What many small business owners or inexperienced domain holders learn the hard way is, a good domain name is worth the time it takes to pick the right one and the cost of paying for a perfect choice (as opposed to a lower end, confusing or cheap one).
There are some basics that anyone should know before diving head first into the pool of “can I purchase my domain name or not”? The first thing to understand is that that your domain name is the very first way you’ll market yourself online. You don’t want to be so preoccupied with being clever about a catchy name that it misses the target of what your company is all about altogether. Don’t confuse your audience about what you’re all about. Keep your domain name unique but simple.
Want to act like a pro when it comes to purchasing a catchy but simple domain name? Everyone does, but not everyone knows the proper way to go about it. Here are some of the best tips out there to help you on your way in purchasing the perfect domain name for your website.
- Don’t overestimate people’s intelligence. While this may sound harsh, in rules of online marketing it’s also true. Any smart website owner knows that the easier his/her domain name is to pronounce, spell and remember, the more successful their overall hits will be.
- Stick with “.com”. The fact is, people are familiar with .com. It’s the association the world has with domains and the risk you take by venturing away from .com and choosing a .net, .us or other domain ending, the more of a risk you pose that others won’t remember your address and hence, won’t find you online and give up searching. When we meet a new face, most of our attention spans are so short that we fail to remember the name of the person we just met. When we look online for a difficult domain name, there is an increased chance we’ll move on within sixty seconds after not accurately being able to find the business we were originally looking for.
- Get familiar with keywords. If you aren’t familiar with SEO, that’s ok. It is important however, when you’re in the process of picking a strong domain name that you know which keywords are searched most. Brainstorm some name ideas based popular keyword searches. Try Sedo.com or Domaintools.com to give you idea.
- Pay attention to ‘dead pages’. If you type in your domain of choice and nothing comes up, then that could mean it’s available (although not always). Continue to research the name of the domain and if you find an owner, contact them. Sometimes you may find ‘this domain is for sale’ link which then makes it easy to purchase. Know what your budget is, and don’t make an offer until they make one first otherwise you’ll liable to spend thousands on a pricy domain that perhaps didn’t need to be that expensive in the first place.
Picking and purchasing the right domain takes patience and above all, is a real art form. The right domain name for your business will rarely be the cheapest but will undoubtedly be worth the wait.
Author Bio: Heather J. writes on behalf of Amazing Domains. At AmazingDomains.co.uk, you can scan for and buy domain names that suit your business!
