How small and medium businesses can choose a winning domain name

Written by Alisha Shibli

Nov 6, 2018

Guest Blog by Alisha Shibli
: Alisha is a Content Marketing Specialist at Radix, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .STORE and .TECH. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

As an entrepreneur, choosing your small business’ domain name is an important decision. The name that you choose will most likely stay with your business for its entire life. Which is why there is so much emphasis placed on getting your domain name right. After all, your domain name is how your consumers will find you and engage with you in the online space.

This raises the question: how do you pick the perfect domain name for your business; One that is functional, brandable and most importantly, memorable. With thousands of domain names being registered daily, how do you then find a web address that helps you stand out?

These tips can help you get started in the right direction:

1. Pick an intuitive domain name
Rand Fishkin, Co-Founder, Moz.com, is of the opinion that if people can guess what you do just by looking at your domain name then you have a winner. What this means is that they should look at your domain name and go, “Oh, I’m guessing they probably do this. Maybe this is what that company is up to.”

One of the ways to achieve this is to use new domain extensions such as .SITE, .ONLINE, .TECH, .PRESS, .SPACE, .STORE, etc. This helps you get an important keyword associated with your business in your web address without making it look spammy or affecting the SEO.

For example, compare www.emirates.com with www.emirates.store. The former communicates that the URL will most likely direct the user to the airline’s official website, while the latter will have something to do with merchandise or shopping.

2. Seek the assistance of a few Domain Name Generators
Coming up with a domain name can get a bit challenging. This is where tools such as domain name generators help. These tools are simple to use and are effective when it comes to giving you ideas on your domain name. Most of these name generators ask for one or two keywords from you and, in return, they give you more than enough options of domain names that you can register right away.

3. Conduct a trademark search before registering a domain name
Domain name by itself is not considered an intellectual property. However, registering a domain name that is similar to a trademark word/term can cause a tremendous amount of legal and financial problems for your business. It could also lead to your website being shut down.

Thus, before adopting a domain name, it is crucial to conduct a trademark search and ensure that the name you’re after is free from any legal hassles. Also, keep in mind that the trademark search cannot be limited to just USPTO. As a business setting up your online identity, your research must include all known trademark databases—both nationally and internationally—and a basic law search.

4. Keep your domain name short, simple and predictable
A domain name is a huge branding opportunity. More often than not, it will be the first piece of information you will convey to someone when introducing your business. This is why it is important to have a domain name that is short, simple and predictable. Long and complicated domain names are difficult to remember and if your potential customer fails to remember it then it would mean a missed opportunity for you. A superior quality domain name must have these four characteristics:

Short: a good domain name should be under 18 characters (e.g. www.kindle.store, www.louder.online)

Simple: avoid using misspelling, hyphens or abbreviation just to get the domain name. The simpler the better (e.g. www.taste.online)

Predictable: if just by looking at your domain name the user can tell what you do, you have the right name (e.g. www.stronger.tech)

5. Buy the common misspellings of your domain name
Apart from your primary domain name, it helps to purchase the common misspellings of that domain name. You can redirect all these additional domain names to your intended website. For example, type www.gooogle.com in your browser and see what shows up. You want to close all loopholes and convert them into opportunities for your customers to reach you. Make sure to buy any domain that a user may assume is your web address or may visit by an accidental slip on the keyboard. Doing this is better than taking your users to 404 page.

Buying a domain name is an important step in setting up a business, but it doesn’t have to be challenging. With new domain extensions, domain name generators and a clear sense of direction, finding the domain name that adds value to your business shouldn’t be a problem.

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