How to choose domain name

We hope that this article on “How to choose a domain name” will be helpful and useful to you. Choosing right domain name is very important part of establishing you web business. (You might want to check out our  article what is domain name)

In the modern world, where people turn to Internet for information, it pays to have a domain name that properly reflects your site or business.

 

Choose Domain Name Same As Your Website Name

When people think of your website, they will think of it by name. If your website name is also your URL (domain name), they will automatically know where to go. For instance, when people think of Walmart, they automatically type www.walmart.com  The name of their site is also their domain name.

 

Use Domain Name as Part of Your Marketing Campaign

What if you do not have any well known name? Then your domain name should reflect the type of service you provide or product you sell. The very name that you use to advertise your products or services is the very name that you will want for your domain name. Since it’s the first thing that people will try in their browser. It is also the easiest thing for them to remember, and when it’s easily remembered, will be more likely to be tried out than the obscure domain name. Example: www.CosmeticDentist.com If your business is local you might consider to include it in your domain name www.CosmeticDentistHouston.com Search engines also take domain name into consideration in your website ranking.

 

Include Your Targeted Keyword in Domain Name

Domain names that have your website targeted keywords can have higher ranking in search engines. Search engines (like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) give preference to keywords that are also found in your domain names. For instance, if you have a site on free legal advisors with a domain name like www.FreeLegalAdvisors.com, it should have higher position in a search for "free legal advisors" than let’s say www.walmart.com

 

Long Name or Short Domain Name

Domain names can be up to 67 characters. You don't have to settle for an obscure domain name like www.cdh.com when what you mean is www.CosmeticDentistHouston.com If you are able to get short and meaningful name – great! If not choose a name that is meaningful and easy to remember.

Hyphenated Names

Should you get a hyphenated name (like www.Cosmetic-Dentist.com)?

Disadvantages: a) It's easy to forget the hyphens when typing a name. b) When people recommend your site to their friends verbally, having hyphens in your domain name leads to more potential errors than when the name does not contain hyphens.

Advantages: a) Search engines can distinguish your keywords better and your website can get higher ranking in search results for those keywords occurring in your domain name. b) The non-hyphenated form simply may no longer be available. At least this way, you still can get the domain name you want.

 

 Should You Choose “.COM”  “.ORG” or “.NET”?

Should you choose ".com" domain name or ".net", ".org"?

If your business is a non-profit organization then “.org” is very suitable for you, since it actually describes the non-profit nature of their organization.

For profit oriented businesses your first choice can be “.com” if you are planning to advertize your domain name in a printed form. Suppose you spend a lot of money advertizing a website www.CosmeticDentist.net  in the magazines and flyers. Since people always assume “.com” a lot of your advertizing efforts will benefit your competitor with “.com” domain name www.CosmeticDentist.com  Also the browser algorithms used to locate a website when a user simply types a name like "CosmeticDentist" into the browser. The browser searches for a domain name " CosmeticDentist.com " before attempting "CosmeticDentist.net"

If you are not planning to advertize your business in a printed form and rely only on search engine optimization for you marketing, then “.net” should be no problem for you.

 

Check the Availability of the Name You’ve Chosen

Find out if your choice is available by visiting http://www.whois.org and searching the domain name you’ve chosen. Whois.org is a database that displays extensive information for those searching for domain names.

We hope you find this article on “How to choose domain name” useful. If you need further help with choosing, registering a domain name, or any other website needs, please contact Houston Website Design.