Domain Names: How to Choose the Right Domain Name

Rene Anthony — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 03:24:46 +0000

It’s often easy for website owners to be distracted by the development process, which, while important, can amount to little reward if your audience cannot find you. Much like having the best property in an undesirable location would hurt the value of your home, even the best website will struggle to attract interest without an equally appealing ‘location’. That’s where the right domain plays its part. So what’s behind a good name? Here are the key dynamics to consider that will help you choose the right domain name.

Use Descriptive Keywords

Despite the domain community continuing to debate whether keywords play a role in search rankings, there’s little denying that strong keywords help inform your potential audience about the nature of your site and what you do. For businesses, this is particularly important, as it’s the first opportunity for potential customers to gauge whether you provide the services, or sell the products, they are looking for. Keywords should relate to what you are offering viewers, while also being simple yet descriptive (e.g. location + industry + service). Consider analysing what terms your target audience searches for most, and cater accordingly.

Make it Short and Memorable

Although the occasional web owner might have a penchant for long domain names – how about this domainer with a portfolio of 63 letter domains – there is little benefit in opting for a lengthy name. For starters, short, catchy names are easier for users to remember. They also lower the likelihood of a spelling mistake, which would result in misdirected web traffic. If you opt against using descriptive keywords, ensure the name is aligned with your business and all marketing efforts, thus making it more likely to be remembered. For business names with multiple words, acronyms are a good choice.

Establish a Brand

Ever been told that it’s good to stand out from the crowd? Well, with domains, it is! Google values unique names that allow a business to establish a brand. Picking a unique name that aligns with the name of your website, or an ‘aged’ (longstanding) domain with high authority, will improve your search ranking. In deciding to build your brand, it also pays to check whether the corresponding names are available on social media. Stay clear of trouble by avoiding trademarks and any adaptations of other websites’ names.

Don’t Overcomplicate Things

If your domain is for non-business purposes, one of the easiest ways to start is by using a thesaurus and brainstorming. However, one can fall into the trap of trying to be too creative, which can significantly hamper your website. For example, refrain from using numbers or hyphens in your domain. While the latter may help differentiate keywords, web users often forget to include them. Additionally, hyphenated names are often a sign that the non-hyphenated name is already taken – you could be directing users to a potential competitor without knowing it! Also, avoid slang words, words which may be difficult to spell, or deliberately misspelling something.

Cover all Bases

Even once you’ve found the perfect name, you may discover that it’s already taken on the top-level domain (TLD) of your choice – which, almost always, should be “.com.au”. It might seem logical to pursue the name through another TLD (for example, “.net.au”), however, choosing an alternative runs the risk that your customers will visit the other website. Where you do have first choice, it pays to lock away the domain across all common TLDs (including “.com”), as well as the singular and plural versions of your name. Localised TLD’s are yet to take off with any degree of momentum in Australia, and may further confuse your target audience.

That’s it for this occasion, stay tuned for the next of our educational articles, where we’ll cover TLD choices in more detail.

Best Wishes,

The Netfleet Team