How important is a domain name?

In order to sell your products & service’s online, you need to build up your credibility. Having a winning domain name is the first step in that process. Did you know Google places huge emphasis on the relevance of a domain name for both it’s natural search results and paid for listings?

Below, I've listed 12 tips that I find invaluable when helping people select a great domain name.

1. Brainstorm your top 5 keywords
When you start your domain name search, it helps to have 5 terms or phrases in mind that best describe the domain you're looking for. Once you have this list, you can start to pair them or add prefixes & suffixes to create good domain ideas. For example, if you're launching a mortgage related domain, you might start with words like "mortgage, finance, home equity, interest rate, house payment" then play around until you can find a good match.

2. Make the domain name unique
Having your website confused with a popular site already owned by someone else is a recipe for disaster. Therefore, you shouldn’t really choose domains that are simply the plural, hyphenated or misspelled version of an already established domain. You want to attract your own traffic.

3. Buy .co.uk AND .com domains
If you're serious about building a successful website, you should be worried about all of the elements in this guide, and while directing traffic to a .com, a .net or .org is fine, owning and 301'ing the .com is critical. With the exception of the very tech-savvy, most people who use the web still make the automatic assumption that .com is all that's out there - don't make the mistake of locking out or losing traffic to these guys. All UK businesses should without doubt buy the .co.uk domain AND the .com domain for their website or blog and configure the redirect accordingly (the .com should redirect to the .co.uk). If your desired domain name is not available in both .co.uk and .com don’t buy it.

4. Make it easier to type
If a domain name requires considerable attention to type correctly, due to spelling, length or the use of un-memorable words or sounds, you've lost a good portion of your branding and marketing value. Think simple and effective.

5. Make it easy to remember
Remember that word-of-mouth and SERPs dominance marketing (where your domain consistently comes up for industry-related searches) both rely on the ease with which the domain can be called to mind. You don't want to be the company with the fantastic website that no one can ever remember to tell their friends about because they can't remember the domain name.

6. Keep tit short and sweet
Short names are easy to type and easy to remember (the previous two rules). They also allow for more characters in the URL in the SERPs and a better fit on business cards and other offline media.

7. Create and fulfill expectations
When someone hears about your domain name for the first time, they should be able to instantly and accurately guess the type of content that might be found there. Consider domain names like Hotmail.com, CareerBuilder.com and AutoTrader.com. Its a fair bet that you know what you are going to get on those sites even if you’ve never heard of them before. Domains like Monster.com or Amazon.com required far more branding because of their obscure names.

8. Avoid Copyright Infringement
This doesn’t happen too often, but can kill a great domain and a great company when it does. To be sure you're not infringing on anyone's copyright with your site's name, visit the Intellectual Property Office website for details!

9. Set yourself apart with a Brand
A "brand" is more than just a combination of words, which is why names like mortgageforyourhome.com or shoesandboots.com aren't as compelling as branded names like jimmychoo.com or nike.com.

10. Reject Hyphens and Numbers
Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type. I'd suggest not using spelled-out or roman numerals in domains, as both can be confusing and mistaken for the other. With the exception of your business name (as in our case), as we set up our domain name to revolve around our brand.

11. Don’t follow the latest trends
Website names that rely on odd mis-spellings, multiple hyphens (like the SEO-optimised domains of the early 2000's), or uninspiring short adjectives (like "top...x," "best...x," "hot...x") aren't always the best choice. This isn't a set in stone rule, but in the world of naming conventions in general, if everyone else is doing it, that doesn't mean it's a “nailed on” strategy. Just look at all the people who named their businesses "AAA... x" over the last 50 years to be first in the phone book; how many businesses are named "AAA company?"

12.Use an Ajax domain selection tool
Websites such as nameChecklist.com make it exceptionally easy to determine availability of a domain name - just remember that you don't have to buy through these services. You can find a name you like that's available, then go to your registrar of choice!

If you would like any help choosing a domain, please contact michael@dpi21.com
or call the studio on 01254 660 560