Introduction
A domain name is one of the most important recognizable
characteristics of an online business. Users search for businesses through
their domain names, and Google rates domain name quality amongst many other
factors when they decide your website’s place in the search findings.
Also, all websites must use unique domain names, therefore
it is very hard to find something easily recognizable, yet fitted to your
niche.
Even if it is hard, not impossible. Stay tuned for our tips,
which will help you reach your goal: finding the domain name that perfectly
fits your website!
5+1 tips to create a powerful domain name
In this part of the article, we give you 5+1 tips to make a
domain name that nobody ever forgets!
a. Plan before act!
Searching for the best domain name is not a 5-minute work.
Of course, if you already have a popular brick-and-mortar shop it is essential
to use the same domain name as your brand is called.
But what if you don’t have a physical brand yet, or your
brand name is already taken in the online world? In these cases, you need to
conclude a keyword strategy.
A keyword strategy is basically an online industry analysis,
where you do very insightful research about your market in terms of keywords.
What keywords do your competitors use?
What keywords do your target audience search for?
What keywords are neglected by your competitors, but used by
your target audience?
Your goal is to get a proper answer to the third question.
These are your opportunities to strive into the market and grab some potential
buyers.
One part of the keyword strategy is to determine a keyword
that you can place in your domain name.
Let’s see an example. Here is “Ifixit.com”. Can you guess
their business strategy? Yes, as their name is quite expressing, it’s not hard.
They repair gadgets that their buyers send to them.
In this case, when a potential buyer types the word “fixing”
into Google's search engine, they have a better chance that they get a very
high place in the search list. Why? Because Google wants to give useful
findings to the user. If the system recognizes that the name of the website
resonates with the word the user wrote, Google connects them with great
pleasure.
b. Either think globally or locally!
There are two ways you can manage your business. First, you
only want a local business. You want to appear in a specific region, but you
don’t want to grow bigger and bigger every year. And the opposite: you want to
be the main superpower of your industry globally!
The bad news is, there is no way between the two, in terms
of domain names. There are country-specific domain names, which have many
strengths but also downfalls if you don’t use them appropriately.
One of the main opportunities of using a country-specific
domain name is that Google recognizes that. And when a user coming from the
exact specific region types something into the search bar, you have better
chances to appear on the first page. On the contrary, if the user comes from a
different region, your chances dramatically drop.
You need to decide what you want in the first place, and you
must only pick a domain name after that.
c. Strive for a short but catchy name!
A domain maximum length is 255 characters. So that means
this can be a domain name pick for anyone?
“theenchantedforestsofmythicalcreaturesandancientmagicwhispershiddenbeyondtheveilofrealityinthemysticalrealmofeternalnightandglowingstarlightwhereheroesembarkonquestsforlosttreasuresandforgottenlegendsunfoldbeforetheireyes.quest”
Guess that didn’t blow you away. It’s too much, and nobody
can ever remember this one. A statistic pointed out that 70% of the 250 websites with the overall
highest traffic only use eight or fewer characters in their domain name. That’s
the limit that we also recommend to you.
Don’t forget that the human short-term memory typically
can’t tolerate long, and meaningless expressions, so try to choose something
short. There are some other factors that can endanger memorization. So try not
to use numbers, special characters, or overly complex words, as these can make
the domain harder to recall and reduce its overall impact.
d. Choose the right domain name extension for your niche!
Domain name extensions are the second part of the domain
right after the second-level domain (SLD). So in the case of Samsung.com,
“.com” is the domain name extension, while “Samsung” is the SLD.
Recently more and more interesting domain name extensions
appeared, and while “.com” is still the favorite choice, in some industries you
need to pick something different. Right now “.com” is the conventional option.
For one aspect, it is great: it creates a secure atmosphere around your site,
and this feeling gets converted to your customers' minds.
But from another point of view, it is a little bit boring.
It can’t attract attention, nobody can notice your site from the mass of
websites. That’s why innovative tech companies and global startups started to
pick unconventional domain name options, and it worked. Nowadays, .io, .tech,
.ai, or .me are all very popular. However, you need to understand your target
audiences to be sure what they really need, because that will drive you to the
biggest reward.
e. Register it quickly
There were more than 362 million registered domain names by the end of 2024. To
be honest: This number will reach 400 million after a few more weeks. There’s
not a single clue that tells us that the demand for domain name registration
will ever stop to grow, or even stop.
A domain can only be registered once, and if you want that
exact domain, you need to wait until the agreed time is over. In these cases,
you rather figure out something new, as waiting so long is not a way to start
your business. But if we make a 180° turn, if you find something creative that
has not yet been taken, you must reserve that as soon as possible.
The most in-depth domain name registrar even offer you a search option, where you can conclude
whether your desired domain name is taken, or you can reserve it, and move
forward to your website's launch.
f. Don’t miss out on similar variations!
You can’t reserve a domain name if the second-level domain
and domain name extension combination is taken. But if this is the case, why
has no one ever used Google.io? It would be a great choice since the “Google”
word is very popular in terms of searches. You can simply climb your site in
the back of Google’s. Well, that’s what Google really avoids, and if you want
to go global, you must think of this as well.
Google, and other giant companies not only reserve one
domain name, they also reserve some of the similar ones. This is a great tactic
to avoid giving chances to others to grab some of your fame. So our advice is:
try to make it impossible to hijack your brand and copy your domain name.
Conclusion
In this article, we mentioned the six most important tips on
how to create a powerful domain name. Even if a domain name is just a
one-word-long expression, it will be the face of your brand, so take your time
to pick the best.
