Choosing the right domain name is a critical part of establishing an online presence for both a business and its owner.
A domain name is not just an address; it’s a reflection of a brand, a key component of its marketing strategy, and a crucial factor in a website’s search engine optimization (SEO). Factors like length, appropriateness, and whether that name is easy to remember can make a world of difference to potential customers surfing the web. The wrong domain name can be a problem, or maybe just a little off.
Generating a domain name that is memorable, unique to its business, and strategic takes more than picking a keyword at random—here are some expert insights from our team at Network Solutions.
Tip #1 – Identify Use Cases
Is this a personal website? A business? Somewhere in between? A domain name strategy should be defined by the way it will be used.
As an example, for a website that is purely a recreational endeavor and doesn’t plan to sell anything, the only real ambition may be entertaining friends and family with some cheesy puns and content that you’re passionate about. In this case, fun and memorable names that sacrifice some marketability or scalability are more viable options. It’s not as important to prioritize memorability from print and radio ads and suitable subdomains for promotional pages.
On the other hand, a domain for a new small business—whether it be a bakery, floral shop, legal practice, or IT service company—should think about all those factors that contribute to a distinct, easy-to-discover domain that resonates with the target audience.
Tip #2 – Don’t Exhaust Too Much Time Brainstorming
For small business owners, time is money. This is where AI comes in—streamlining brand operations like expense reports, time tracking, and searching for the right domain name are laborious tasks that AI was made for. AI domain name generators can give SMBs back precious time that can be reinvested into the customer-facing elements of the business.
Using an AI tool can be a game changer in naming a domain, and may produce some surprisingly creative options, but SMBs should stay open to playing around with these tools and fine-tuning the results until they find the ideal match.
Tip #3 – Go Ahead and Extend
Choosing the right domain name isn’t complete without choosing the right extension; every domain name has to have one. The .com extension is very popular, and it’s often the best choice because it’s familiar and trusted by users.
However, there are many other extensions available that might better align with your brand and industry. Alternatives include .net for technology sites, .info for informative sites, .org or .foundation for charities and nonprofits, .biz for businesses, .club for social groups and hobbyist organizations, and .pro for experts and industry professionals.
Tip #4 – Think Locally
Remaining cognizant of customer proximity can be an overlooked indicator of success for SMBs building out their sites. In the example of a local landscaping business whose entire audience resides within a few miles, an easy way to elevate the brand online and in the community is to add some local flair to the domain name. such as the city or other specific area of operation in the domain itself. This will likely widen the selection of available domain names and attract more attention at the local level.
Tip #5 – Clear and Memorable Domains Always Win
Most have probably heard of an elevator pitch, but a domain name is more like an escalator pitch: users can scroll past so quickly that SMBs only have time to say a word or two before they’re gone. As a result, it’s critical that their domain names clearly represent their business or brand in a concise, memorable way.
Phonetics can be key: picking a domain name that is both easy to remember and easy to spell out in a search bar optimizes the chances of someone finding your business again after hearing about it through word of mouth.
Before registering a domain name, small business owners should consider running it by some family, friends, or trusted partners. Saying it aloud or writing it down can be a helpful exercise in checking if the transcript matches the thought and seeing if it rolls off the tongue. When dealing with something unwieldy, like ‘HydraulicChainPipeWrench.com,’ acronyms are a viable (and sometimes necessary) alternative.
Ultimately, the right domain varies across businesses, and the small business owners who can concisely communicate the value that they bring to customers will find the most success online.
About the Author
Jeff Houser is Director of Product Support at Network Solutions. Network Solutions was the world’s first registrar, but we know being the first isn’t everything. Our decades of expertise wouldn’t mean as much if we didn’t provide comprehensive solutions and superb service to our customers every day. Our history of serving digital leaders wouldn’t be half as impressive if we weren’t making history with the IT professionals we serve now. And our record of excellence would lose a little shine if we weren’t committed to providing secure, reliable digital infrastructures for the businesses that count on us. At Network Solutions, we’re proud of yesterday but focused on tomorrow, because our legacy depends not on being the first, but on being the best.
