A domain name is one of the most important aspect of you brand identity.
A domain name is just not a website. Representing you, your business on the online forum is what you can consider a domain to be.
Is it recognizable and easy to remember? is a question to ask while choosing a domain name.
If you consider brands like Amazon, Apple, and Windows you will understand the incredible manner in which their domain name represents them.
Understand the basics of a domain name.
A domain name is an online address of your website. This address is unique to your website. By simply typing it in the web browser’s address bar, a visitor will reach your website. Search engine giants like Google and Bing keep records of almost all the available domain names.
Let us try to understand what a domain name is made of.
Let’s consider a domain name example: http://www.mydomainname.com.
So its like Prefix + Subdomain + Name + Extension, let’s look at all this in a bit more detail.
Prefix – have you every noticed http or https in the web browsing? It’s called as internet protocol (HTTP is standard, https is secured form of HTTP).
If your website is HTTPS its a considered to be a secure website over the internet. Many website service providers free SSL to make your website secure. Google search algorithm does not value a non-https website.
Subdomain – “www” in the web URL is known as the sub-domain. You could configure your webserver to have more than one sub-domains. So you could have “www.mydomainname.com,” “help.mydomainname.com” and “webmail.mydomainname.com” all registered under the same domain name “mydomainname.com.”
Name – this is the core unique part of your web address. This is to be chosen at the time you would register the domain name.
Extension – the top-level domain can be picked for the variety of available choices. The best to have is “.COM”.
Possessing a self-owned domain is very important w.r.t online branding and for the overall branding process. You can own websites, domain names that are associated with your brand name.
While you acquire a domain name and other online properties it reduces the risk that somebody else will buy the name, forcing you to get it for a premium value in the future.
You should be creative in coming up with an alternative site name if the desired choices aren’t available.
The recommended hosting provider Bigrock, can provide a special offer that may include a FREE WEBSITE for our visitors. You can consider registering your domain name with BigRock, I personally use BigRock. Get a domain name from BigRock now as they having an offer >>> .COM @ Rs.149 for 1st year
Domain name extension
When registering a domain name, you need to be careful about what Top Level Website (TLD) extension to plan to choose. There are many TLDs to choose from but the most popular TLDs is [.com].
Why .com is the most popular and preferred TLD?
There are also industry specific tlds they are called as generic top-level domains (gTLDs), to list some of the gTLDs available (.agency, .business, .city, .digital, .photography, .art, .social)… and many more.
Not sure what to choose for a top-level domain? Let’s discuss…
Important tips – How to choose a Domain Name
1. Choose a unique name
You will not disagree with me that let be any business should be uniquely identified by its name. Hence getting a unique and desirable domain name is important. So, you should definitely opt for the most relevant and appealing domain name for your business.
Search if your desired domain name is available (yourbusiness.com) and if yes then do not delay in registering it.
Never disclose your domain name in public, before registering it, for obvious reasons.
Avoid choosing a similar name [by sound or spell] to other existing sites. You should search over search engines like Google and Yahoo for your desired domain name. If the search shows any similar websites, then you should be choosing an alternate domain name.
There are many other factors that you should consider while choosing a domain name. Ask DDN team for more details.
2. Brainstorm
Brainstorming happens between more than one brain. So, decide on a few very trusted people you know who can give you suggestions and feedback.
Have multiple options of words or phrases that describe your business or website. based on identified keywords and phrases create multiple possible domain names.
Among the list of probable domain names, do a WHOIS check to see how many of them are available.
Decide which one of the available domain names is the best. Ask some self questions like…
- Does the domain name sounds good?
- Is it memorable enough?
- Is there any ambiguity?
- What’s the length of the domain name, is it short enough?
- Is it easy to spell?
Your domain name should have a high recall value. Be creative as well. Choose the best from your list.
3. Make it easy to type
The domain name should be easily be spelled and understood if that’s not the case, then it won’t work. Keep the name simple to remember and easy to enter in an address bar or search field. Simplicity important because you don’t want your visitors to incorrectly type in your name and be directed to a different site.
I remember that a well-known company had to pay a large sum to buy a domain name to not loose misspelled domain traffic. It was Flickr.com to had to buy Flicker.com for a large sum of money.
4. Choose “.com” first
More than 75% of websites today are “.com” domains. It’s the most preferred extension. Some browsers accept address-only entries in their address bar. If only the domain name is t (and who knows how many of your users will just do that?) they will return, by default, to the “.com” site.
5. Make it brandable
Your domain name will be your brand. Some names speak for themselves. When you hear the name, you know what the website is about. Take a look at Top 100 blogs by DailyTekk, and you’ll see that most popular websites have brandable names.
6. Shorter is always better
While we’ve been saying, shortest is more preferable. If you don’t get your domain name right down to one memorable expression (almost impossible to come by these days), then consider adding much more maximum two more words. Combinations of two words work great for the memorable names like LifeHacker. com or GeekSquad. Also, don’t use an acronym. People will never remember the letters until it’s a highly important name.
7. Avoid trademark problems
When you have decided on your top options for your site name, ensure you are not violating anyone’s trademarks. This is always good to check now because this could kill a great website and business down the road. Most brands will not allow you to use their name in any part of your domain.
8. No numbers or hyphens
Numbers and hyphens (especially hyphens) cause confusion. Stay away from them at all costs. Even something as clever as the number1website.com will cause confusion. Make the name speak for itself.
9. Beware of trends
Let the domain name that you choose be classic in nature as trends will fade away. Deciding whether something is a trend or here to stay, is a matter of personal judgment, but it’s usually not too hard to tell.
10. Marry your domain name
You have to be absolutely sure about the domain name that you decide on. You will lose time, money, branding, and rankings if you later decide to rename your domain name. We do not recommend changing your domain once your blog has been live for any considerable amount of time.
11. Check social networks
Before you register your desired domain name, do check social networks for the same name. For example: check facebook.com/yourdomain, twitter.com/yourdomain – and secure them as well. NAME CHECK is a great tool to use to see if certain names are already branded on social platforms.