Does your website have an identity? The domain is considered as the online identity of your business. It has the capability to make and break your online business. Apart from being important, this is often considered to be the hardest process in setting up an online business. Going through the points given below will help you in during the process of selecting a domain name for your website.
1. Top 5 Keywords
Jot down at least five main keywords that are related to your business. Once you are done with the list, you can start adding prefixes and suffixes to create great ideas for your domain name. For instance, if your website is something related to car accessories, the terms like auto, car, four wheeler, tires, used car, and so on, are a few such terms that can be considered in order to portray the purpose of your website in a few words to your potential customers.
2. Have a Unique Domain
Every online entrepreneur would be looking for a domain name that perfectly portrays his/her business. When selecting your domain, try not to make it too close to your competitors to avoid any confusion. Going with plural, misspelled or hyphenated versions of existing names could lead your customers to other websites. Make sure the term that you choose is unique in all sense.
3. Prefer ‘Dot-com’
People who are not concerned about the traffic or future of the website, do not need to worry about this factor. For people serious about developing and sustaining a website for the long run, the extension of the website is a matter of concern. There are several extensions for you to direct the traffic. You can either direct to .org, .net or .com. According to web hosting experts, people usually have a tendency to use .com as the extension of a domain name. It is recommended to use .com as the extension of your website, unless you are targeting a specific geographical area. If your clients or potential clients are located in Canada and you are only targeting Canada, than a .ca extension would be more beneficial.
4. Ease to Type and Remember
Your website will be losing a huge number of customers and market value if it is hard to type the domain name. There are chances of spelling errors if the domain name is too lengthy. Also, word of mouth has great power in increasing the market value of your website. Among different methods of marketing, word of mouth is considered as the most effective method as people hear about the company from a reliable person. The domain name for your website must be easy for people to remember in order to share it with others. If people find it hard to remember the term, you will be losing customers and market value as well.
5. Prevent Copyright Infringement
Every online entrepreneur pays great attention to this factor. When you choose a domain name for your website, make sure you do not infringe the copyright of another company. If you violate the copyright even by mistake, it is equal to putting down the shutters of your online business. After finalizing the term, go through copyright.gov to make sure you do not violate any copyright.
