As an entrepreneur, you need to focus on everything – even the seemingly trivial ones – that can impact your business, and domain names are one of those things. Since domain names are often synonymous with your business identity, you need to ensure you make the best choice.
In this guide, we discuss the importance of domain names and how they can make or break your business.
How A Domain Name Impacts Your Business?
Domain names are not merely addresses to your website but also your online identity. A good domain name has the following features:
- Memorable: Your domain name should be memorable – something that sticks in the audiences head. Experts suggest keeping your domain names shorter than 15 characters to make them more memorable.
- Unique: Most domain names are memorable because theyre unique. However, uniqueness doesnt mean deviating from your niche. For instance, Healthline.com is the domain name for a health and wellness website. Although theres an additional suffix, the domain name is relevant to the niche. The same goes for Mayoclinic.com.
- Catchy: If a domain name is catchy, it will be easier to read and pronounce. For instance, Chewy.com is the perfect name for a website about pets.
- Ordered: As per human psychology, our brains are equipped to remember things in order. Youre more likely to remember big black bear than bear big black. Its the same with domain names. A domain name, such as SellYourClothes.com is more likely to be remembered by visitors than ClothesSellYours because its ordered. Since remembrance means revisiting, an ordered domain name helps bring customers back to your website.
When choosing a domain name, you should be creative while keeping the name in line with your business. Heres how a well-chosen domain name can make your business a success:
Adds Credibility
A smart domain name adds credibility to your business. No one wants to buy from a website called acd321.com because it seems immature and sketchy. On the other hand, if you have a creative and well-ordered domain name, it will make your business seem more credible.
Shows Business Initiative
Your domain name also has the potential to represent what you offer as a business. For instance, Deserve.com is a domain name for a company that helps people build credit.
Their domain name tells the visitor that they deserve to have good credit – its a perfect way to attract clients through affirmation.
Another example in this regard is Lifelock.com. The companys domain name is a combination of life and lock, going well with the service they provide – identity protection. Their name is relevant, catchy, and works with their initiative.
On the other hand, Screamingfrog.co.uk is a creative domain name, but it tells you nothing about the brands services. It becomes even more senseless when you discover that the company offers digital marketing services.
Since their domain name is not even slightly relevant to their services, the company is bound to get less traction online.
Enhances Searchability
Keep in mind that customers will search your domain name in their browser to come to your website or online store. If you have an easy-to-remember and short domain name, people are more likely to revisit and search for your business.
On the contrary, if your domain name contains slang, misspelled words, or hyphens, youre less likely to get returning traffic.
Affects SEO
Your domain name also affects SEO, which further determines how easy it will be for people to find it in search engines. Moz recommends using short keyboards, if possible, in your domain name.
However, you should avoid using too many keywords to make your domain name keyword-targeted.
For instance, Retirementhomefinder.com is a reasonable name for your business. Meanwhile, retirement-homefinder-for-seniors-arizona.com will impact your business negatively since it lowers SEO and makes your website a victim of negative bias from search engines.
How To Choose A Domain Name For Your Business?
If youre having a hard time coming up with a domain name for your business, use a domain name generator like Bagdomains to find the available names in your niche.
Here are some things to keep in mind before you make the final decisions.
Go For .Com Names
Today, there are many domain name extensions, including .net, .org, and even niche-related ones like .photography.
However, its best to use .com as the extension since its most trustworthy and easiest to remember. Plus, modern smartphone keyboards have a .com button, making it easier for users to access .com websites.
Use Keywords
Often, its hard to find an available domain name in your niche that includes the keyword. But you have to be creative. For instance, you can combine another word with the keyword to create the domain name.
Keep It Short and Easy
If your domain name is short, more people will remember it since it will likely be easier to spell and pronounce. Meanwhile, domain names longer than 15 characters containing unusual spellings or words are harder to remember.
Avoid Hyphens
If you have two or three words in your domain name, you might want to separate them with hyphens, but its best not to do so. Hyphens make your domain name look suspicious and render it difficult to remember.
Also, visitors are likely to make typos when searching for hyphenated domain names. You dont want your visitor ending up on a competitors website when searching for you.
Avoid Consecutive Double Letters
For example, if your domain name is Buychesssets.com, its highly susceptible to typos. Therefore, you should avoid creating domain names that have similar letters adjacent to each other.
Conclusion
To sum up, you cant ignore the importance of a domain name in making or breaking your business. Domain names like Amazon.com and Booking.com have become representatives of their businesses and are commonly used in conversations as verbs – weve all heard Google it.
If you want your business to have the same level of recognition, its important to take your time when choosing the domain name and make it as memorable and SEO-friendly as possible.