Choosing A Website Name And Getting It Right The First Time
Do’s And Don’ts When Choosing A Website Name
I’ve seen it before – you have a great idea, a great business name, a new service, a new product and the FIRST think you think about is – ooh – what URL should I have? What will the domain be? If you’re choosing a website name my first advice here is …
STOP!
You have to live with this domain, share it, and have others share it (and find it). So you need to think about a few things before hitting BUY on that Go Daddy Page! Here are some of my favorite do’s and don’ts and tips when choosing a website name.
- You want to make sure it’s easy to type. For example don’t use tricky words that are hard to spell or slang terms.
- Keep it short. Think – when you share the domain with someone you don’t want to say – my website is supercalifragilistics.com. Keep it simple. Does it roll off the tongue easily?
- Company name or keyword – if you CAN keep it close to your business name or what you do and SEO keyword. Example – if you specialize in cutting trees – you might want trustedtreecutters.com
- Avoid numbers and hyphens – it’ll just confuse folks when you say your site. Example – is it a 4 or four?
- Research it first – you may want to search the name you are thinking of to see if it’s over used or connected to a big brand or something that is already trademarked. Ya never know!
- Don’t make it too long. I’ve seen some that are like wesellthebestburgersintheworld.com – it’s just too much. Keep it succinct but catchy. I would go with thebestburgers.com Easy to type, easy to remember and short.
- Go with .com when you can. People gravitate to the .com and if they don’t remember the WHOLE domain they will think it’s .com anyway. Check out the info I have below on what those extensions are and how many others are out there. Now having said this – if you want to ‘dominate the market’ for your brand you MAY want to buy a bunch of the extensions so there isn’t another “bestburgers.whatever” out there. Lessen the chance of confusion between you and another business!
- Don’t be too comical or witty when choosing a website name. If you use a play on words, chances are folks will just get confused. Ex: If I just had Smooth Sailing Podcast vs Sailing to Success Podcast – ten bucks says I’d get a ton of sailers diving into my sites thinking I was something else.
- Bonus tip – if your name isn’t there perfectly – feel free to adjust it. Ex: If thebestburger is not available try Yourbestburger.com or if you wanted just bestburger.com – you can find TheBestBurger.com If you adjust it slightly, you have more options.
It’s always good to sleep on it. Write it down, hear it spoken out loud, see what it looks like visually. Ask your business coach or mastermind members or business friends what their initial reaction is before choosing a website name. Once you use it and market with it – it’s OUT THERE – so you want to make sure it’s going to attract customers, is easy to say/type/remember, has good search engine optimization and resonates with your brand.
