In a previous blog post, we discussed the importance of moving your business to an online platform. It’s even more important now to be online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many businesses are moving online to continue advertising their services and maintain relationships with customers safely. To ensure customers can easily find you in a quick search, whether they’re new or a repeat, your business will need a simple yet memorable domain name for its website. We’ll discuss some ideas to consider before you choose a domain name for your business, which is the first step in establishing your online presence.
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The domain name you choose for your business should be based on your brand
A florist store called City Flowers should have the name cityflowers.com. Seems simple, right? But more than likely, such a simple name is already taken. Even though your domain name should be as close to the original business name as possible, some businesses will need to expand how they see their branding and target customer base to find another domain name. For City Flowers, what if they only operate in one city, like Atlanta? Then they could use the domain name cityflowersatlanta.com or cityflowersatl.com. What if they only sell flowers for weddings? Then their website can be called weddingcityflowers.com.
There’s a lot of possibilities you can come up with, but don’t stray too far from your original business name and what it’s known for (or what you want it to be known for).
Make the domain name for your business short and catchy
There’s a reason why I didn’t suggest naming City Flower’s domain weddingcityflowersatlanta.com. That’s a bit too long. A domain name that’s too long and wordy will be difficult to remember. I also wouldn’t recommend wedding-cityflowersatl2021.com because numbers and special characters are difficult to type out. The domain name doesn’t have to be unique; it should be kept short and simple: easy to type and easy to remember.
Add keywords to your domain name if your business name doesn’t already have them
Not all business names are self-explanatory. City Flowers obviously sell flowers, but what about a trucking company called D&B? Their domain name could be, for example, dandbtrucking.com. Add one or two keywords to your domain name that defines your brand or services if your business name doesn’t already speak for itself.
Choose the right top-level domain to thrive in online searches
A top-level domain (TLD) determines what ending you have at the end of your domain name’s address. The most common is .com. Governments use .gov and nonprofits typically use .org. There’s also newer TLDs that have gained popularity regardless of geographical region:
.me is best for a personal blog, sole-proprietor, or freelancer working under their own name
.blog also an obvious and great choice for blogs
.co, .online, or .biz for businesses that don’t want the overused, predictable .com
You can brainstorm on how to tie together your TLD into your domain name. Keep in mind that depending on where you buy your domain, these TLDs will have different prices. When in doubt, stick with .com.
Conclusion
Choosing the right domain name for your business may take some time, so be sure to write down your ideas as they come along. Select the best one you’ve come up with by using our guidelines. Once you’ve picked out a name, comment below and tell us what your business’s domain name is!
After that, head over to a hosting site like NameCheap or BlueHost to purchase it! Also, take a look at this article on why we don’t recommend using popular domain hosting sites like GoDaddy.
