Let's talk about domain names! There are so many things to keep in mind when picking a domain for your business, so how can you make sure you choose the perfect one?
Your domain name should be simple to guess and simple to remember. The easiest way to make sure that happens is to choose the most obvious option available to you. If you run a business called Joe's Roofing Company, the most obvious domain would be something like joesroofing.com or joesroofingcompany.com - For us, it's as simple as mythicdesigncompany.com
Long domain names are hard to remember and hard to type. One of our clients is Crisis Response International - that's a pretty long name! Because it's so long, they often just go by CRI (pronounced cry) - and their domain is criout.com which is much shorter and easier to remember than if they used their full name!
A TLD, or Top Level Domain, is the little part at the end of your domain name, usually .com. There are lots of options available for TLDs such as .online, .shop, .io, and many more. The most common option though is .com and we recommend you stick to a .com domain to the best of your ability to help people remember it better.
Including keywords like dental or plumbing in your actual domain will make it easier for potential clients to take a quick look at the domain and know exactly what it is that you do. It also makes it easier for Google and other search engines to determine what exactly your website is about, so make sure to include the most important keyword for your business in your domain name.
Your domain needs to be READABLE. Avoid things like double letters, random characters, or letters that could be confused as something else.
If it's possible, avoid hyphens and numbers in your domains. Sometimes, especially if your branding includes a number, it may not be easy or possible to do this, and that's okay. But, if your branding doesn't rely on numbers, don't add a number or a hyphen to the domain just so you can get the one "you want" - If bradentondentist.com is taken, don't go and register bradenton-dentist.com - It's only going to confuse people and end up leading them to your competitors.
In the world of the internet, being unique and standing out is so important. Like I mentioned in the last point, make sure your domain name is unique enough to not be confused with one of your competitors. The last thing you want is to be one of the investors who bought the wrong Zoom stock because your domain was too easily confused with someone else's!
Your website can only have one primary address. But, you can also have other domains that direct to your website - so why not have some? If it's in the budget, try to get any domain names that could be easily mistaken as your original. Common misspellings or having the words in a different order are good examples of what to buy.
The last tip is to make sure you choose a trusted registrar when purchasing your domain name(s). Please don't choose the cheapest option you can find just because it's cheaper - some registrars have really difficult to use tools that make it way harder for your developers (and you) to adjust things like DNS settings. As a bonus, make sure you get domain name privacy! If you don't, you'll be the victim of spam calls and emails for the rest of your life regarding your new domain.
