Jonathan Fields, Project Manager
The name of your business is your identity. It tells your customers who you are and hopefully what you do. When you chose the name for your business, you took the time to think and plan to be sure it was just right.
Now you’re getting your business’ presence secured online, and it is critical that you don’t cut corners when it comes to choosing your domain name. With businesses moving online in droves over the past few years, this can be just as important of a task as picking your business name in the first place. So, what do you need to keep in mind when buying a domain name? Well, I’m glad you asked! Here are some pro tips:
SEO is King
Just like other decisions for your website, your domain name is no different. Try to keep in mind your location and any important keywords that you want to be known for (ex. – including terms like “barber” or “hair” if you’re a barbershop)
Make sure it’s easy to remember and spell
Using things like intentionally misspelled words, numbers, special symbols, or any kind of slang may line up with the image you want your business to have, but if your potential clients can’t remember how to find you online, you may have bigger issues. Also, this is a domain name, not a soliloquy, so try to keep it short and sweet.
Does the price meet your need?
There are over 1 billion websites on the internet currently. That means a lot of the good domain names may have already been taken. This doesn’t mean you can’t find what you’re looking for, but you may need to prepare to pay top dollar if someone already owns it.
Extension Selection Matters, Too!
While shopping around for a domain that fits your budget and needs, you may be tempted to go with a .net or .org. Unless this makes sense for your company or organization, go for the .com option as it is the most common and expected extension out there (according to Statista, more than 50% to be exact). Also, your clients are expecting it, so keep that in mind.
Do Your Research
There is the potential that your original idea for a domain name isn’t that original. You need to know if a similar website address exists because your customers could land on someone else’s website and get confused. You may even want to consider buying similar domain names to the one you want to use and have them redirect to your existing site to protect your brand and name. Finally, knowing the history behind the domain name is very important as you need to know if it contains any registered trademarks.
So, now you have a few things to keep in mind while searching for the perfect domain name. Don’t have the time for the search? As part of the website development process with Code & Color, we will help find and buy the domain for you as part of your setup cost. Click here to get the process started today!