A domain name is the gateway to your website. A good domain name plays a very big part in ensuring the success of your website. For starters, a good domain name does make it easier for your Search Engine Optimization efforts to be successful. This is because if you have a short, memorable name, people have a very easy time finding your website. We will keep exploring concepts such as these as we continue our discussion because there are a few good domain name tips that you can follow to ensure that you get the best domain name for you and your business.
Consider Your Keywords And Industry
Every website wants to be on the first page of all search engines for the keywords they would like to rank and be found for. This is why when selecting a website domain and hosting, you need to take into consideration the keywords you would like to rank for. Normally, stuffing a domain name with keywords is not a good idea but selecting one main keyword or a variation of it for a domain name works really well. Common domain name tips suggest that it is also important to use keywords that are related as closely as possible to the subject of your website. You might be in the cosmetics industry but dealing with facial beauty tips for example. It would work best to find a domain name that ties into facial beauty tips rather than the broader cosmetic industry.
One other thing to remember is to keep your domain name succinct and short. No one likes a verbose domain name. For starters, it is much harder to type or even remember. A good rule of thumb is to use 7 to 15 characters for the main name of the domain name, that is the part before the .com, .net or .info part. Another good tip is to avoid punctuation on your domain name, with the exception of a hyphen. Again, punctuation makes it harder for users to type your domain name or even remember it. A hyphen can come in handy if you have a compound keyword for a domain such as dog-treats. It even helps when you have a domain name that combines two ideas such as cars-and-tyres.
How To Choose The Domain Name Extension
Out of many domain name tips, getting the first part of your domain name is a great first step. But you have to select the second part, the part that comes after the dot. A .com domain name means that you are a commercial enterprise. It is the most common extension as it is the easiest to remember and caught on before all others. The second one is a .org extension. This one is for organizations, for example, an NGO or the like. The third one is a .info extension. As you might have guessed, this is for an informational website. It was supposed to be the bigger brother of the .com extension but was too long for most people and companies to adopt.
Lately, there are custom extensions according to the industry. These include extensions such as .artist and .tech. If you are so inclined, it might be a good idea to get one of these custom extensions. This is because, used beside the right keyword rich domain name, they can help potential visitors know what your website or business is all about at a glance. Using these extensions also shows that you are a modern company, which is a reputation you might want to put forth, especially if you are looking for investors. The only rule to follow is to look for an extension that best fits with your business. Otherwise, just go with the ones described above.
Selecting A Domain Name Is Not Science
Selecting the right domain should not be too hard if follow some simple rules. The rules are divided into those for search engines and those for users. For search engines, you want a keyword-rich domain name that describes your website and industry as closely as possible for SEO purposes. For people, you want a short, memorable domain name is that is both easy to type and remember. Lastly, you want a domain name extension that tells what your website is about, keeping in mind that there are some that do better than others, for example, the new .tech domain extension.