How to Choose the Best Domain for Your Website

Cyberspace is a vast universe. You can either be one of the millions of stars in that space or stand out like the pole star. The difference between the two can be as simple as getting a good domain name for your website. A good domain name is one that is immediately associated with your business or blog and is easy to remember.

Did you know that a domain name has been called the “21st Century Real Estate?”

Wikipedia Commons

To get a domain name, the first thing you need to do is to register the name you want with an organization called ICANN, through a domain name registrar. For this, you need to choose a name and pay a registration fee for that name. Beginners should not worry about domain registrars. You’ll find hundreds of web hosting companies that also offer domain registration for free for the first few months. GoDaddy is the largest domain registrar in the world, with over 20 million customers worldwide, a majority of who are small business owners. GoDaddy today manages over 80 million domain names.

So, what exactly should you look at when you choose a good domain name?

4 Tips To Choose A Domain Name ;

1. Opt for a .com:

I get truly amazed to see how many new domain name extensions are available today. Other than the basic .net, .org and the most common, .com, there are even domain name extensions related to different niches, such as .blog, .photography and many more. However, I find it best to go with a .com for its SEO benefits. This domain name extension is credible, trustworthy, and looks more authoritative.

2. Use Keywords in the Domain Name:

When you use keywords that you want to target in the domain name, it is called Exact Match Domains (EMDs). It helps a business rank better on search engine results because it immediately tells the search bots what the website is about. However, keywords need to be used carefully and creatively. An improperly used keyword can mislead people about the business and affect your ranking on Google.

Don’t overdo it. For example, freshflowerdeliveriesinindelhi.com is a bad example. Freshflowers.com is a good example.

3. Use Your Brand Name:

Today, it is all about branding. So, your domain name should be brand-able too. You may not realize it but your domain name, in the form of a URL, is the face of your business online. So, businesses prefer to use your brand name as their domain name, while if you want to run a personal website, it is better to use your own name, just like I did for www.manikarthik.com.

Even when using brand names, try to make it sound natural and less complicated. It is best to avoid inserting numbers, hyphens, double letters or anything else to give it an easy flow on the speaker’s tongue.

4. Keep it Short:

In this case, short is definitely sweet. Short domain names are concise, and easier to read and remember. Even when you get the domain name printed on a business card or brochure, it takes up less space and quickly aligns with the other text. However, domain names should be equally easy to spell and pronounce, which will make it easy to share as well.

Important Thing to Remember:

Your domain name should be distinctive and unique. The characters should not overlap with another site or brand. Do proper research in your niche to avoid using a trademarked name, to avoid lawsuits in the future.