Choosing a Domain Name for Business Website

Domain name is the address used by internet users to get to your website e.g. www.kronikmedia.co.uk.  It is now widely acknowledged that a website plays a crucial role in the success of a business. It is common for businesses to day to generate a significant share of their business via their website. Even if a business does not directly sell products or services via its website, the information offered on its website will play a crucial role in determining new sales or enquiries. A domain name is an important element in your company’s brand as customers will often associate your business with it.

Research shows that domain names that are not easy to remember and complicated are less likely to turn into successful brands.

Achieving success on the internet and establishing a business online involves improving the profile of a business and its website. A domain name that is either catchy or easy to remember is more likely to be remembered as a result of marketing or advertising promotions for the website. Potential customers who like your website are likely to notice the company’s domain name and use it to visit the website in future. Domain names that are easy to remember will influence visitor loyalty and revisit rate for your website. A domain name is hence important for a business and an important element in its branding.

Often factors that are considered important in selection of domain name change with time to reflect the changing trends. Using keywords as a part of the domain name was considered vital a few years ago whereas recently the trend seems to have moved away form this. As a website is vital to the success of a business, the domain name selection should be done with care and all factors should be carefully considered.

Following are some of the issues to consider when choosing a domain name for your website:

1: Get it right at the start

 Although it is possible to change the domain name of a website after a while, this is something that is definitely not recommended.  Changing the domain name of a website can result in the loss of any branding effort that was made until then. It is thus quite important that a business selects the correct name to begin with. A business should also be closely involved with the selection process and not leave it completely to their web development or marketing partners.

2: Select a name that is not difficult to remember

Selecting a domain name that is easy to remember might seem obvious. However many businesses make the mistake of choosing names that are either complicated or confusing for potential customers to remember. Sometimes longer words may prove appealing if they make sense as a phrase. In any case domain names that are easy to remember are easier to establish as a brand than complicated ones.

3: Try not to combine words without a break

It is likely that the domain name you choose has more than one word. A majority of the single word names are already taken and hence difficult to obtain. When choosing a name with two or m ore words, it is advisable to join the words using hyphens (-) instead of joining the words together. Words separated by hyphens are not only easier to remember but are also better for search engine ranking.  

4: Avoid the use of Long names

Two words may sometimes be necessary however very long names should be avoided at all costs. Common phrases may exceptions nevertheless long words present unnecessary risks that can be prevented. The shorter the name the easier it is for customers to remember and get to your website.

5: Use keywords only if necessary to do so

There are twos schools of thought to using keywords as a part of the domain name. Search engine optimisation and online marketing experts believe that using keywords in domain names positively influences a website’s rank on search results. On the contrary, marketing experts consider this to be negative for branding and advice against using keywords in the domain name. According to marketing consultants a keyword based domain name may not always portray the right image for the business. For example a business may want to rank high on search engines for keywords such as cheap or affordable products. On the other hand it may wish to associate its brand image with quality or innovation. A domain name with the words cheap or affordable may not promote the image it wishes to portray. Whether your business use keywords in its domain name or not is a matter of personal choice. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. T

This article discusses only some of the factors that can be crucial in choosing a domain name for a website. The needs and requirements of every business is unique. The domain name should be based on the specific needs.