a fine balance if you want your brand to stand out and at the same time protect your reputation. You cannot choose a bunch of generic keywords known to your industry and expect search engines to reward you – on the contrary, spammy content of that nature will get you penalized. A single keyword to help people learn what you’re offering is fine, but generic terms stacked up into a domain name won’t do.

Make it user-friendly

Finally, take into account all of your potential users, and make your domain name user-friendly, easy to type, and easy to recognize for voice search. No hyphens, symbols, and numbers will also be a good rule of thumb, since you’ll make it easier for people of all abilities to find you without hassle. 

As you can see, the selection of your domain name is so much more intricate than merely going for the first industry-related term you like and then slapping on a .com extension to make it memorable. To earn your customers’ trust online and build your brand, you need a domain name to match your values and your industry alike. Follow these tips, and you’ll be able to leverage your domain as a marketing asset and as a brand-building tool that it can be.