Choosing An Effective Domain Name
by Effect Web Media, an Indiana Web Design Company
Choosing a domain name is a big decision & an important one as well; a good business will take a strategic approach to their decision. By strategic I am talking about choosing a name that people will remember and that has a meaning behind it.
Choose a Domain Name that is Your Website Name
Obvious? You may think so, but there are many sites out there that the domain name & site name are not the same. You want people to remember your name, and asking someone to remember your site name but with a different URL just doesn’t seem feasible.
Choose a Domain Name that Means Something to You
I suggest feeling very comfortable with a name before you brand yourself with it for years or even a lifetime. Choose something that you like, something that sounds catchy yet descriptive- but be prepared to have a backup. Domain names are bought up constantly. You may be surprised that even the most unique name has already been taken.
Buying your Domain Name
There are many places to get your domain name. As mentioned above, you may have a hard time getting that perfect name you want, but depending on how attached you are to the name you can attempt to purchase it. You are given the contact information when a domain name is already taken, you can contact the owner and ask if they are willing to sell. You may also want to be prepared for a high selling price, but it all depends on what you are willing to do for your site.
Click Here to Purchase Your Domain Name
Hyphenated Domain Names vs. Non-Hyphenated
Another option for a name that is already taken, is to hyphenate the name. There are pros & cons to this decision.
Cons:
- People often forget the hyphens in a name, you may end up sending your potential customer to a competitor or another site you do not want to be associated with.
- When someone tells another person about your site they will just say the name– most likely forget to tell the person that there are hyphens in that name.
Pros:
- Search Engines can distinguish your keywords better and thus return your site more prominently in search results for those keywords occurring in your domain name.
- The non-hyphenated form may no longer be available. At least this way, you still get the domain name you want.
Long names & short names
A long URL may be hard for someone to remember, or spell correctly. When you get letters next to one another it becomes hard to read and type. There is a potential to have a domain name with 67 characters. Plain & simple always seems to work best – less is more!
Make them Remember Your Domain Name
It is very important to think long and hard about the name you decide to go with. Most importantly the customer needs to remember your name. Making someone remember your name doesn’t mean that you have to pick something simple and mundane. Be creative. Think about some of the sites you know. Consider Google. Everyone seemed to remember the name immediately, it is a unique word that got people talking. Many people probably still don’t know that a google is a 1 with a hundred zeros behind it- a very clever use of such a name- a search engine with countless results in it. So it is good to pick a word or phrase that sticks out, and it is a definate plus to have an actual meaning behind that name.
