Choosing the right domain name for any business website has direct and significant benefits. Apart from defining the website traits, the right domain name can also be a handy tool in communicating all the necessary business information for online visitors and search engine bots. If a business owner is confused about selecting the right domain name, do not worry, as some techniques need to be adopted to determine the perfect domain name. One can research online for strong keywords, which can later be infused into the content or even use tools like domain name generators to get a bird’s-eye view of the same.
Impact of Right Domain Name
Before determining these steps, some positive impacts can’t be overlooked by having the right domain name.
- A unique and easy-to-remember domain name is more likely to resonate with online visitors, thus encouraging them to return to the website more often
- The right domain name helps in building new website visitors, and these will get an understanding of the website’s nature
- Domain names have a direct influence on the website’s SEO rankings
- If the domain name is changed or altered after the creation of the website, it could lead to snags that can become time-consuming
Steps for Determining the Right Domain Name
So, here are some easy steps to follow for determining the perfect domain name for any business website.
Step 1: Selecting the Right Set of Keywords Representing the Website
When the website owner uses keywords in his domain name, it becomes a viable option owing to the similar reasons that keywords when they’re used in the website content. Using keywords in the content and domain helps bring SEO benefits by boosting increased digital traffic, getting higher rankings for websites in the SERPs, etc. Additionally, keywords give a business’s target customers a much-enhanced visibility of the focused niche of the business website. Business owners can leverage tools like Google Keyword Planner, which assists in searching the relevant keywords having higher search volumes and lower competition. For a website and the content hosted on it, keywords act as a mirror!
Step 2: Using a Domain Name Generator
Once the keywords are shortlisted, the next step involves brainstorming ideas to select the right domain name. Choosing a domain name becomes difficult without using a specialized domain name tool, as website owners might repeatedly go over and over for the previously acquired domain names. Using a domain name generator tool helps simplify the brainstorming process and assures that the shortlisted domain names are not previously taken and can be readily purchased. To generate the right domain name, the business owner must visit the website and fetch the keyword in its search box. Based on the entered keyword, the tool generates several domain name suggestion variations from which the business owner can choose the aptest.
Step 3: Selecting the Right Domain Name with Simple Criteria
Until now, the keywords have been shortlisted, and the website owner has completed determining the domain name. The core of this step lies in choosing the best domain name. In order to get optimized and best results, selecting a domain name that aligns with the following standards is a best practice. The following are some criteria that the business owner needs to consider-
- Clear and Accurate: Generally, domain names that are longer and confusing can be difficult to remember as the user might mistype the domain name
- Creative and Memorable: Higher the domain name’s uniqueness, the higher its memorability amongst the end-users and other website visitors. Also, business owners can keep the domain names creative, something that matches their core business area
- Simpler Readability and Pronunciation: When selecting the domain name, business owners must avoid any number or special characters, as they can become confusing while pronouncing them. Domain names need to be such that they can be easily read and pronounced
Once the above criteria have been addressed, it is time to consider the domain name’s top-level domain or TLD. Online survey results have shown that the .com extension is amongst the most widely used because most users prefer a .com extension as it is quite easy to remember. TLDs are mostly applied to a specific region or country, such as .in, .ae, and .uk, to name some of these.
Step 4: Domain Name Registration
This is the last step when it comes to selecting the right domain name. Once the relevant keywords and a TLD have been finalized for the website, he needs to buy this domain name. The process of purchasing a domain name depends on the chosen hosting provider. Usually, with these hosting providers, one can buy a domain name when registering for a hosting plan.
The domain name can also be purchased separately from a domain name registrar. It is worth remembering that the web hosting provider will offer both web hosting services as well as domain name services. If the domain name is selected via domain name registrar, it can still be connected to the existing/new website of the business. It is also important for business owners to go through the domain name provider’s documentation and their support team’s approach for assistance while transferring a domain name.
Closing Remarks:
Choosing the right domain name for a website directly impacts the website’s digital performance as well as the branding of the business. Domain names also tend to affect SEO performance directly, as the search engine crawlers rank such domains higher on the SERPs that have the right blend of keywords in the domain name, matching with its parent business or service line. With the right domain name in place, business owners can easily target their audience and boost their search engine rankings. Hence, choosing the right mix of keywords is essential before finalizing or purchasing any domain name.
