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How to Choose the Best Domain Name for your Business
Choosing the proper name for your website is crucial for your success. If you select the incorrect name, then it is often a hassle to modify afterward without hurting your brand and search rankings.
Thatโs why itโs extremely important that you simply choose the simplest name from the beginning.
When first starting out, it is often hard to return up with catchy business name ideas with an ideal name.
In this article, weโll share all the tools and tips you would like to urge name ideas, choose the simplest name, and register your new domain (for free).
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14 Tips for Choosing the Best Domain Name
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Whenย starting a blog, choosing a domain name can be stressful because you donโt want to make a mistake.
To make the process easier, we have a simple 14 step framework that you can use to pick the best domain for your website.
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1. Stick with .com
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There are plenty ofย new domain name extensionsย available today, from the original .com, .net and .org to niche extensions like .pizza, .photography, and even .blog.
We always recommend choosing a .com domain name.
While it can be tempting to come up with clever blog names using new extensions, .com is still the most established and credible domain name extension.
Newer domain extensions like .ninja or .photography can be untrustworthy.
Dot-com domains are also the most memorable. Many users, especially those who arenโt as tech-savvy, will automatically type โ.comโ at the end of every domain without thinking about it.
If your website is something like jane. photography and your users accidentally type in jane.photography.com, they will end up on an error page on the photography.com website.
Itโs smart to avoid that risk by sticking with .com.
Not to mention, most smartphone keyboards automatically have a .com button.
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2. Use Keywords in Your Domain Name Search
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Keywords play an important role in a domain. By using keywords in your domain name, you tell the search engines what your website is about. Together with quality content and good user experience, keywords in your domain can help you rank higher in Google.
It is very hard to find a good domain with your target keywords, thatโs not already taken.
You will need to be creative and combine your keywords with other words to make your domain stand out.
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3. Keep Your Domain Name Short
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While keywords are important, donโt go overboard with domain length. Itโs better to have a domain name thatโs short and memorable.
We recommend keeping your domain name under 15 characters. Longer domains are harder for your users to remember.
Not to mention, users will also be more prone to entering typos with longer domain names which can lead to loss of traffic.
Thatโs why itโs a good idea to keep your domain length short.
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4. Make Your Domain Name Easy to Pronounce and Spell
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You should be able to easily share your domain name when speaking as well as writing. You never know when youโll be asked to share your domain name in person.
If youโre planning to use your domain name to create aย professional business email address, then it definitely should be easy to understand and spell for any listener.
5. Keep it Unique and Brandable
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Your blog domain name must be unique, so you can stand out in your readersโ minds. Itโs smart to research other blogs in your niche and find out what domain names theyโre using.
You donโt want to accidentally use a trademark name or get accused of copying another blogger.
You can also choose to pick a domain name thatโs more brandable.
Brandable domain names are unique, catchy, and memorable. For example, โAmazon.comโ is a much more brandable name than โBuyBooksOnline.com.โ
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6. Avoid Hyphens in Domain Name
Never create a domain name with hyphens. Hyphens are often a symbol of spam domains to which you are doing not want to be related.
Hyphenated domains are also prone to typos. If you select a website name with hyphens because the domain you would like is already taken, then your users will likely find yourself at your competitorโs site if they forget to type in the hyphen.
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7. Avoid Double Letters
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Itโs a good idea to avoid domains with doubled letters because it increases your chances of losing traffic to typos. For example, a domain like Presssetup.com will be more prone to typos and result in lost traffic.
Avoiding doubled letters will also make your domain easy to type and more brandable.
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8. Leave Room to Expand
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Itโs smart to choose a domain name thatโs related to your industry/niche because it gives users some idea of what your website is about. But you also donโt want to limit your long-term options too much.
For example, a florist might choose a domain name like orchidblog.com, but then they may want to start blogging about other flowers besides orchids. In that case, the domain might prevent you from attracting readers interested in other flowers.
Properly moving your site to a new domain can be a frustrating process, and it can cause you to lose search rankings if you donโt do it right. Thatโs why it is important to pick a flexible domain name from the start.
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9. Research Your Domain Name
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Before you register a website name, attempt to determine if thereโs already a registered business using an equivalent name.
You can perform a trademark search to ascertain if thereโs already an identical or exact name already trademarked.
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You can also perform a Google search and check for the nameโs availability on top social media websites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
A similar or matching name wouldnโt only cause confusion, but it could even have severe legal implications which can cost you tons of cash.
Once youโve got your own website up and running, youโll learn more about the way to trademark and copyright your website name and logo.
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10. Use Domain Name Generators for Clever Ideas
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Currently, there are more than 360 million registered domain names. This results in many of us saying that each one good domain is already taken.
Searching for individual domain names manually is often very time-consuming.
This is where domain name generators come in. These free tools automatically look for your defined keywords to seek out many clever name ideas.
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We recommend usingย Nameboy, which is one of the oldest and most popular domain name generator tools online.
You can also use Wehavedigitaltoolโs free Business Name Generator tool, or IsItWPโs domain generator to find more domain name ideas.
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11. Act Quickly Before Someone Else Takes it
Each day thousands of latest domain names are registered from all parts of the planet. If youโve got found a website name that you simply like, then donโt wait too long.
Domain names are like real estate. Thousands of individuals are actively trying to find good brandable domain names that they will register for better rates within the future.
If you donโt act fast, then someone may plow ahead and register your domain idea.
Since domain names are relatively cheap, we always recommend our readers to act fast. If you modify your mind later, then youโll simply let it expire.
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Best Places to Buy a Domain Name
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There are hundreds ofย domain registrarsย on the web. Itโs important to choose carefully because it can be difficult to move your domain later on.
Just like withย web hosting, pricing for domain registrations can vary anywhere from $9 to $24. You can even get it for free*.
Letโs take a look at how you can easily buy a domain name.
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Free Domain Registration with Web Hosting
The majority of web hosting companies also offer domain registration as a service. Some of those companies offer free domain registration with new hosting accounts.
If youโreย starting a new website, then itโs a smart idea to take advantage of this offer and get your domain name for free.
Below are the two WordPress hosting companies that are offering our users over 60% off web hosting, a free SSL certificate, and a free domain name:
Bluehost is one of the oldest and largest brand names when it comes to web hosting. Theyโre an official โWordPressโ recommended hosting provider.
HostGatorย is another popular web hosting provider thatโs offering a free domain name with very affordable website hosting options.
Itโs important to keep in mind that most hosts offer free domain registrations for 1 year only. After the first year, your domain registration will renew at usually around $14 per year.
A lot of users take advantage of theย free domainย for the first year because you would have to pay for the domain name regardless, why not get it for free.
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Most Popular Domain Registrars
If you just want to register a domain name without purchasing hosting, then you can do that by purchasing it from aย domain name registrar.
Namecheap.com is one of the best domain registrars on the market. They offer all top-level domain names, with a smart search feature, premium domains, and all the necessary tools to manage your domain names.
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Final Thoughts
If you are starting a blog for the first time, then you may find our ultimate guide on how to start a WordPress blog helpful because it walks you through everything step by step.
You may also want to check out our WordPress and Blogging Coupons page to find the best deal on other web tools and services.
For more domain name ideas, you can see our post on the 14 best free domain name generators or just use the WEhavedigitaltoolโs AI-powered business name generator that also checks domain name availability.
Thatโs all. We hope this article helped you understand how to choose a perfect domain name for your blog or business.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to ourย YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us onย Instagramย andย Facebook.
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