Best Ideas to Help You Choose a Domain Name for Your Small Business

Since your domain name is frequently the first thing customers see about your business, choosing one is an important decision for small businesses. A business’s domain name is frequently referred to as its online real estate or virtual headquarters. It is essential to your business’s online presence.

Time Bulletin offers eight tips to help you choose a domain name that will work well for your business and last for many years.

1. Keep it simple

Keep it simple is the first rule when selecting a domain name. There’s a chance that someone will misspell your domain name and never find you online if it has an odd spelling or is hard to type. Spell words correctly; don’t use, for instance, ‘u’ for ‘you’ or ‘c’ for ‘see’. It might be too confusing if you have to spell-check your domain name.

2. Shorter is better

Six to fourteen characters to the left of the dot is a good target to aim for. You can type, say, and share your domain name more easily if it has fewer characters. Additionally, there’s less chance of losing visitors due to typos or misspellings.

Additionally, this increases the quantity of URL addresses that appear in search engine list results, which may help customers find your website quickly.

3. Add keywords to your domain name

It can be simpler to identify the nature of your business if you use keywords that accurately describe it and the goods or services you provide.

For example, depending on your business name, you might want to register a domain name that contains the words “specialized” and “cakes” if you operate a specialized cake business. Including keywords that potential customers may use to find your product or service in your content can enhance search engine rankings.

4. Mention your location

A domain name extension such as .ph or .sg indicates to customers that your company is based in the country. You might want to think about including your location in your domain name. Customers who want to do business with domestic companies may find this to be significant.

Customers will find you more easily in terms of geography if you add your location before or after the dot. They won’t take long to realize that they are doing business with a local and supporting a local business.

5. Avoid numbers and hyphens

Hyphens and numbers can easily lead to misunderstandings. It’s possible that someone hearing your domain spoken might not understand right away whether you’re using a number or whether it’s spelled out as a word.

Similarly, if you inserted a hyphen, users might type your URL incorrectly because they forgot to add it. Alternatively, they might recall the hyphen but misplace it. In any case, the outcome remains the same: a lost potential client because they were unable to locate your website.

6. Make it unforgettable

There is intense competition because there are so many businesses operating online. Therefore, having a memorable and catchy domain name is crucial. A memorable custom domain name will promote word-of-mouth marketing and accelerate the growth of your company. Consider combining two words if you are unable to condense your domain name into a single memorable word.

7. Examine every domain name you have available

Even though the internet has been around for a long time, selecting a.com domain name extension is still strongly recommended. Thus, if it’s possible, try registering a domain name ending in.com.

If the desired.com domain name isn’t available, you can still choose from several industry-specific domain extensions, including .co, .net, .org, .online, and .news. Other extensions like .photography, .shop, .coffee, and .club can also effectively convey the type of business.

8. Protect your brand reputation

If you believe it would be beneficial, you should register your domain name with multiple domain extensions and with misspelled versions of your name to further safeguard your brand. This can lessen the likelihood that rivals will register variations of your domain name and use them to divert visitors from your website.

Once you have determined which domain name or names are best for your company, it is crucial to make sure a trademark or copyright does not protect the name. To ensure consistency, it can be beneficial to have the same name on your website and social media platforms. You can also verify if the domain name you want is available on social media sites by visiting these networks to make sure the name is not already taken.

Lastly, make sure to maintain the registration and currency of your domain names; you do not want them to expire. To help make sure domain names don’t expire, providers offer automatic renewals for their services.

Your domain name will be a proud representation of your company for many years to come if you take your time and do it correctly.