Web Marketing

How to Choose a Domain Name for Your Business

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Choosing a domain name for your business can be an intimidating process. With a large portion of business interactions and commerce taking place online, a domain name is just as important as the name of the business itself. While some businesses with poorly chosen names do survive, for a small business that is trying to make its mark, a name can make or break you.

Domain names might be even more important. It is how you are found online. Too difficult to remember and a potential customer can’t find your website. Too hard to type and they end up at your competitor’s website. Too long and they don’t want to type it. Too generic and they find a dozen other businesses with the same name.

Those are some of the major considerations to take into account when deciding on a domain name. You want it to be a good length, memorable but not too generic, and easy to type. However, there is another important consideration: search engines currently reward domain names with descriptive keywords in them.

Here is what this means. If someone searches for, say, “blue widgets”, the website http://bluewidgets.com has a better chance of coming up in the search results than another company that sells blue widgets but is located at http://bwforall.com. The search engines assume that a domain name with a keyword in it is highly targeted towards that key phrase, and thus should rank higher.

This exact match property is difficult to beat. If you are the site bwforall.com competing against bluewidgets.com, you are going to struggle hard and long trying to rank above them for “blue widgets.” On the other hand, if you had chosen the domain ultrabluewidgets.com you might have an easier time of it.

With this in mind, you should pick a domain name which clearly identifies your company. bluewidgets.com might rank higher for that phrase, but it misses out on the “don’t pick too generic of a domain for your business” consideration. A previous customer is not likely to remember the business name when they go looking for the website again.

There are many things to take into account when deciding on a domain name. They may cost less than $15, but choosing the right one can make or break your business. Put a lot of thought and planning into it before making a decision.

Image Credit: Pisetobis

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47 comments

Jenn@t1 service January 10, 2011 - 5:12 pm
Agree--getting keywords in your domain name is the most important consideration if you are going to rely on SEO for traffic and customers. The problem is, domain names containing keywords for popular products and services are almost impossible to get these days! And you wouldn't believe how many crazy-sounding made up words are already taken, too! I once spent a day searching domain names while trying to figure out what to name a business. . . because it literally took all day. So much stuff was already taken.
ZK January 10, 2011 - 5:53 pm
It's a task to get the right domains now days :)
used tires January 12, 2011 - 3:33 pm
@Jen you are right but luckily you can also often buy those domain names from the owners. If you believe in your business and see the full potential in it, I would definitely buy a premium domain name. -Jean
Harshad January 14, 2011 - 9:01 am
For me selecting a new domain is a 2 days process.... a week at times. At the end of it, it's worth researching and getting the right one.
Aluminum Cases January 10, 2011 - 5:42 pm
Yes Jenn is right that many domains are now gone. So you can no longer expect to be able to score an exact match domain. These days if you want your keywords in your domain name, you may have to add a word to the beginning or end of the domain such as your ultrabluewidgets.com example. Do keep in mind that a keyword rich domain is an absolute necessity. You can build up just as much relevance for a keyword by building more backlinks than your competitors.
ZK January 10, 2011 - 5:57 pm
@Aluminum Cases you are right :) a bit of variation works well for keyword rich domains, search engines pick them up as well...my recommendation would to use a hyphen ( - ) if you don't get the exact domain ( ie. ultra-blue-widgets.com or ultra-bluewidgets.com ) ..not the best way to do it but works well to rank on search engines :)
Aluminum Cases January 13, 2011 - 1:56 pm
I would avoid using 2 hyphens though. Any hyphens in the domain really takes away from the brandability of a domain. It also looks spammy when there are too many hyphens.
used tires January 13, 2011 - 5:12 pm
I personally would not use hyphens at all, if you are going to tell people about your website in person, you can say "go to ultra blue widgets dot com" but then you have to explain to them that there is a dash in the middle of the words, its too complicated unfortunately for most people. -Jean
Komodo Dragon January 14, 2011 - 2:00 am
I agree. I do whatever it takes to avoid hyphens as it's just so cumbersome to explain to someone and it probably takes a lot of potential publicity and awareness of the site by word of mouth.
Dan Lew January 10, 2011 - 11:41 pm
There are 2 ways to go about choosing a domain, the brandable way (a bit harder to rank), or the generic way (easier to rank) !
shanker bakshi January 11, 2011 - 12:43 am
I am own a Self branding domain names; as per SEO point of view it doesn't help you much as it do not carry the SEO value but frankly speaking there are hundred and thousands of exception to that. So i don't care much about it.
Edinburgh Driving School January 14, 2011 - 3:55 pm
Exactly, you shouldn't spend too much time on choosing a domain because it doesn't have that much SEO weight in the long term.
Fatherhood Coach Ward February 28, 2011 - 12:00 am
But I still think the name of the domain and its relevance to its content still does increase readership. Ward
Ari Lestariono January 11, 2011 - 5:15 am
Choosing domain name based on keyword research ad competition on your niche.Get the info, net or org, it doesn't really matter if your not using .com. The key is always millions of traffic per/day and high CTR(get good templates), which is clean ,simple and not too many accessories.
Shailender @ Valentine Vacation January 11, 2011 - 8:11 am
Choosing a domain name is a critical work, I would suggest to buy a domain which contains your keywords plus which is short in name.
Dean Saliba January 11, 2011 - 8:30 am
I suck at coming up with the right domain name for my site. I'm currently looking for a domain name for a new site I am launching that is basically a search engine that finds obscure music files online.
Aluminum Cases January 11, 2011 - 3:58 pm
Well your first step should be some thorough keyword research to see what phrases people are using to find such a service. I think in this case it may be tough finding a domain name that has keywords and is short enough.
Fatherhood Coach Ward January 11, 2011 - 9:58 am
That is so true. Make your domain already optimized and you are good to go to making lots of money. Unfortunately many internet marketers overlook this one vital step into success. Ward
messitech January 11, 2011 - 10:36 am
you can also use the Google Keyword Tool to find a good keywords for domain name
Shiva @ Webmaster Tips January 12, 2011 - 1:48 am
Choosing a keyword rich domain name is really very very important when setting up a website. If the domain is not keyword rich, it certainly becomes very difficult to rank it. I wish I had known it a year back when I first registered my domain
Komodo Dragon January 12, 2011 - 3:54 am
Great tips, ZK as well as the rest of the commentators. Finding the right domain name can definitely play a huge role in success. Like already mentioned, many of the choicest ones are taken. So we have to get creative, do research and see what the best of the next best options are and use them effectively to our best advantage.
Application Developer January 12, 2011 - 6:07 am
I recommend to choose the domain name which contains at least one short keyword of the industry you are serving in. also make sure about the tld you are using, e.g. if you are in commercial or doing any business choose .com etc.
Software Development Company January 12, 2011 - 8:39 am
Use keyword in Domain name is good, but choose short and easy to remember domain name.
Web Design January 12, 2011 - 4:13 pm
Choosing a domain name can be daunting but there are some good tips in the post as well as in the comments.
p90x January 18, 2011 - 5:38 pm
I also found some good information in the comments. Great post. - Robert
magician January 12, 2011 - 4:21 pm
I have been looking at ways to pick a good domain name, thanks for the help
Evan Schulte January 12, 2011 - 7:09 pm
I always try to include a phrase that is searched that way you can rank for your keyword easier.
Alex@Jocuri January 13, 2011 - 6:44 am
Having a easy to remember and brandable domain that also includes the name of your products is a great way to get your business to a good start. Like Matthias said, if you are selling pens and have a website called writingutensils.com, it's not going to make your task of ranking for that keyword easier.
Rose January 13, 2011 - 11:29 pm
Thank you for this very useful tip. A newby like me should know more about this before choosing up a domain name. Currently I am setting up an experimental blog at blogger and I may decide soon to set up on my own that's why I am eager to learn and landed on this page. This tip sounds good that it will be useful on my part one day. Thank you.
Company Logo Design January 14, 2011 - 2:54 am
Nice tips share its helpful for me to get better idea about it. Domain name must be on popular name.
p90x January 18, 2011 - 5:40 pm
I think going with a .com is very important. The search engines seem to regard .com the highest. - Robert
Car Rental January 14, 2011 - 4:46 am
Some of the people prefer their domain name to be most SE friendly and some prefer to have their own BRAND name. I think It all depends on your marketing strategy.
Edinburgh Driving School January 14, 2011 - 3:47 pm
It is definitely harder to find exact keyword domains. But I have found that it only gives you a slight boost and only if you are a new website. If you plan on building an authority site then the keyword in the domain will only make a small difference to your SEO.
CPA network January 15, 2011 - 7:26 am
I've heard rumors that picking exact word with2k at the end is a good solution, if the desired domain is taken. Example: aducation2k.com Any opinion about this?
Jasmine January 16, 2011 - 11:47 am
These days good domain names are very difficult to come by. I myself have been scratching my head trying to find a good domain name for my new website.
provillus January 16, 2011 - 12:34 pm
Well i know it takes a while to find a good domain name but there are tools ;)
SiteJerk January 18, 2011 - 2:49 am
It's a simple rule - 1. If it's an affiliate site promoting someone else's product (amazon?) then use keyword domains. For example, if it's a electric guitar product on amazon, may be something like electricguitarreviews.com 2. If it's a product based site, obviously you cannot go with a keyword rich domain. I mean, how funny it would have been if "Joomla", "Drupal" or "WordPress" were named as "ContentManagementSystem.com"?
p90x January 18, 2011 - 5:36 pm
Choosing a domain for a business can indeed by quite intimidating. Some good information to consider when buying a domain name. Thanks Matthias. - Robert
Chris January 21, 2011 - 7:08 am
There's more to registering domain names than many people realize. To be fair, it's not complex by any means, but if you usually do not cover all your bases at first it could come back to haunt you in the future. That's why it's helpful to hold a few things in your mind before you can get started and as you will be going through the process.
cheap flights to pakistan January 24, 2011 - 12:44 pm
when picking and choosing a company name the most wisest idea is that dont ju7st pick a name and live it up for the day but think for further expansion for the future so choose something which has a open end to it just incase all goes well and you need to expand the business.
FirstHosting January 26, 2011 - 4:06 pm
a good domain must include atleast one keyword related to your business.
Windows 8 February 4, 2011 - 9:39 am
For me selecting the domain name is one of the most difficult thing and it takes around a week to look for a good domain as most of them are already taken
Hamid September 19, 2011 - 7:47 am
Yeah i agree with you that for the first time it's quite difficult to select the domain name while knowing the importance of this. Domain name is no doubt a reflection of what your business is all about. So, one should be very careful and be aware of it's effects on the business growth and promotion.
Cheap Tickets to pakistan September 19, 2011 - 7:54 am
The process of choosing the company name is really important. As it will put a wide range of effects on the business growth and promotion as well. So, there should be some linkage between the name and the working of the Company. Wisely chosen company name could have change the fate of the Business as it will put some favorable effects on the business.
Julie Smith September 19, 2011 - 7:59 am
Yeah i totally agree with your opinion that the suggesting the company name plays a vital role in the business promotion and growth. It's is a matter of recognition and affiliation of the business.
James Watson September 19, 2011 - 9:52 am
I want to add more to your comment as the domain name is the first impression that your business indirectly cast on a customer. So, the unique domain name can really work well for the business.
Nottingham Magician November 23, 2011 - 6:07 pm
Selecting the best domain name is essential and I always advocate getting both the .com and .co.uk version if you are a british citizen to elimainte competitive strategies from rivals. http://www.magicduncan.co.uk is one of my sites.
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