10 Tips For Choosing The Right Domain Name

The right domain name is essential to your website. It is like the welcoming sign to a city. It is the first thing people see, and it's the way for them to find you on the "map" or in our case on the Internet. There are some tricks for choosing the domain name that is the most suitable for you and ETNHost shares them with you in 10 Tips For Choosing The Right Domain Name.

1. Your domain must be easy to remember

It is very important that you choose a domain name that is not too complicated. For this to work you shouldn't go nuts with the use of punctuation and numbers. It is essential that the domain is so simple and straight to the point that people can remember it instantly.

For example, you register the domain example-3.com, and then you tell someone to go and check your website out. The person will be very confused as to how to type the number (3 or three); they might forget to put the dash, which can lead them winding up on a totally different site and so on.

So our advice is to just keep it simple. It will only benefit you.

2. Keep it to the point

It's OK to try and be original, it is a whole other thing for you to register FreshFruit.com when you are selling cars. If people don't know what your website is about, they are not going to look for it. And if you have a small business, having done something like that is not beneficial for you.

To have a unique domain is great, however, it should not be at the expense of your website's accessibility. You should let the domain explain the nature of the website.

3. Keep it short

Could you remember a domain name that is made out of 32 characters? Definitely not! Always keep it short and simple!

4. Research it

You should always research the domain name you plan to register, to see if it is not trademarked, as it could bring you some very unpleasant legal issues. You could always use some free on-line checkers such as http://www.uspto.gov/trademark. 

5. Protect yourself

It's no secret that there are people on the Internet, who profit from cyber fraud. One way for you to protect your brand is to register, not only the domain name you want, but the ones that are similar to it, as well and the ones that are misspelled. It might be a good idea to give something extra for domains, than to have to stand in court and deal with cybersquatters who have registered a domain similar to yours and are taking all of your traffic and are bringing down your good brand name.

6. Be sure of your final choice

Once you pick a domain name, you should be very certain that you want to purchase it, because once you register it, you can't change it.

7. Choose the right extension

It is no secret that there are so many TLDs and new TLDs out there, that a person could genuinely get confused as to what extension to select.

It is also known that .com is the extension that is most commonly typed by people. It doesn't matter if your domain is a .net; .biz; .me, most people are used to type .com everywhere. So in this situation you are presented with several options:

• choose a .com TLD, of course, you have to consider that there is the possibility of that particular combination not being available with .com since it is so commonly used.
• choose one of the other TLDs like: .co – for company, community, commerce etc.; .org –  for non-commercial organizations; .net – for technical sites; .me – for blogs and personal websites; .info – for informational websites; .biz – for business and commercial sites and so on.
• go for a more memorable approach and select the appropriate new TLD, where the chances are on your side and if you have a business that is focused on cars, you could register an example.car; or if you have a website that is focused on selling shoes you can register example.shoes.
• and if you are focusing your website on a specific country, then you could go for the country specific extensions such as .de; .fr; .uk and so on.

8. The new domains are your friends

The new TLDs are your friends. Don't be afraid to state what your website is about by making the right combination of a domain name and an extension. It can look both incredibly professional if you want a more industry-specific look; and fun, if your website isn't on a very serious note. For example, if you have a blog, where you want to express your opinions, but you want it to be fun and targeted toward a younger demographic you could use the .wtf extension. Or if you are an aspiring actor, who is making a website you could use for example JohnSmith.actor. Here you can use your imagination and the chances of the right combo being available are much higher.

9. It should be easy to type

If it is easy to type, the possibility of a typo is slimmer.

10. Include keywords

You could use keywords if you don't have an established brand name, so you could give potential visitors a better idea of what your website is about.

We hope our tips and tricks have been interesting and most importantly- useful. If you already have an idea of the perfect domain name, don't hesitate and register it now, because tomorrow it might not be available. Here at ETNHost, we offer a vast variety of TLDs, new TLDs and country specific TLDs, so we can help you in your search for the perfect domain. Contact us for your free consultation today!