Settling on a domain name is an essential part of starting a website or blog. Through a domain name, websites can gain better brand recognition, increase SEO, and add credibility. With all these benefits, it’s important to choose your domain name correctly.
Through this article, you will learn the best ways to choose a domain name for websites or blogs. Read along to discover all the tips and tricks.
- Determine the Purpose of Your Website or Blog
- Check the Availability of Your Domain Name
- Use Keywords
- Keep It Short
- Make It Brandable
- Choose Easy Pronunciation
- Consider Adding Location
- Think Long-Term
1. Determine the Purpose of Your Website or Blog
Setting a purpose for the website creates a guideline and helps make the right decisions. It also helps when the website building process begins. Therefore, take the time to determine what your purpose is. Additionally, determine your unique selling point to stand out from competitors.
To settle your website’s purpose, research the market, target audience, and niche. The research data helps determine what type of website you want. Understanding your website or blog allows for better building and designing processes.
2. Check the Availability of Your Domain Name
Always check your domain name before purchasing. Aside from checking its availability, you should also check its history or previous owners. If there’s a previous owner, make sure its page ranking doesn’t affect yours. If not, you’re good to go.
Check this tool to see your domain name availability and best domain extensions. Alternatively, choose this tool to check the domain’s history. Prior checking will prepare you for better planning before any purchasing occurs.
3. Use Keywords
A relevant domain name supports your business significantly. From better SEO ranking to connecting with the audience, using keywords in your domain name is a smart option. However, limit to one or two keywords to keep your domain name short.
To include keywords to your domain, consider your trade name. The important things are to keep it simple, avoid hyphens, and make it relevant. For keyword ideas, use online tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, or SEMrush.
4. Keep It Short
Keeping your domain name short increases brand memorability, name readability, and SEO efforts. When it comes to availability, shorter domain names are usually more available than the longer ones. Whenever possible, always go for fewer words.
To do so, try to go for 6-14 characters. Create name alternatives and always choose the essential keywords. Using a short domain name means making it relevant to your brand or business. Take examples from short brand names like Canva, HubSpot, or Microsoft.
5. Make It Brandable
Brandable domain names are unique, memorable, and clearly describe the brand it represents. Compared to descriptive names, the brandable ones stand out better. Generally, they’re also more interesting for the audience.
However, brandable names are more challenging. Therefore, researching the audience and market becomes crucial. Make sure to sound unique or authentic without trying too much. Take inspirations from similar brand names, common terms, and use a domain name generator.
6. Choose Easy Pronunciation
Domain names with easy pronunciation are beneficial for you and the customers. It avoids misspelling and confusion on your brand name.
To use simple pronunciations, avoid double words, and use only simple ones. Spell out the name yourself and see if it’s clear enough for first-time visitors or customers. If possible, try out the names to the potential audience and listen to their feedback.
7. Consider Adding Location
Although it’s a less-practiced tip, adding location to your domain name can work for you. Adding geographical names works for niche or small-area businesses. Doing so allows customers to differentiate your brand from competitors.
Adding locations works the same way as adding keywords. Understand where your target audience comes from. Make sure to include locations when it’s relevant. It also makes a great alternative plan if your primary domain name option is taken.
8. Think Long-Term
Domain names are long-term investments for businesses. Therefore, long-term thinking can save you from spending too much time or money and making better decisions. It also prepares you for growth and potential changes in the future.
To reflect long-term planning in domain names, the safest way is to keep the domain name simple. List all the business plans you’re doing in 1, 3, or 5 years. The fewer changes you make to the domain name, the better.
Conclusion
Domain names need to represent the business accurately. So, it’s crucial to understand what to do and not to do. Through using shorter words, adding keywords, and minding SEO, the right domain name must connect with the audience.
Determining the success of your domain name might not come instantly. Therefore, make decisions carefully in real-life practices and consider leaving room for improvement.
Try implementing as many of these domain name tips and tricks as possible. We hope they bring success to your website or blog. Good luck!