Selecting your company's domain name is perhaps the single most important decision you will make as an online business owner. Like a brick and mortar business, you want to choose a business name that is memorable, something that people will not forget, and something that will perform well in the search engines. In the online business world, it pays to have a domain name that clearly reflects your product or service. Owning a business domain name that does anything less than that could cause you to miss out on precious customers and serious dollars.
The domain name that you choose for your online business should be as simple and short as possible because shorter domain names are easy to remember. The short term human memory is only able to hold 7 items (numbers, letters, etc.) for 20 to 30 seconds at a time, so keep this in mind when choosing a domain name. If you choose a domain name that contains too many words, it may be difficult for visitors to remember and type in.
Short domains are not only easier to remember, but they are also easier to promote across multiple mediums. A short domain name can fit on business cards, letterhead, and bumper stickers much easier than a longer domain name. Shorter domain names are also search-engine friendly. Extremely long domain names are quickly becoming associated with spammy, untrustworthy websites in the Internet world.
Short domains of course come with drawbacks, mainly the price of obtaining one. Short domains are popular and in high demand, so if you happen to settle on one that is available and up for sale, be prepared to pay top dollar to secure it. At the same time, view the purchase of a single word, or short domain name as an investment in prime Internet real estate.
Brandable domain names are similar to brandable physical businesses, they're fun, one a kind and hard to forget. For example, Twitter.com is a brandable domain name and online business that sounds intriguing, and best of all, Twitter.com is one of a kind. The domain name instantly makes someone interested in finding out what it's about once they see or hear it. The Twitter.com domain name is closely tied to the site's bird like functionality, from the blue-bird icon to the short and concise tweeting method of communication.
Similar to short domain names, brandable domain names are also favored by search engines because they are unique. Search engines like variety, and one of a kind domain names may be easier to rank for certain search terms because there is virtually no competition; so choose a brandable domain name to make your SEO efforts easier.
It is great to have a domain name that is concise and brandable, but the domain name you choose still needs to make sense for your online business. It is best to choose a domain name that is closely tied to your company's official name or can be easily guessed from that name. A domain name should be functional and contain keywords that are relevant to your business.
For instance, if you own a 24 hour emergency plumbing business, the domain name 24hremergencyplumbing.com is very relevant to your business. This domain is by no means short or highly brandable, but it instantly sends a message to site visitors. This domain not only communicates what your business does to website visitors, but it will be helpful for search engine rankings. This domain will naturally rank well in search engines because it contains keywords that large volumes of search engine users search for. Including relevant, functional terms in your business domain name will make your business website more visible to search engine users who search for those terms.
Choosing a domain name for your business takes time, so do not rush and end up with a domain name that could get you in trouble. Several people erroneously select domain names that contain trademarked terms and are utterly surprised when they receive a cease and desist letter to abandon the usage of the domain name they've chosen.
Domain names must be easily distinguishable from other trademarked domain names and companies. Adding a hyphen, modifier, such as "the," or changing the domain extension is not enough to differentiate a domain name for an established company. If you have a domain name in mind that visitors could potentially confuse for another brand or company, then it is best to think of another domain name. In some instances, using synonyms could even break the domain confusion rule.
Perform a thorough search with the US Patent and Trademark database (www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm) prior to registering your business domain name to avoid any future confusion or legal battles.
If your ideal domain is registered, but inactive, it is still possible to secure the domain name. You could do a "Whois" search and find the domain owner's contact information and could then contact the domain owner and make an offer to purchase the domain name.
If the domain name owner refuses to sell, wants a purchase price that is far out of your budget, or you settle on a domain name that is registered and in use, consider choosing a domain name that plays on the original word or terms you want to register.
For example, the online photo sharing website Flickr.com is a play on the word "flicker." Flickr is a word that is similar in spelling and sound to the camera function flicker, but "Flickr" is unique, brandable and a letter shorter than flicker. In this instance, the play on the word "flicker" may have been a better brand and domain name than the original term itself.
As long as the ideal domain name you want is not a registered trademark, feel free to add in letters or numbers, remove letters or rearrange letters to come up with a unique and brandable domain name.
Erin Gray is a professional author and webmaster who works for Discount Domains https://plus.google.com/105680080416880251513/posts
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