Are you lacking inspiration for choosing a domain name? Here are 6 tips for choosing the perfect domain name!
Choosing a domain name is an important step when starting your website. It’s like your home address on the Internet. It also defines your brand on the web. However, the domain name should match your company name and reflect your vision. This is also the reason why some companies do not hesitate to buy domain names that resemble the spelling of their name or desired extension. So how do you choose a domain name for your website? Here are 6 tips to keep in mind.
1. Use your company name
To choose a domain name, the best compromise is to use your company name. This is the choice adopted by the biggest companies and is what the companies launching their websites have always copied.
For example, the Google website is google.com; Microsoft is microsoft.com; Amazon has amazon.fr and so on.
Using your company name as your domain name is good for your brand’s SEO.
This choice is ideal because your customers who already know you will easily find you on the Internet. Even if they don’t know your site, they will be able to find you through search engines. What’s more, brand awareness is becoming more and more important in terms of Google’s algorithm. As such, your domain name is one of the pillars of your branding strategy and therefore choosing one is not trivial!
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2. Find a simple and original idea
The domain name must be original and unlike any other, from a site already known on the network. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for you to make yourself known through your website. First of all, your SEO will be in trouble as the search engines will confuse you every time people try to find you.
An original domain name reflects your brand image and confirms your values.
Thus, it should be formed with the same originality as your company name. This is important in case your company name can no longer be selected as a domain name.
This is what happened to Tesla. Initially, the Tesla.com domain name could no longer be chosen by the company itself. It has already been booked by another person. Then Tesla had to choose thetesla.com. For this reason, in the context of creating an activity, it is important to check the availability of a domain name at the same time someone is wondering about their company name.
You can also do the same for domain name registration. You can make an offer as a domain name can be up to 63 characters long. Alternatively, you can choose to conjugate the verb that best describes the services you offer. For example, if you offer online booking, you can choose reservationz.com/fr as the domain name. If you are in the restaurant business, you can choose mangez.com/fr.
There are several other ways to find original domain name ideas.
3. Choose a short domain name
Coming to the Internet, Internet users pursue a specific goal. However, they are reluctant to engage in activities that require sufficient energy. Thus, choosing a short domain name is the best way to be more visible in the minds of your potential customers.
Although a domain name can be up to 63 characters long, it is recommended that the chosen name be no more than 12 characters long, or approximately 3 syllables. This will make it easier to write, remember and type on your tablet or smartphone, regardless of the size of the screen or keyboard. That is why many companies use their name as a domain name.
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4. Avoid hyphens, puns and difficult pronunciations
Remember, your domain name should be easy to remember. However, the use of a hyphen (-) is not recommended.
Even if it is possible to do this, Internet users tend to forget about it or post poorly and not find your site.
Puns and hard-to-pronounce words should also be avoided. This is the reason why Google had to replace Google Goggles (an app that allows you to search through images) with Lens. It’s much easier to pronounce. In addition, Lens avoids confusion and spelling errors that might be sent to another website.
It might be interesting to radiotest your ideal domain name. If someone hears it only orally, in radio commercials, is it easy for them to understand it, remember it, and write it for Internet searches?
5. Use a domain name generator
If you’re still lacking inspiration to find the right domain name for your website, you can use a domain name generator. There are many of them on the web. When you enter your desired domain name into the generator, it will inform you if it is available or not.
If it’s no longer available, the domain name generator offers you several other domain names that you can use to create your website.
You must evaluate each offer to choose the best one to use.
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6. Register multiple variations of your domain name
Found the right domain name? Great, but things aren’t over yet. You just need to choose an extension.
In fact, a domain name alone does not make your web address. The latter consists of the prefix (www), the domain name itself, and the extension (.com, .fr, .net, .org, etc.).
If Internet users have your domain name but don’t have the required extension, they will see an inaccessible site or a competitor’s site.
It is best in this case to register the most popular extensions, such as: .com, .fr, .net. If possible, you should register all other extensions of your domain name. This saves you having to deal with a competitor or a hacker who might try to take over your brand to get you in trouble and swindle you out of your money.
It’s also a good idea to run redirects to redirect visitors with the wrong extension. They will always arrive at the correct version of your site.
Why is your domain name an important element in your selection?
A domain name is an asset that you will invest in over time, so it’s important to make the right choice right from the start. Indeed, changing the domain name is always possible, but with negative consequences for SEO. Moreover, any post you made under your old name will be lost if you change it.
So take the time to think about choosing a domain name to host your web project in the long run!
Finally, remember that your domain name is the portal to your online activities. It needs to be unique and original to differentiate you, and easy to remember and type to find you. Feel free to register a domain name with the most popular extensions to be always available. Also, remember to protect your domain name to avoid brand misappropriation.