A domain name is one of the first few words you hear during your website creation process. There is no website without a domain name, that’s why you can’t ignore learning its basics. However, even if it seems quite a small part of creating an engaging website, it is a little more complex than that.
In this article, you will meet with 5 tips that all lead you to a better domain name! But before we go too far, first let’s understand what a domain name is, and what are their main tasks in the online world.
What is the “domain name”?
A domain name is a unique identification of an online entity. It is similar to a brand name in the offline world. In that case, you also need to create a unique name that resonates with your brand’s values and makes your company recognizable to your potential buyers.
Mostly, there are two parts to the domain names:
- Second-level domains (SLD) → This is the primary name of the website (for example: Google)
- Top-level domains (TLD) → The TLD is the suffix at the end of the domain name (for example: .com)
Now, let’s understand why they are useful.
Why are they important?
We mentioned some benefits in the last chapter, but the truth is there are many advantages connected to domain names.
First and foremost, domain names all have a difference between each other to ensure a simple browsing. Because it would be quite weird if you search for “youtube.com”, but there would be 100 different websites with this exact domain name. How should the whole system decide in that case which one you want out of the 100 different options? This would cause very weird scenarios.
Also, domain names distinguish secure sites from insecure ones. A professional domain name mostly contains a ‘.com’ extension, with a https security factor, rather than something very unusual.
But in the case of a business, domain names can also be part of their marketing strategy! They want to create memorable domain names, as this is what a simple visitor sees the most. If the visitor remembers your business’ domain name, there is a bigger chance that the visitor will buy from you later.
However, there are hundreds of other advantages why domain names are important, and why you need to focus on creating the best domain name for your own needs. But, we will discover some more throughout the next chapter!
5 tips to create more powerful domain names!
In this part of the article, we will give you the best tips to take advantage of all the opportunities that domain names can provide to your business!
Stick to your industrial keywords
In 2024, the two most popular apartman booking sites worldwide are Booking.com and Tripadvisor.com. There are more than six hundred million online visits that come to their sites yearly.
But what is similar about them? What are the strategies that both of them use in a great success? Well, one of the few similarities, and the most important to us is how they both built some of their industrial keywords to their domain names.
“Where to book apartments?”, “What is the best site to book an apartment?” – these are all possible questions that potential buyers write down to their search engine, for the sake of finding the best accommodations. In the other case, the potential buyer also types these kinds of questions to their search engines, when they go on a holiday. “What are the best places to go on a trip?”, “Where to go on a trip?”
Well, if someone wants to go on a trip, there is a big probability that the same person wants to be accommodated somewhere near the trip’s location. So, TripAdvisor takes advantage of this connection and provides accommodations to travel lovers.
Since both of their names have industrial keywords, the algorithm of Google, and other search engines give them more publicity, and place them at a higher rank in relevant searches. This way more people will click on their sites, as these options are displayed at the top of the listing pages.
This is a real strength, and a great opportunity that not only the choice of domain name can give you, but a great domain name can definitely increase your chances.
Make your brand shine in the URL
Apple.com is a widely heard domain name. But the “Apple” brand name existed before the domain name got registered, and it was a famous brand name before it was ever shown in the online world.
What’s the conclusion: in this case, the domain name is not efficient because it contains words that the potential buyers usually type in the search engines, rather it is efficient because they use a widely known brand name as a domain name to maximize their visibility.
It is a great strategy if you have an offline brand even before you want to go online. In this case, you can easily lead your existing buyers to your online website, and you don’t need to worry that they won’t find your brand.
Keep it original!
First, it seems quite a good idea to grab a very similar domain name to “Youtube” for your streaming website. You may think that it is a good chance to hijack some of YouTube’s users and convince them to use your platform. But there are some very negative consequences that come with these tactics.
First, YouTube, and other enterprises buy similar domain names or take legal actions against those who ever try this strategy.
But, what if they would let you do that? Probably nothing huge. Users may rather categorize your brand as a copycat, rather than a brand new opportunity for video streaming. That’s why you should always stick with original domain names!
Do your own research!
Picking a domain name is not just about grabbing the first option that comes to your mind. It also requires well-made market research before!
- What domain names do your competitors use?
- What keywords can you put in your domain name?
- How will your potential buyers resonate with your choice?
- What domain name options are reserved and what are free to use?
These are all very important questions, which need to be answered long before you make the decision. If you don’t have this all, there is a big probability that you will regret your decision.
When you are ready, don’t hesitate to grab it!
The market of domain names is changing so fast. One day, your desired domain name is available to get, and the next day it is gone forever. So, it is really important that after you think out everything else, grab your desired domain name as soon as possible.
Let’s examine the United Kingdom’s domain register data to understand the battle for each and every domain name. In October 2024 there were more than 140 thousand new third and second-level domains which were registered in the given period. 140 thousand UK domain registrations per month! That’s insane!
That’s why we recommend you to find the best domain name registrar, and grab your desired domain name as soon as possible!
Conclusion
In this article, we introduced you to the world of domain names, and their relevance. We also emphasized its opportunities, and gave you some tips that you should use during your path to find the best domain name for your online business!
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