Consider Your Brand
When buying a domain name consider what you do as a company.
What are your branding factors?
Your domain name should embrace your brand. For example, if you are running a blog about mom life your domain name should incorporate things related to being a mommy in it. It should also incorporate what makes your brand unique. For instance, if your mommy brand is centered around working as a mom, you could differentiate yourself by using a domain name such as theworkingmommy.com. Incorporating your brand into your domain name creates a memorable domain name for people, which makes it more likely to promote your brand by word of mouth. People can’t direct others to your site if they can’t remember your domain name. Remember when you are designing a website your domain name and your website name should be synonymous. This will avoid confusion between your domain name and your brand. The best domain names help to build and add credence to the brands they represent.
How to Make Your Domain Memorable
While there is some debate about domain name length, it is generally a bad idea to have too wordy of a domain name. People remember catchy things, which is where the term catchphrase comes from. Your domain name is no different. If you’re trying to be too clever with it, people will be more likely to forget it or replace the actual words with ones they remember. This kind of confusion could lose your web traffic to a competing site. You want to choose a domain name that is memorable and relevant. Keep it simple!
How do you ensure your name is relevant and memorable, but still catchy? Try to find the most simple version of the word you are marketing. There are so many online word tools that can help you refine your word choice. If you are designing a website for candle making, a simple google search turns up five different words you could use in your URL instead of the word “candle,” most of which are easy to remember.
Technical Considerations
Many people are unaware of the difference between the endings in domain names, such as .com, .org, .ne, .edu, .uk, and .us. These are identifiers as to where the domain originates from. They range in difference from general websites to specialized sectors of the web such as country codes. Because they are technically different sectors of the web, the same domain name can exist in each sector. To give an example of this I’ll refer back to theworkingmommy.com website name. The ending identifies where on the web the site is found, so theworkingmommy.com is a completely different website from theworkingmommy.net, or theworkingmommy.org, and even theworkingmommy.edu. Each iteration of these is a separate website, and many IT professionals will recommend finding a domain name that is available across all the different sectors and buying them all. In doing this you can have each domain linked to your website, thus erasing any confusion that might arise from the ending. By purchasing each iteration and linking it to your website, you will erase any confusion that may arise from the differing endings. If you cannot purchase your domain name in each of its iterations, be sure to market your business with an emphasis on the iteration you do own.
Domain names are vital to the building of a web presence. They should be chosen first, before any other part of the website is built. Let your URL help build your brand. Make it memorable, keep it simple, and let it do its work.
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