How to choose the perfect domain name for your blog is a very important and usually an underestimated process. A domain name must be seen as a tool to support your online business’s brand.
Blogging has become the most phenomenal marketing strategy since the inception of the World Wide Web. Small online businesses can now compete with industry giants using effective blogging and branding.
Blogging was the number one marketing strategy on the internet. During the past three years, there was a massive expansion in mobile phone usage, and social media have become the leader by a small margin.
The Relationship Between the Brand Name & The Domain Name
When you are choosing your domain name, do not forget that branding or choosing your brand name should be done at roughly the same time. The reason for this is because your domain name should directly reflect your brand name.
Therefore, before you choose a domain name, consider the brand name that you want, and vice versa. These two processes go hand in hand.
1. Why is the Domain Name So Important?
It identifies your business. It is, however, essential to be a little farsighted. If your business expands in the future, will it still identify your online business or niche?
Your domain name is the first impression that a visitor or potential client will get. Will the URL grow on them and keep them coming back to read more and use your products or services?
Your domain name isn’t there to sound excellent to you. The domain name still plays a vital role in search engine optimization. It would be wise to include keywords that pleases search engine algorithms, especially Google’s.
Your perfect domain name also gives you the ideal opportunity to start branding your business. And in this way, you can start getting your brand recognized.
After choosing the perfect domain name, you don’t want to change your domain name because of expansion. Therefore you need to have an idea of what future development might change in your online business. Taking that into consideration is very important when deciding on the perfect domain name.
Watch the ten common mistakes not to make when choosing a domain name!
Now that you know why a domain name is so important, it is time to look at what is needed to select your business blog’s perfect domain name.
2. Does the Length of the Domain Name Matter?
When looking how to choose the perfect domain name the length of a domain name is essential—the shorter, the better, with six to fourteen characters being the optimum.
Domain names should be kept concise to captivate your site visitors. It was established in a study by Data Genetics.com, a blog by Nick Berry. The most common name length should be 11-12 characters.
Source: datagenetics.com
In the graph, the character count is on the X-axis, while the Y-axis represents web traffic. Popularity is a measure of the amount of web traffic that a domain name receives.
If you cannot make the name short, then the best advice is to make the name brandable.
3. Which Domain Extension Should I use: com., org., or .blog?
Some of them might sound so descriptive and the right one to use, but don’t fall into the trap. Stick to what people know as the correct extension, and that is .com if you can.
Most people naturally accept that all websites are .com. After all, you want them to remember the name easily to ensure that they return.
4. Make Sure That it is Easy to Type and Remember
The most popular websites in the world have one thing in common: They are easy to spell and remember. Take, for instance, Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
You don’t want your visitors to mistype the name and end up on someone else’s website.
An easy test is to tell ten people the name and see if they can easily remember and type it. If there are errors, it is clear that you should change it to something more manageable.
5. Is the Domain Name Easy to Pronounce?
The rule of thumb is that as easy as the name can roll off your fingers, it must be able to roll off your lips.
Do the same test that you’ve done with the spelling, with the pronunciation as well.
The easy pronunciation will make it easier for you and other people to share the domain name and ensure web traffic to your online business blog.
6. Can I Insert Hyphens and Numbers into My Domain Name?
Your domain name should be easy to spell, write and pronounce. Hyphens and numbers will make it more difficult to remember, so it is best to avoid them.
7. Use Niche Keywords that Reflect Your Website to Improve SEO
Keywords tend to improve SEO but be careful not to stuff keywords that negatively influence the readability. The Google algorithm specifically can penalize you for being generic.
Readability and an easy flow of informative words for visitors take preference over a generic stuffing of words.
8. Ensure the Domain Name Idea is not Trademarked or Already Used
Before you move forward with a name, make sure that it is not already used or Trademarked.
By doing this, you can avoid legal issues with financial consequences and confusion to your visitors and clients.
9. Where and How Do I Do Domain Registration and Hosting?
Registering and getting your domain hosted is easy. Domain registration can be free for the first year, as explained in detail in this handy guide for your information.
Bonus Tip:
If you buy a .com domain name, look to secure the other domain extensions as well to ensure someone can't come along and buy these and compete with you. For example, if buying abcd.com, try to also buy abcd.info, abcd.biz and abcd.org to protect your ‘abcd' brand.
FAQ
How Much Does a Blog Domain Cost?
You can get a domain from a registrar or hosting company. The average cost is around $14 per year, but you can get it free for the first year with selected hosting companies like Bluehost.com.
Why are .com Domains So Expensive?
.com domains are the most memorable TLD to use in a domain name because of their popularity. Almost everyone uses a .com extension, and therefore people are used to them.
Because of their popularity, they are becoming scarcer due to the increase in domain names with that extension.
It is, therefore, all a matter of demand and supply; .com extensions are becoming less available, and thus the price goes up due to a great demand while the supply is shrinking.
Who Owns a Domain Name?
The legal owner of a domain name is the person and/or organization listed as the registrant or owner contact. Domains typically have four contacts: the owner/registrant, admin, technical, and billing.
Violating a trademarked name may lead to civil actions that can encompass hefty financial penalties.
Recommendations for How to Choose the Perfect Domain Name
There are websites available that can be used as aids to get domain name ideas. Some can be used as tools to refine your search or get the right perfect domain name.
A few websites will be discussed as well as the reasons and purpose why we recommend them.
namecheckr.com is a handy tool to check domain names and social availability.
We like to use namecheckr.com to establish whether and on which social channels the name has been used. We use this as a guideline, and further investigation is needed.
Naminum is a domain name-creating service that allows you to create domain name ideas and brand names quickly.
Naminum is a good aid in developing a domain name in a short time.
With BrandBucket, business and domain names can be generated by style or industry in 45 categories.
Brand names can be generated up to a word length of ten characters, and you can adjust the price and the TLD you want to use in conjunction with the name.
BrandBucket gets an overall score of 78% for its review by crivon.com, and all customer reviews are positive. Clients greatly praise their friendly and helpful consultation service.
We recommend BrandBucket because of the ease and speed with which you can buy a domain name and because they package the domain with a logo already designed for you.
Conclusion
We believe that this article supplies you with clarity and assistance for how to choose the perfect domain name for your blog or online business. Ensure to brainstorm your brand name and domain name at the same time to ensure you don't commit to one and then find the other already taken or trademarked by another company.
