Tips To Pick A Good Domain Name
Choosing the right domain name for your website is one of the most important steps you can take in the process of building and launching a website. It’s not just about picking something clever or catchy—it’s about making sure your site shows up in search results, is memorable to customers and prospects, and conveys trustworthiness. Choosing an effective domain name is also an important part of developing a brand identity for your business. Here are some tips for choosing a good domain name.
It should be original
When choosing a domain name, you should make sure that it is not already taken. You can check this by doing a WHOIS search on the Internet, where you will be able to see all of the details about any registered domain names.
If your chosen name infringes on someone else’s trademark or copyright, then you may be required to change it. You should also avoid using names that are too generic so as not to confuse customers who might think they are visiting one website when in fact they’re on another.
Stick to .com
You can choose your domain name in a number of ways, but keep these things in mind:
- .com is the most popular domain name. Most people recognize it, trust it, and remember it. It’s also the most searchable term because of its familiarity to both users and search engines alike.
- There are other domains that you might consider—for example, .net or .org—but if you’re trying to get found on the web, stick with .com.
Try to stay memorable
A great domain name should be memorable. We’re talking about something that sticks in people’s minds and makes them say, “Wow! What was that again? I have to remember that!”
A memorable domain name is important because if it isn’t memorable, then it won’t get shared on social media or talked about by your friends and family.
If a friend tells you about a business website they visited recently, but they’re not sure what the exact web address was (and none of the links they saw earlier were clickable), do you think they would still tell their friends? Probably not—they’d probably just forget about it altogether. As silly as it seems at first glance, we all know how easy this can happen sometimes!
For example, we decided on our name, reviewsnguides.com, because we review products and share guides on how to use said products. See? Simple, direct, and memorable.
You can have more than one domain name
If you want to create a website, you’ll need to choose a domain name. A domain name is the “address” of your site on the internet. It’s like an email address—it tells people where to find your website, and it helps them remember how to get there.
For example, https://www.google.com/ is Google’s domain name and it leads people who visit it directly to Google’s homepage (the main page of their website).
There are many reasons why businesses might have more than one domain name:
- You can use multiple domains for different purposes or audiences
- You can direct traffic from one page on your site to another page on your site by using subdomains (for example: bigcommerce-blog)
Keep it unique and brandable
- Unique: By unique, I mean that no other website should have a domain with the same name. If you can think of a word or phrase that people would use to identify your products or services, then you might want to consider using it as a domain name for your website.
- Brandable: Your site needs an identity; whether it’s based around colors or just representing itself as the best place to get something done (like eating pizza). When people see this brand identity on all of its content (including social media profiles), then they’ll know exactly who their dealing with when they visit one of these sites later down the line!
Avoid hyphens in domain name
The first thing to note is that hyphens can cause problems with the browser. Some browsers don’t like them, so when you go to a site with a hyphen in its URL, your browser will often translate it into an underscore (_) or forward slash (/). This isn’t always the case (and depends on which browser you’re using), but it’s something to watch out for.
Another issue with hyphens is that search engines may not read them correctly if they’re included in your domain name. If someone searches for “your website’s name,” a search engine might not be able to tell whether they’re referring specifically to “yourwebsite” or if there are multiple words included in their query (e.g., “your website”). This may result in fewer visitors from Google and other sources!
The same goes for URL shorteners—there could be issues when trying to shorten URLs containing hyphens, which can make things difficult later on down the road if you need a redirect link or want more space for keywords during SEO campaigns; these types of things aren’t easy
Use domain generators for clever ideas
Domain name generators are a great way to get inspiration for your domain-name search, but they’re not the only tool you should be using. Just because a domain generator spits out a clever name doesn’t mean it will be easy for your customers to type into their browser bar or remember long enough to eventually visit your site.
Domain generators can be used as a starting point and then researched further by searching Google for similar-sounding words and phrases.
Example: If a domain generator gives me “Frosticoffeehouse.com,” I may think this is too long and complicated for someone who isn’t familiar with my brand or industry (coffee shop).
However, when I search Google Images under that keyword “frosticoffeehouse,” there are no results! This means that no one else has claimed this specific keyword yet—and if they have, they haven’t done anything with it!
So now I know that Frosticoffeehouse is available as my own personalized brand name with some creative thinking behind it.
Also Read: Tips For Personal Website Design
Make sure it’s easy to type
A good domain name should be easy to type, remember and pronounce. It should also be easy to read, spell and write.
Here are some tips:
- Use common words. The shorter your domain name is, the easier it will be for people who know you or have heard of you before to find it again through search engines or social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. For example, http://www.example-domain-name-here.com/ is a better option than http://www.example-domain-longer-than-yournameherecom/.
- Keep it short but sweet! If possible keep your domain name under 20 characters because most people do not want try and type in long strings of letters into their browsers when they want access something on the web (and especially if those letters are hard ones like Ws). Even though some mobile devices have bigger keyboards than desktop computers don’t assume everyone has access one when using them so keep things simple at all times!
Avoid unusual spellings and abbreviations
When choosing a domain name, avoid unusual spellings and abbreviations. It’s fine to be creative, but make sure that the end result is easy to remember and spell.
- Don’t use hyphens in domain names, and don’t use numbers in them either (e.g., “best-website-ever123”). Numbers are hard to remember and they don’t look good on a website name, so they should be avoided at all costs!
- Avoid using special characters like exclamation points (!), question marks (?), ampersands (&), hashtags (#), asterisks (*) or dashes (-). These characters might not display correctly for your visitors depending on their browser settings or operating system versions.
- Don’t use misspellings – this point should go without saying!
For example, if you were searching for “Beesknees” but accidentally typed “Beeknees,” chances are there’s already an existing site with this exact same spelling as yours doing well for itself! Likewise if someone types “Beeksnes” instead then again there’s probably some competition nearby already eating up search traffic that could have been yours instead…
Use keyword-rich domains if you can
If you have a choice between two domain names, pick the one that is more relevant to your business.
For example, if you own an auto shop in Seattle and want to set up a website for your business, then choose a domain name like seattleautosalon.com instead of seattleautosalon.net because it will be easier for people from Seattle and its surrounding areas to find you online if they are searching for “auto repair” or “Seattle auto repair”.
You should also try to choose a memorable domain name with just one word at most (two words max). This way, people will remember it easily (even without seeing the website name first). If possible use keywords in your domain name because this can help increase traffic when people search those keywords on search engines such as Google!
Lastly make sure the spelling is correct too so no one gets confused by what they see while visiting your site; otherwise they might leave before finding out what else there’s available here 🙂
Keep it short and sweet
Here are some more reasons to keep your domain name short:
- Short domains are easier to remember and type. People can’t remember long URLs, so they’ll tend to bookmark a shorter URL instead of typing it in every time.
- They’re easier to type on mobile devices. Short domains are also less likely to be truncated by autocorrect, which causes problems when trying to complete an order or purchase something online.
- They’re easier to spell, pronounce and abbreviate—all qualities that make for better branding opportunities for you!
- They fit better in headlines and tweets (which is where most people will see your brand). Nowadays, most content creators have a limited space in which they must convey everything related with the subject matter covered in their article; so having a domain name that’s easy for readers/viewers/tweeters/etc., is important if you want them
Get free domain with web hosting
It’s important to note that a free domain is not always the best option. Some web hosting providers offer free domain names as a way to entice you to sign up for their service. And while this may seem ideal at first glance, keep in mind that you are paying for it in other ways (through the monthly cost of hosting).
Before registering for a “free” domain through your host or registrar, make sure that you read through all terms and conditions carefully. You may find that there are fees attached or restrictions on how long the domain will remain yours before expiring. If these details aren’t listed clearly, ask about them before signing up for anything—a good host should be able to explain everything clearly without any hidden surprises!
Most Popular Domain Registrars
The majority of domain registrars will be able to do what you need. If a domain is available, they’ll register it for you. But there are some differences between them and we’ve found some that stand out for their great customer support, easy-to-use interfaces and low prices.
- Register.com
- Namecheap
- GoDaddy
- Name.com
- eBay
Tips To Pick A Good Domain Name: Conclusion
Choosing a domain name can be a tricky process. There are many factors to keep in mind when deciding on the best name for your site. We hope that our list of suggestions has helped you get started!
