Domain names can be hard to choose. They’re like choosing a name for your baby. There are many elements you must think about then you are choosing it. Most unregistered domain names cost just over $10 but some branded domain names like cars.com sold for almost a billion US dollars on – Top 10 Most Expensive Domain Names of All Time.
The best domain names are the ones you put a lot of thought into, it might take hours, days, and even months! We have provided a list of dos and don’ts that you should really put some effort into reading.
1. Always go for .com
There are a lot of Top-Level Domain (TLD) extensions as shown in the image above. A Top-Level Domain extension is simply the suffix or last part of the URL after the dot. Some of the most common TLD extensions include .com, .net, .org and .edu, although there are thousands of other TLDs.
Approximately 47% of websites on the internet currently use the “.com” TLD as it’s the most popular and sought-after domain name. Therefore it is highly recommended that you try and secure the .com domain as it looks more professional and branded.
2. Make it easy to type
Making your website address easy to type is very essential. Try not to make it so that it is slang (r u vs. are you), and (Christmas vs. Xmas). The more people are familiar with the words, the better it would be so they would have a lower chance of spelling it incorrectly. Don’t add so many extensions after your domain name either. It would be fine just with 2. com.au, .com.edu, etc.
3. Keep it short
You don’t want your domain name to be long, your clients who are trying to get onto your website have a higher chance of misspelling the website address which will result in them having to re-write the whole domain name again. For the actual domain name without the extension, we recommend around 3-12 words max. Short & Non-Complex is the best!
4. Keywords
Keywords are a big part of a domain name. If your website is about shoes and your domain name is happyholidays.com, how are you supposed to get customers for shoes with that domain? The holidays and shoes have nothing in common with each other. If you have popular keywords in your domain name, that will increase the chance of your website being seen by people.
5. Target your continental area
If your business is located in Australia, don’t write japaneseshoes.com. You should write your continental area in the domain name for example, australlianshoes.com.au. You should also consider trying your local area – like your suburb or city. If you use your local area, you will be more highly likely to gain clients since you are in a distinct area from them.
6. No numbers and hyphens
If you have an ad on the radio let’s say, and it calls out the number 5 for example in your website address, the people who are then listening to the ad will think if it is the Numeral (5) or the spelling (five). This is often the problem in most domain names with numbers. And with hyphens. If you get a website address from someone, and they say ‘dash’, they could be meaning a hyphen (-) or a slash (/), many people from around the world have different sayings.
7. Make it memorable and catchy
There is an abomination of registered domain names, so getting a catchy one is tricky and needed. Try not to make it too catchy so that other people can understand it. Once you have figured out a name for your domain, share it with as many people as you can and ask them if they can understand the domain name. If everyone does, then the choice is up to you what to do next.
8. Research it before you buy it
You should always research the domain name that you are trying to get before you buy it. The main reason is that it could be trademarked, copyrighted, or it be being used by another company. You could possibly go to court, and it would be a legal mess. If this is the case of the domain name, it can cost you a fortune and the domain you just bought.
9. Protect your brand
If you can, you should buy all the possible misspellings of your domain as well as your main one. You should also buy the extensions. For example, Shopify.com bought shopify.co as well, because if someone else bought that, it would be a massive problem. If you go the internet and type shopify.co, it will automatically redirect you to the main website – shopify.com.
10. Act swiftly
Domain names are hot on the market right now. Most of them are also inexpensive, so take action fast and register you most reliable domain names as soon as possible.
