As the line between the real and virtual world becomes thinner, getting a powerful domain name is something entrepreneurs cannot afford to ignore when setting up their businesses.
A great domain name plays such an essential role in business and branding that most successful entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk didn't hesitate to shell out millions of dollars to acquire the best domain names for their businesses.
Many entrepreneurs, like you, are catching on with this irreplaceable value of domain names, as a great domain name could be the difference between building a successful venture or a struggling one.
And even though you may not have a ton of cash to splurge on a trophy domain, you can still get the best domain name by following these simple guidelines below.
Four Tips to Understand When Searching for Your Domain Name
Use Brandable Domain Names
The single most important edge your domain name can have is its brandability. And that's because 90% of all purchasing decisions are made subconsciously, and 77% of customers purchase a product because of its brand (https://domain.me/the-ultimate-guide-to-choosing-a-brandable-name-for-your-startup).
Brandable domain names are unique, memorable, intriguing, and scalable. These domain names, in most cases, don't contain any keywords that reveal their underlying services or industry. They're like a blank slate for any entrepreneur looking to build their business's identity.
Getting a brandable domain name like Mailchimp, Apple, Tesla, and Amazon, is critical because it'll intrigue customers and make them want to find out what your business offers. And the best way to find a powerful brandable domain name is by using a solid domain name generator.
Shorter Is Always Better
When it comes to finding a powerful domain name, the K.I.S.S (Keep It Short and Simple) principle is best choice. And that's because, short domain names are easy to pronounce, easy to remember, and easy to search online. These are critical elements a great domain name needs.
Interestingly, the human memory has a working-memory buffer (https://www.nngroup.com/articles/working-memory-external-memory), which tells us that our memory has a limit on the number of characters it can remember accurately. The golden ratio is between 3, 5, or 7, and the maximum is 10 to 12. Anything above that point, our ability to recall begins to deteriorate.
And that's why domains with long or complicated names are often harder to recall and generally mistyped by customers when searching online. But the worst part is that these types of names make your domain look spammy and untrustworthy.
The Market Is Biased to .com, .org, and .net
Even though the internet has come a long way, when it comes to domain extension, .com remains king. According to a study by the Domain Name Association (https://thedna.org), even though newer extensions grew by 145% between 2016 to 2017, none have been able to replace .com's dominance.
So ensure that you choose a domain with a .com extension. That way, you can position your brand as a credible one.
The only catch is that .com names are usually very pricey in the secondary market, but if you're still interested in finding a quick alternative, perhaps you can consider using a country-coded extension like .co.uk or maybe settle for fast-rising extensions like .io and .co.
Tread Careful with the Use of Keywords
Having keywords in your domain name is a solid way to communicate your business to customers by telling them the exact services you're offering.
Although these types of domain names are also SEO friendly and easy to recall, the downside of using them is that they're difficult to brand, aren't scalable, and risk becoming generic.
Avoid These When Choosing a Domain Name
Finding the best domain name for your business isn't going to be easy. They're a lot of things you need to look out for if you want to find the perfect one for your business, and some of them are:
Avoid using misspelled words
Avoid using numbers
Avoid hyphens and underscores
Avoid trademark infringement
About the Author
Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, three-time Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. They are also the world's leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients such as Nestle, Dell, Nuskin, and AutoNation.
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