Think of your domain name as your business card or even your business’ name! It’s the first thing a lot of people will see, hear or know of your business before they ever visit your site or your brick and mortar. A website with a well-picked domain name essentially serves as a constant lead generation system for your business. Your domain name should stand out but it should also be easy to remember as well as relevant to your business and your products. The hardest part for most new business owners is finding a domain that isn’t taken.
Choose Your Extension
Website extensions are .net, .com, .org, .biz and so on. This is an important decision and should be weighed based on what type of business you are operating.
.com
The .com domains are the most popular extensions used, .net is second but only about 4% of domains are using it. You’ll want to try to use .com simply because it’s what most businesses use and it’s what people trust. If you’re finding that your domain is taken, try adjusting the spelling slightly or adding a special character, such as a hyphen to your domain.
.org
.org should only be used for non-profit organizations. Usually this domain is used for charities, community groups or other non-profit organizations. You should avoid using this domain if your business is a for profit organization.
.biz
.biz is often used if .com or .net is not available with your business name or product options. Realize that the less common a website domain, the harder it is for your consumers to find.
Choose a Brandable Domain Name
This may seem like a no-brainer, but many small businesses have made the mistake of choosing a domain name that is either generic or not brand-centric. It is vital to choose a domain name that fully encompasses your brand so that visitors know the entity of the site they are visiting before they even click it.
For example, Greg is the founder of Greg’s Landscaping, a full-scale landscaping and hardscaping company that he recently got up off the ground in the Raleigh area. He has come across the important decision of picking out a domain name for his new site. In Greg’s instance, choosing a domain name such as raleighsbestlandscaper.com would not be beneficial for him because it is generic and does not display his company and brand fully. Along with this, it is rather lengthy and hard to fully read. The perfect domain is concise and to the point, so that visitors don’t trip up on the words in the URL. He would be better off choosing a domain like markslandscaping.com, which is concise and fully displays his company name, so that users know the site they are visiting when they click it.
Promote Professionalism and Legitimacy Through Your Domain Name
As previously mentioned, your domain name will oftentimes be the first thing that your site visitors see before they land on your site. With this in mind, it’s important for your domain to be visually appealing while it promotes professionalism and legitimacy. The best way to make a visually professional domain is to exclude hyphens and numbers. You ideally want your domain to represent the digital home of your business rather than look like an instagram username! Lastly, you need to ensure that your domain is easy to read and easy to pronounce. The pronunciation of a domain name often goes overlooked but if you want your website to be easily shared between others by word of mouth, you should aim to have a simple domain name that rolls off the tongue nicely.
High Quality Domain Names With Localmize
Here at Localmize, our website development team can help you out in the process of acquiring your dream domain name. If you think about it, receiving ownership of your domain name is essentially the “first steps” in your brand new website to promote your business! Our team has industry leading knowledge in getting you the most unique and professional domain for your business from our wide variety of purchasing options. Contact us today to learn more about how we can set up your dream website with a perfect domain name!
