A number of new clients have asked me what name should they choose for my website. The answer is not a simple one-line response. It is a critical one as it sets the stage for your new business.

The first part of the answer is…don’t over analyze it. It is better to puchase and park a domain while you figure out your exact name as they are being grabbed by people every second!

So here are some guidelines to help you out:

If being found on in website search engines (Yahoo, Google) is important to your business then I recommend that your name contain specific keywords rather than your company name. While domain names are not the only ranking criteria on search engines it is a major one.

Studies show that the majority of people will reach their desired website destination by subject not by company name. Ask yourself, what would a person type into Google to find you? That should help you determine some keywords to build into you domain name.

If you plan on marketing to a local area, your company name will most likely be sufficient.

Domain names can be up to 63 characters but that does not mean that you should use all of them for your domain name. Your client will not want to spend the time typing such a long URL.

- Use a Domain name that can be easily remembered.
- Attempt to get the .com address rather than a .ca or .us. This is becoming ever important as URL fields default to .com if the surfer has left it blank. If you can get the .com address, also register the .ca or .us. This will ensure your domain will not become your competitors in the future.
- Register two domain names (one with hyphens and one without hyphens). This will ensure that it is not used by someone else in the future. At US$8.99/year it is a small but very wise investment.

- Use hyphens as search engines and readers can see the URL better when the results are posted.

Once you’ve mapped this out, use this link to proceed to “Register Your Domain“.

I suggest 1&1 as they have a simple search function across multiple domain extensions (.com, .biz etc). They also have a shopping cart feature so you only need to pay for multiple domain purchases once upon checkout.

Let me know if this helps you out.

I am only an e-mail away (matt@justaskmatt.ca) and will assist you. Your domain is a critical component/foundation to enable your business to prosper. At the same time don’t let it overwhelm you!

Until next time!

Matt

This entry was posted on Monday, June 4th, 2007 at 12:38 am and is filed under Website Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.