Choosing The Right Name For Your Baby..err..Domain

Choosing The Right Name For Your Baby..err..Domain

How do you choose the perfect domain name for your business? What goes into choosing a domain name that seamlessly represents your brand? As a Phoenix web design company, we have some ideas that can help you narrow down the possibilities.

A domain name is one of the first and most important aspects of online business development. Much like a person’s name, this domain name becomes the identity of your business. Sure you can change it down the road, but that rarely happens. And if it does, the expenses are usually pretty high.

With that in mind, we have compiled a list of tips to help you pick an ideal name for your business website domain.

Your Brand

Every business starts with building a brand. You should always aspire to make your brand as unique and memorable as possible. The process starts with picking out the right name – a name that fits. Your brand name should represent what you are trying to accomplish for your customers.

For example, if your business is about power tools or machinery stuff, then your brand name should be commanding and workmanlike. On the other hand, if you sell women fashion and beauty merchandise, then your brand should sound feminine.

Short name

Since your focus should be on choosing a memorable name, it’s wise to pick something short. While long brand names are obviously more descriptive, they are also hard to remember. Also, in some cases these could be hard to spell.

You should also remember that your business name – or domain name – will end up getting on your business cards. And what if you want to promote your business on Twitter that allows you to post limited characters?

Including a Keyword in Domain name

If you can, choose a name that has the general keyword in it. For example, if you are selling tools, include “tool” or “tools” in your business domain name. This takes a little research and might not always work, but exploring some options will be wise. Doing this will also add to your SEO strategies later and customers will be able to identify you easily.

Choosing the right extension

Dot Com (.com) is the most common and popular extensions out there right now. So choose a domain name that comes with dot com. You can later buy other extensions (.in; .net) for your domain name and redirect them all to your primary website (.com).

Avoiding the legal hassles

One thing you must do while choosing a domain name is to do your best to avoid infringement. If you choose a name that might infringe on another company, you can end up in a lot of trouble. If a company decides that your domain name sounds even a little similar to their brand, they have the right to sue your business. And these matters are decided by a judge and he can rule either in favor or against you.

The much easier thing is to err on the side of caution and find something that has no intellectual infringement or trademark disputes.

The Final Test

It is not always about technicalities and research; your intuition also plays a significant role in deciding the domain name. A simple way to do this is to gather your team and brainstorm together. Relax, close your eyes, and say the chosen names out loud. How do they feel? When you say the domain name, what image comes to your mind in that moment?

This is a powerful exercise to determine what the domain name invokes in people. And it’s much better than just assuming a name that just sounds good to you.

It is also a great idea to conduct A/B testing to pick a name. For example, a name that might sound smart to you could seem offensive to a test group.