8 Tips for Creating the Best Domain Names For Your Website
When it comes to choosing the best domain names for your website there is a lot to consider! As your identity on the web, a domain name should be easy to find and remember, plus fit in with your business and branding. Before you jump in and start purchasing, read through these eight tips and learn how to create the best domain names for your website.
1. Protect your brand from competitors
Once you purchase a domain name its off the market for everyone else, so its wise to arrange a variety of addresses that all forward to your main website. Buying the slightly mispelled versions of a domain, or some of the various extentions, can help prevent competitors from poaching your traffic. And for new business owners: even if you don’t plan on having a website at first, make sure to purchase domain names in the beginning to prevent anyone else from purchasing the best domain names available.
2. Use keywords
Although the google algorithms for search engine rankings seem to change every year, the best domain names still include relevant keywords. Keywords are the search terms that people enter when looking for your porducts and services on the internet. While it may not be as useful for SEO purposes as it has in the past, it certainly helps give a clear idea to viewers what your website is about.
3. Target your geolocation
When it comes to the best domain names for small or local businesses, sometimes including your city or state can help customers find and remember your site.
4. Easy to type
Make sure the spelling of your domain name is clear and easy to remember. We have all heard the comercials for products where the domain name is made of mispelled words that have to be repeated several times in order for the customer to understand it. Example: xpressproduct4u.com
5. Short when possible
The more words, the higher possibility of confusion or mispelling. There is always the option of increasing how many domain spelling variations you purchase, but shorter domain names are easier to remember.
6. Avoid numbers and hyphens
Numbers are usually misunderstood and tend to cause confusion for consumers when it comes to spelling out the letters (six) or using the numeral (6). Then there are two problems with hyphens. The first is that people tend to forget them in the first place, and the second is that they are normally only used when people are looking for a domain and find the original is taken, but a hyphenated version is available. Which means that if the hyphen is accidentally dropped, the viewer is taken to a competing site.
7. Be memorable
With so many websites already out there, its important to jump on your ideas when you have them. The best domain names and short and catchy and should be registered sooner rather than later, before someone else beats you to it!
8. Use appropriate domain name extension
The best domain names all use extensions wisely. Extensions are suffixes that go at the end of the web address, such as .info or .org. While .com is definitely the most popular and widely used, it can also make it difficult to find an original domain name with a .com extension. According to a November 2017 blog post by GoDaddy, one of the largest selling purveyor of domains, the five most popular domain extensions are listed in the order of most purchased. This is an important consideration because the most purchased extensions are what visitors to your website expect to see.
- .com
- .net
- .org
- .co
- .us
Naming your website can be hard, and often goes hand in hand with deciding the name of a company or business. Really every website has a different set of goals with different domain and domain extension needs, so its important to do industry specific research to stay on top of consumer web expectations. Whether you are a new business trying to set up for success with the best domain names available, or an established business looking to protect your current web presence by expanding your domain list – Distillery Creative is here to help you get the best domain names for your business!