Like the physical sign on a retail storefront, your domain name is one of the very first components of your business that a visitor to your website will see. Choosing a domain name should be a weighted and well thought out decision, based on numerous factors. First impressions are key in any business, and your domain name can either hinder or enhance your website traffic. When choosing your domain, there are a few important things to keep in mind.
Keep it Relevant
Many companies use their business name as their domain name, which is generally a direct and safe choice for a URL. There are few cases when your business name is not the best choice for your domain, and many cases where your business name is not an available domain. When either of these two issues arise, picking an appropriate domain name becomes more challenging. For our example I’ll use an imaginary restaurant, Smith’s, and real domain availability. Not surprisingly, smiths.com is not an available domain, and neither is smithsrestaurant.com. Here is where we get creative (wink). Try incorporating other simple and relevant elements of your company into your domain. Your location, product or service is a good place to start: smithsonmain.com, smithsofva.com, smithsribs.com and smithspasta.com are all available examples of relevant and memorable domains. Some things to be wary of are double letters (smithssteaks.com), acronyms (Smith’s Restaurant and Bar might make sense as smithsrab.com to you, but chances are this will not be clear to customers), and non .com extensions (smiths.info, smiths.biz, etc.), all of which can cause confusion among current and potential customers. If you are unsure about your domain, run a couple of ideas by current customers, distant friends or even strangers. Close friends and family members can be wonderfully helpful and supportive, but are often emotionally involved in your business and therefore not the best candidates to give an objective opinion.
Keep it Simple
Remember that your domain name should be both easily recognized and remembered. Long and complex domains with too many elements, smithsribandbbqrestaurant.com, are easily confused or forgotten by would-be web visitors. Our own URL is somewhat lengthy, getcreativewebdesign.com, but consists of only the business name and rolls off the tongue easily. Domains can be as many as 67 characters (welcomethisisthewebsiteforsmithsribandbbqrestaurantinvirginia.com is 61 characters), though anything longer than about 20 characters is probably too complex. If you do use a longer domain name, keep in mind that capitlization can help in marketing your domain: SmithsOnMain.com is much clearer than its lowercase equivalent. Also keep in mind that special characters, smiths@thelake.com, are not allowed in domain names. Letters, numbers and hyphens are permitted; however I generally advise against hyphens as they make your URL difficult to spell aloud and are often forgotten by visitors, leading them to another site altogether. If possible it is often beneficial to consider your domain name when choosing a name for your company. It is much easier to establish a name for yourself if your company name and domain name are working together, instead of against one another.
Keep it Classy
While it may seem like a good idea to be the next Google or Yahoo!, chances are your nonsense domain will only cause confusion and spelling errors. Likewise, jokes or riddles are best left out of domain registration…smithsonianfood.com may get you a lot of website hits, but online visitors in D.C. will be irrelevant to a restaurant located hundreds of miles away. Be sure that your domain is in no way offensive to others or has a double meaning that will deter visitors. You can’t please everyone all the time, but a clean and classy domain is a good start to a positive and effective website.
We are happy to handle your domain name search and registration for you. We use and recommend GoDaddy.com for domain support, as they have a helpful customer service staff and are easy to work with. For questions or help with your domain name, contact GetCreative today!