Follow These 6 Tips When Choosing A Domain Name
Shoot For Something Brandable
Google values brands over just about anything else. You can see that they favor blogs and sites that have built a good name and brand for themselves - especially is that the case in top e-Commerce sites like Amazon, ebay.
Having a name that standouts as a brand can do a lot for you in the long run. Obviously, there is more to ranking in the SERPs than a simple URL, but picking a domain name that stands out will help build your brand, authority, and it makes it easier for people to recognize you and what you are about.
Here are a few to consider:
Instagram
Moz
HubSpot
ElegantThemes
WordPress
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Amazon
ebay
Google+
That list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. All of these sites represent well-established brands that also happen to have names that are memorable. Just take Moz as an example.
Moz focuses on content and products that help people learn and keep up to date with the latest in SEO, however, the name has nothing to do with SEO. But even though the name doesn’t clearly state SEO as the topic of the site, the site has established itself as one of those go-to brands when it comes to learning SEO and it’s super easy to remember.
Another example of creating something memorable is Pinterest. Pinterest took two words and ideas, mashed them together and create a name and brand is easy to remember and hard to forget.
Picking a short and memorable name is what can help you build a brand and building a brand is something that Google likes to reward.
SEO
Keywords in your domain name can still be a good thing because they can give your potential viewers an idea of what your site is about.
For example, if your site is going to be on the topic of Tourism, URL tourismaustralia.com / tourismusa.com can be a good domain name for many reasons including the fact that the name tells viewers what your site is about, however, choosing that name doesn’t mean you’re going to see an SEO benefit. You have to consider all above stated conditions in your mind to get a high number of visitors in your site.
Shoot For Something Brandable
Google values brands over just about anything else. You can see that they favor blogs and sites that have built a good name and brand for themselves - especially is that the case in top e-Commerce sites like Amazon, ebay.
Having a name that standouts as a brand can do a lot for you in the long run. Obviously, there is more to ranking in the SERPs than a simple URL, but picking a domain name that stands out will help build your brand, authority, and it makes it easier for people to recognize you and what you are about.
Opt For The .com Extension
As far as top tier domain extensions go, the .com extension is the way to go. People and search engines alike seem to trust sites with domains that end with this extension when compared to others. As that is the case, it is almost always best to pick a domain that ends with this.
There are some exceptions to this rule though. For example, if your site is going to be like a TV channel, then choosing an extension like YourDomainName.tv may be a better choice for you.
If you’re building a blog, business website, or e-commerce site, then be sure to opt for the .com extension. And as an added tip, buy the .net extension to help lock in your domain name and keep it out of the hands of others out there.
As far as top tier domain extensions go, the .com extension is the way to go. People and search engines alike seem to trust sites with domains that end with this extension when compared to others. As that is the case, it is almost always best to pick a domain that ends with this.
There are some exceptions to this rule though. For example, if your site is going to be like a TV channel, then choosing an extension like YourDomainName.tv may be a better choice for you.
If you’re building a blog, business website, or e-commerce site, then be sure to opt for the .com extension. And as an added tip, buy the .net extension to help lock in your domain name and keep it out of the hands of others out there.
Keep It Short and Memorable
There are plenty of sites on the web that have managed to build a site and online business that are brandable and whose names are both short and easy to remember. Want some examples?
There are plenty of sites on the web that have managed to build a site and online business that are brandable and whose names are both short and easy to remember. Want some examples?
Here are a few to consider:
Moz
HubSpot
ElegantThemes
WordPress
Amazon
ebay
Google+
That list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. All of these sites represent well-established brands that also happen to have names that are memorable. Just take Moz as an example.
Moz focuses on content and products that help people learn and keep up to date with the latest in SEO, however, the name has nothing to do with SEO. But even though the name doesn’t clearly state SEO as the topic of the site, the site has established itself as one of those go-to brands when it comes to learning SEO and it’s super easy to remember.
Another example of creating something memorable is Pinterest. Pinterest took two words and ideas, mashed them together and create a name and brand is easy to remember and hard to forget.
Picking a short and memorable name is what can help you build a brand and building a brand is something that Google likes to reward.
Be Unique
Following the idea above, all the sites above have something in common: they’re unique.
Uniqueness is something to always strive for. Google loves content that is unique, so why wouldn’t she love a unique URL that is linked to a brand, blog or product? Heck, even your name as a domain name can be a good thing when you look at it from a uniqueness angle.
Uniqueness is something to always strive for. Google loves content that is unique, so why wouldn’t she love a unique URL that is linked to a brand, blog or product? Heck, even your name as a domain name can be a good thing when you look at it from a uniqueness angle.
Avoid Hyphens
In the hopes of being unique and memorable, it can be tempting to buy a domain name that is catchy but that uses hyphens since the real name you want is already registered.
There are different schools of thoughts on this as well, but I am on the side that says that these domain names are ugly looking and really don’t help lend to that authority many of us strive for.
The other downside to using hyphens is that they tend to actually not be unique. If someone else already uses ExampleDomain.com and you register Example-Domain.com, then people who remember your name and type it into the search bar will more than likely forget the hyphen.
What does that do? It takes them to another site that has nothing to do with you. Yeah — bummer!
These tips are just a few to follow, but they’re ones you should consider when picking out a domain name.
In the hopes of being unique and memorable, it can be tempting to buy a domain name that is catchy but that uses hyphens since the real name you want is already registered.
There are different schools of thoughts on this as well, but I am on the side that says that these domain names are ugly looking and really don’t help lend to that authority many of us strive for.
The other downside to using hyphens is that they tend to actually not be unique. If someone else already uses ExampleDomain.com and you register Example-Domain.com, then people who remember your name and type it into the search bar will more than likely forget the hyphen.
What does that do? It takes them to another site that has nothing to do with you. Yeah — bummer!
These tips are just a few to follow, but they’re ones you should consider when picking out a domain name.
Keywords in your domain name can still be a good thing because they can give your potential viewers an idea of what your site is about.
For example, if your site is going to be on the topic of Tourism, URL tourismaustralia.com / tourismusa.com can be a good domain name for many reasons including the fact that the name tells viewers what your site is about, however, choosing that name doesn’t mean you’re going to see an SEO benefit. You have to consider all above stated conditions in your mind to get a high number of visitors in your site.
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