Everyone seems to be telling you to “get onto the internet” and revolutionize your business, but when you’re actually doing so, it can be confusing for someone who hasn’t built a website before to suddenly do so on your own.
One of the most crucial aspects of setting up your website is choosing the right domain name for your business, it can sometimes be the make or break of your site.
To register a domain name you will need a domain name registration company or Registrar as they are often known. There are thousands around the world, some good, some very bad. When you are deciding on a choice of company, please look out for the hidden charges, i.e. transfer away fees, DNS change fees, domain forwarding charges, to name but a few.
A few ideas on how to choose a domain name
Option 1: Your Business Name
The first, and most common, method of choosing a domain name is to choose one that matches your business name. If your business is “Tina’s Flowers and Gifts”, you’d look for the domain “tinasflowersandgifts”, for example.
Option 2: Relevant Keywords
You can also choose a domain name that’s based on relevant business keywords. For instance, the business above could choose “bestlondonflorist” or “topUKflowershop” as a domain name, thus attracting customers who are searching for that phrase.
Option 3: Looking for Alternatives
When the domain you want is taken, you might have to be a little creative. You can try adding a word afterward, using creative spelling, or adding a hyphen in between each word. The debate rages on whether domains with such additional words or hyphens rank in the search engines as well as those without them. It’s a personal choice that you’ll have to make when setting up your website.
What type of domain name?
Domains have many different extensions including .com, .net, .org, and dozens more. The most common domain is .com, and for most businesses, this will suffice. If your preferred domain name is already taken, however, you can try registering one of the other extensions instead.
There may also be country-specific domains like .co.uk or .ca that you can use, but if you are marketing to people outside your country, consider carefully before doing this. In other words if your market is global, then a .com is probably best, however if all of your customers are UK based, then choosing a good .co.uk domain name might be a better choice.
However, it really comes down to what is ultimately available. From an SEO perspective, in my experience, domain names that include the keyword, have a chance of ranking slightly higher, but this is definitely not the number one factor for high search engine results.
Choosing a domain name doesn’t have to be a hassle, but you should do so with full knowledge of the different options available to you. Once you’ve chosen the domain name that looks and feels right, you can continue to set up your website.
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