Website Design & Development Blog

How to select a domain name for your company

Just as the name of your business directs your presence in the ‘physical world,’ your domain name guides your presence on the web. Internet-based businesses particularly rely on the right domain name to differentiate their site and business from competitors.  With your site design, marketing campaigns and SEO value (online visibility) hanging in the balance, selecting a domain name can be a daunting task. But fear not, following these general guidelines can help you select a unique and memorable domain name.

Less is more.

Although domain names can be up to a whopping 67 characters, no one wants to type that. Besides being a pain on the keyboard, long names are more difficult for customers to remember and leave more chances for typos. Aim for five to fifteen characters (not including the extension; .com, .net, etc) for maximum effectiveness.

It’s a concrete victory

Concrete nouns that is. One of the most important things your domain name can be is memorable. Concrete nouns, that is, things you can physically connect with using one of the five senses, are easy for people to remember because they are simple to visualize and associate with. By combining a lively adjective with a noun the options are nearly limitless.

Which witch is which?  

Steer away from words that have multiple spellings and avoid using text message lingo. More spelling options means more chances for potential customers to get lost or snagged by an easier to find competitor. Other things to avoid include hyphens, random initials or letters and technical jargon or phrases most people would not understand.

Say what??

Make sure your domain is only saying what you want it to say. Write it out without spaces (as it will be in the address bar) and make sure there are no ‘hidden’ phrases or alternate meanings; such as ILoveBigAls.com = ILoveBiGals.com or LumbermansExchange=LumbermanSexChange.  See more ill-planned domain names here.

Cover all your bases.

Once you’ve selected your domain name, purchase domains grammatically close to it. Companies exist whose sole function is to purchase and sell advertising space on open domains that are similar to existing websites. It’s a cheap way to get page views without trying. By owning both the plural and singular version (facebook.com and facebooks.com) as well as alternate and misspellings of your domain (fasebook.com, facbook.com) you can catch those customers you may otherwise have lost.