8 Tips for Selecting a Domain Name

by Tyler Rice

Last updated July 1, 2017

We know that finding the perfect domain is no easy task for your business.

We believe that the correct domain and brand is an essential step towards the creation of your website so we decided to put together a list of 8 “must do” tips in obtaining your domain name.

The Long Process of Finding the “Perfect Domain Name”

1. Brainstorm 5-10 Relevant Keywords

When you are searching for your new domain name, whether it is for a new product launch, business blog, or optimizing a subdomain link, it is important to come up with the best keywords or phrases that describe what you are offering.

With a cup of coffee or your favorite cocktail, take the time to pick your top keywords from the list and add prefixes or suffixes to the words to create good domain ideas.

For example, if you were creating a website for a local accountant in Durango, Colorado, you could start with words such as an accountant, bookkeeper, finance, analysis, auditor, business banking, and money management.

With these basic terms, you will be able to build upon them to create a creative domain name (or business name.)

2. Make the Domain Unique

Make sure to research all companies that could even closely resemble what you had in mind for a domain name to not get confused with a different business. It could be chaotic to be confused with another brand it would potentially lose you substantial leads.

3. Pick a Domain with a .com Extension Available

While this may be obvious to some, it is important to keep in mind how important it is to have the .com extension tied to your brand.

In the fall of 2013, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) began to assign new domain extensions such as .photography, .media, .rocks, .shop, .space, and .today.

These extensions (as of the end of 2016) have no significance to the search engine optimization of a website and could confuse users as the extensions are not well known.

Even if your domain is geared towards a non-profit organization with the .org extensions, it is helpful for the average user to have a .com extension direct towards your main domain.

4. Keep it Simple to Type

If your brand and/or domain name is difficult to spell for the average user, then that could lose your business a considerable amount of sales before a customer can even get to your website!

This will devalue your brand and marketing value extremely quickly. Consider keeping the domain memorable with easy-to-type letters.

5. Keep it Easy to Remember

Keep in mind that no matter how much of your efforts go into digital marketing, word-of-mouth is going to be an important component of most businesses.

Therefore, it is essential to have a domain or brand name that is easy to remember. How would a customer tell their friend where to go for your services or products if they cannot remember where to go?

6. Keep the Name Relatively Short

Keeping a short domain goes together with keeping it easy to remember.

A shorter domain also has other important benefits such as allowing your URLs to show more information on search engines and allow your information to be presented in a more professional manner on your offline advertising material such as business cards.

7. Keep Your Brand Unique

With a memorable brand, you can build upon your customer generation and engagement.

A name such as Instagram is much more memorable and unique as opposed to another photo sharing company such as photosharingcenter.com, which is the target for optimized keywords without the creative branding.

8. Meet Customer Expectations

If a customer hears your brand or domain, are they able to guess what your business represents?

People should be able to understand what type of products or services you offer right when they hear your domain.

While there are many businesses such as Amazon that does not follow this expectation, they devoted large amounts of resources to build their brand to be known in their industry.

Looking for help in selecting the right domain for your business? Contact our professional marketing team below.