How to find your perfect .com domain name
Before you create your website, make sure you lock down the perfect domain name. When trying to get your business online, the very first step you should take is to register a domain name. This domain name will become synonymous with your brand and will become a primary way in which people online will recognize you.
To register your domain name with a .com extension – with nearly 30 years of top-tier news, entertainment and businesses associated with .com, it’s become one of the most versatile, trusted and recognizable domain name extensions around the world. Every Fortune 500 company and many of the top startups have .com domain names. And domain and branding experts agree that a .com domain name is preferred over other domain names.
We recently explored in detail what a domain name is and how you can obtain one. Now that you have a more concrete idea about domain names, how can you find the right one for you?
Include your location
Many businesses today are locally operated and serve specific geographic areas, and including this information in your domain name can help make your website more locally relevant for search, while also showing your community pride.
Add keywords
Recent research from Verisign and comScore revealed that having a keyword-rich domain name can help with getting more clicks. That’s because internet search users are almost twice as likely to click on a keyword-rich domain name that includes at least one of their search terms, compared to a domain name that does not contain any of the keywords.
Come up with a unique way to describe or brand your business
Plenty of successful companies have come up with unique names by adding or removing a letter from a common word, like Tumblr, for example. By combining two common words or merging two words into one, like Facebook and Instagram; or by using a common word in a new context, like Yahoo, you can come up with a unique title.
What would a customer type into a browser to find my business?
For example, a Kathmandu-based web hosting business name might be “Web Hosting Nepal” but a domain name to market that business could be “webhosting-nepal.com,” an easier to remember phrase that people will likely search for and that ties back to the business.
Use an acronym
Companies like AOL, IBM and BMW all use acronyms in their brands and their domain names. You can also abbreviate states, countries and professions in your domain name, for example: NYC, USA and CPA.
Use a domain name suggestion tool
Webtech’s Domain Registration Tools combines many of the above tips into one tool to provide available domain name options. All you need to do is type in keywords of interest and a list of relevant options is automatically generated for you to choose from. You can also use the tool to find recently expired domain names that are newly available and may be already receiving traffic.
Getting a great domain name requires a mix of flexibility and creativity. Using the tips above, you’ll be well on your way.
Finding the .com domain name that’s right for you can be an important step in telling your story or the story of your business. Because .com is one of the most trusted domain name extensions, it can help show the world your website is one of trust and reliability.