Having an easy and recognisable domain name is the first and foremost part of your website. Why is this so? Well, the most fundamental reason would be that the internet’s addressing jig is not potent without them. Every computer present on the internet comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address. This is a unique group of four numbers and remembering all the IP addresses of all your favourite sites would be an impossible job. So, as a technical shortcut, a batch of computer scientists invented what we know today as domain name system.
But a domain name is much more than that. As your personalised internet address, it can help you climb the ladder of success in your business. It can either accelerate your success or can be a stone in the path. A domain name gives your business credibility. It also gives you the mobility to transfer web hosts. A domain name plays a huge role in building your brand. It goes a long way in rendering traffic to your site and developing your reputation. There is an ocean of domain names out there, so you would need one which stands out in the crowd.
Following are some pointers that you should follow to search for that perfect domain on GoDaddy:
Keep It Short
Remember to keep your domain name short and simple. This makes it memorable and sticks to people’s minds. It also captures the attention and helps retain that attention as well. After all, that’s what you want. But do not make it too short. Sometimes, some words are so shortened that they stop making sense. Subsequently, it skips people’s attention. For instance, www.MakeScience.com sounds much better than www.MakeSci.com. Although the latter is more shortened, it does not quite seem right. Besides, people will have difficulty in pronouncing it and also when they are speaking about it on the phone.
Imagine you are talking about your website to a client over the phone and you have to repeat it again and again until she finally gets it. The process continues further when the client wants to tell about your website to someone else. So as a business, you do not wish to make people’s life harder. Life already is too difficult. You do not want to contribute to that! As an organisation, it should be your job to make people’s lives easy. Otherwise, you are making people bounce off of your website rather than attracting them.
Make It Relevant
While trying to make their domain name sound catchy, a lot of people forget that it should resonate with their business. Making your website sound catchy and cool is essential, no denying that. But it should also indicate the kind of services which you offer. For instance, if you provide roofing services, you can keep your domain name as www.tedsroofing.com, rather than www.tedsmith.com. The latter is a simple domain name, but it does not say much about your business.
So, while getting a domain name, keep in mind the objective of your business. When you do so, everytime people see your website’s name, they will immediately have an idea about what you do. This also helps your website appear on top in search results when people are looking for the kind of services which you provide.
Forget Hyphens and Numbers
The domain name www.tedsroofing.com sounds simple, relevant and memorable. There is a higher chance for your audience to remember the name of your website. As we mentioned before, keep it simple. Do not make it too complicated. You would not want your website domain name to be www.number-1roofingservices4u.com. This might sound catchy, but it is a bad idea. It is complex, and people will never remember it.
Again, simplicity is the key. You do not have to make your clients go through the number gymnastics to remember your website. That’s just poor marketing. And bad for online business. You want to make your online presence valuable. Not diminish it. Hyphens and numbers are sure to do that.
Target Locality
If you provide services around a specific locality, say a city or state, you can include it within your domain name. For instance, www.californiaroofing.com could be a good domain name if you provide services California specific. This also helps in search engines when people from your area are looking for roofing services; your website appears on top. Otherwise, it might create confusion between the other global businesses and hence toss your website way below in the line of the search engine results.
Mentioning the area of your target audience helps set you apart. This further improves your branding and online presence. So every time the people of your locality want roofing services, they know who to hire.
Extensions
Being unique is the key to obtaining a domain name which can capture people’s attention. But when it comes to extensions, .com holds the most credibility. It is also the most used, and people tend to remember it easily. Three-fourths of all the websites on the internet has .com as their extension. However, finding a short yet simple domain name with the .com extension might be a daunting task. You can opt for extensions like .co, .org., .info which are also quite common.
Extensions like .actor, .guru, .shop are also gaining ground nowadays. This is a great way to indicate your profile as they act as descriptive extensions of your site and hence boost your brand.
Copyright and Trademark Rights
Before you choose a domain name, make sure it is particularly unique. A similar looking website domain name might lead to a lot of confusion among your audience. So it is imperative that you do some background check of the domain name that you want to choose. A domain name which has already been taken by another company might lead to copyright and trademark infringements, and this will cost you a lot of money and time.
So make sure you do your homework properly and save yourself some headache. Fetch your domain name as quickly as you can because short and straightforward domain names are getting sold out pretty fast and there is a high chance that you will end up with a pitiably long domain name which would do you no good.
