8 Smart Tips For Choosing A Winning Domain Name

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8 Smart Tips For Choosing A Winning Domain
Name
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1. Be brandable
Many business owners mistakenly think of a domain
name as just an address for their website. But
its so much more than that. There are a number
of factors you should seriously consider when
brainstorming domain name ideas. We give you a
quick rundown of 8 tips for selecting a great
domain name. Your domain name is the face of your
companyin the form of a URL. Therefore, you
should make sure it actually sounds like a brand.
With simplicity, novelty, and memorability. Avoid
inserting hyphens, numbers, or anything else that
makes it sound unnatural and complicated.
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2. Make it pronounceable
This tip is closely related to our first bit of
advice. Even though users arent likely to be
saying your domain name out loud,
pronounceability is still important. This is
because of something called processing fluency
the ease with which our brains can process
information. Names that dont require a person to
think too hard are usually the easiest to
remember, and also more likely to inspire
positive associations. When people routinely
misspell your domain name because its too hard
to figure out, all of that potential traffic is
lost. Most people will give up searching for your
brands site quickly they dont have the time or
desire to try multiple Google searches of
possible spellings. The simple lesson is here
make it easy for your customers to find you!
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3. Keep it short, but not too short
Shortness can help keep a domain name simple and
memorable, but going too short can have the
opposite effect. The latter is harder to both
pronounce and remember, despite it having fewer
characters. The first version works fine. The key
here is to strike a balance. In the pursuit of
brevity, many consider using an acronym for their
domain name. But thats usually only wise if your
brand or product is regularly referred to by the
initials.
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4. Go after .com
When it comes to extensions, being unique isnt
always better. While new extensions like .me or
.pro may feel hip and eye-catching, .com is
still the easiest to remember and most often
used. In fact, ¾ of all websites use a .com
extension. If you cant get the .com, go with
other well-known extensions like .co or .net
or .org. Then plan on acquiring the .com in the
future. Of course, youll need to check who owns
the .com first. If a big brand already owns your
preferred .com . These are perfectly fine if
youre not planning to do business outside the
country you select.
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5. Avoid trademark infringement confusion
The ideal domain name is distinctive. It
shouldnt be easily confused with the name of
another site or brand. After all, you dont want
any lawsuits on your hands. If your domain name
infringes on a trademark, you could be sued and
forced to give up the domain. Before you register
your domain name, you can check to see if it
violates any US trademarks here. Picking a name
thats too similar to another business can lead
to your names search engine results being
littered with irrelevant links.
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6. Make it instantly intuitive
The ideal domain name should give users a good
idea of what your business is all about. A
potential customer can make a good guess as to
what theyll find at that site (perfect pasta!).
Your domain name should have the same effect.
Additionally, instant intuitiveness gives bonus
points for memorability. When people can grasp
your sites concept just from the domain name,
you can bet that its going to stick in their
minds.
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7. Use keywords sensibly
Its true that having some keywords in your
domain name can help. However, you shouldnt bend
over backwards to include exact match phrases.
Doing so can actually hurt your brand. Google
caught on to this spammy tactic, so an exact
match keyword domain isnt much of a ranking
factor anymore. Besides, many users have
developed the impression that such sites are
spammy and low-quality.
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8. Append or modify if necessary
Tried all the tips above, but ended up with a
domain name thats unavailable? If you have your
heart set on a domain name, you can append or
modify it a little to make it unique for
registration. Go ahead and use a different
extension, so long as it doesnt conflict with
the other tips and works for your brand and
audience.
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