In the early days of the internet, it was possible to operate an online business without a domain name. However, times have changed. A URL like http://www.somefreeprovider.com/~myspace/mbusiness.html is a surefire way to doom your online venture. This article will guide you on how to choose a domain name that can drive traffic to your site. While the benefits of having a domain name are well-known, the process of selecting the right one is often overlooked. Let's delve into the three categories of domain names and a seven-step plan to help you make the right choice.
Company Name Domains: These are domain names that match your company name, such as microsoft.com or yahoo.com. These are excellent choices if your company is already well-known or if you have a substantial marketing budget to make it well-known.
Keyword-Based Domains: These domain names incorporate popular keywords relevant to your business, such as http://www.national-car-rental.com. They can drive traffic to your site for two reasons: search engines give some weight to the domain name, and users can easily remember the name due to its connection with the business.
Poor Domain Choices: These are all other domain names that are neither well-known nor keyword-based. They are unlikely to drive traffic to your site or be easily remembered by users.
Assuming you don't have a well-known company or a large budget, the logical choice would be to opt for a keyword-based domain name.
Keyword Analysis: List all words relevant to your business and select those you believe people would use to find your business in a search engine. Rank these keywords in order of popularity. You can use the keyword research tool at Jimtools to estimate popularity.
Select Main Keywords: Choose your two or three main keywords and write down synonyms or near-synonyms for each. For instance, if your keyword is "car," you could add "auto," "automobile," "autos," "cars," "van," "truck," "vehicle," "wagon," and so on to your list.
Combine Words: Combine the words in your lists to create potential domain names.
Use Prefixes or Suffixes: Consider adding prefixes like "i," "e," "www," "b2b," or suffixes like "4me," "forsale," and so on to your keywords.
Decide on Hyphen Usage: Use hyphens if you think people will type in your keywords as one search term. For example, "national-car-rental.com" is better than "nationalcarrental.com" because it's more likely to appear higher in search results.
Choose Your Top-Level Domain: Opt for .com unless you have a compelling reason not to. The fact that the .com is already taken is not a good reason.
Rank and Register: Rank your potential domain names in order of preference, check their availability with a whois tool, and register the best one.
While steps 3 to 7 may seem tedious, they are crucial in selecting the right domain name. To simplify the process, you can use the Domain Name Tool, a freeware that can help you find the perfect domain name for your business.
