10 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Domain Name

Your domain name is your website’s address on the internet. Domain names impact how easily prospective clients can reach you on search engines and a visitor’s first impression after visiting your site. The right domain name can help your business reach the target market, build an online presence, develop credibility, boost site SEO, and give you a competitive edge. It can also help your business maintain brand ownership, improve branding, enhance professionalism and establish business identity.

A proper domain name helps customers understand your business and what to expect from it. For example, if you spot a site with the domain onlyroses.com and want to purchase orchids, you’ll realize that the business doesn’t offer what you’re looking for right away. This also helps filter irrelevant search results on SERPs, helping prospective clients find what they want, reducing unnecessary search time. To choose a domain name that benefits your business, ensure that it targets your audience and consider what they’re likely to type when looking for products like yours. The ideal domain name should be short and relevant. It shouldn’t sound generic, so it easily blends into the background. Here are the factors to consider when choosing a domain name.

First Factor to Consider When Choosing a Domain Name – Domain Extension

A domain extension is a combination of characters that follow the period in a website address. For example, in modern furniture in San Diego site https://d3home.com/, the .com is the domain extension. A .com domain is the most popular and preferred top-level domain (TLD) because it has been around for a long time. However, you can still use other TLDs including .org, .net, .biz, .net, .us, and, .co.

Your domain extension choices have a low effect on your SEO performance. If you’re developing your business in your country, country domain extensions are a good choice. Potential clients view websites based on their domain extension, impacting conversions.

Keywords

Keywords are not meant for content only. Search engines will use your domain name to determine what your business is about and help in determining search rankings. Add keywords to your domain name where necessary. The keywords you pick must be relevant to your site. Consider using a Google keyword planner if you’re short of ideas to represent your content correctly. This tool allows you to survey keywords by the search volume. However, don’t use many keywords, particularly the popular ones, as they can make your website appear boring.

Domain Name Length

Good domain names should be short because they’re easy to remember and type, reducing errors in typing and sharing your name. Short domain names are also suitable for branding purposes. A short domain is precise, and it communicates what your brand is about.

It’s also suitable for mobile usage and easily brandable. According to research, the domain names of the top 1,000,000 popular websites have an average of 10 characters. Long domain names may not be bad for your business, but they’re difficult to remember and type, affecting user experience. They can also confuse prospective clients, impacting success and online visibility. Avoid long and complex domains unless they’re beneficial for your branding.

Availability

When picking a domain name and you already have ideas, you should check for the domain name availability, as most of the best domain names are already taken. Checking the name’s availability protects from domain trademark infringement if the name was already registered in another company’s name.

If that other company started using the trademark before you, they’re the senior user. This could lead to you losing your website, ending up in jail, or getting fined. To check domain name availability, you can type it on a search bar then do an online search. Additionally, you can use a domain name checker to confirm the name’s availability.

Essential Factor to Consider When Choosing a Domain Name – Brand Name

Brand names are unique, identifying personas that can make your domain name stand out. They create longevity and distinctiveness potential because customers can identify established brands quickly. While a brand may take time to develop, its popularity can pay your site’s popularity dividends.

Location

Location-based domains are URLs whose end suffixes are geographically specific. Besides guiding your audience efficiently, these domains also give your business authenticity. Considering how many domains there are on the internet, a location-specific domain drives that area’s traffic to your website. With location-based domains like .ca, you must live in or conduct your business from Canada.

You can also use a domain extension with a place included like .mexico. A location-specific domain improves search engine optimization (SEO), ensuring natural and free website visibility. If you want to attract more business from the area you’re operating from, location-specific domains are an excellent choice. They also reduce user confusion, making it easy for your audience to connect and communicate with you.

Hyphens and Numbers

Your domain name should be simple, so adding hyphens and numbers can make it complex. This is because, besides being misunderstood, these two are a distraction. Using numbers may leave the users confused on whether to type the numerical or spell it out. For example, if you use 6, the user may not know whether to add six or 6. Hyphens also complicate your domain name, as potential site visitors may end up misplacing it or forgetting it together.

Brandable Vs. Descriptive Domains

A brandable domain doesn’t explicitly describe your company’s products or services. They’re usually made-up words, existing term recreations, wordplay, historical figures, references, and more. Brandable domains are often catchy and unique, and they don’t have to stray from their brand’s services or mission. They stir certain emotions about the brand that resonates with customers; for example, Microsoft is dedicated to Microcomputer Software. However, brandable domains can also thrive without any meaning attached to them; for instance, Apple has become a household name thanks to product quality.

A descriptive domain name clearly expresses a business’s products or services. For instance, General Motors describes what the company does. This helps customers determine what your business deals with quickly. However, they lack the brandable domain’s personality and aren’t as memorable. When choosing a descriptive or brandable domain, consider your marketing strategy, growth potential, and reaching your target audience. Brandable names are ideal for trademarks and are easily available as domain names. Descriptive ones are harder to find due to their SEO value.

Flexibility

Flexibility is an essential factor to consider when choosing a domain name because it impacts growth and expansion. While being specific may attract more business, it may block your chances of growing your business. For example, lisa.cakes might be a perfect cake blog name. However, your domain name becomes inaccurate if you decide to blog about other bakes. This is why you should consider how your website or business may expand in the future before settling on a particular domain name. In that regard, the perfect name for your business can be lisa.bakes.

Simplicity

Simplicity plays a key role when selecting a domain name. To enhance processing fluency, the name should be easy to pronounce. The right domain name shouldn’t require users to think too hard to remember. When potential customers constantly misspell your name because they can’t figure it out, you’ll lose potential traffic. Choose a simple name with no complexities, enhancing the user experience.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Domain Name – Endnote

Having a solid domain name establishes a business’s identity, helps you interact with your niche market, and boosts brand memorability. It also sets you apart from the competition and increases professional credibility. Consider the above factors when choosing a domain name for your website.