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What’s in a name? Plenty when it comes to choosing an Internet domain name.
If you’re planning to open an online store, the domain name you use is a bigger deal than you might think. On the Web, your domain name is your identity. It’s how customers will find you, remember you, and, ideally, return to you to buy lots of stuff. There are several important factors to consider when choosing your domain name, so before you take the plunge on “joes-really-awesome-macrame-designs.net”, we suggest you read our 9 tips below for choosing the best domain name.
Make it Relevant
One of the most common (albeit fairly obvious) suggestions for choosing the best e-commerce domain name is to choose a domain name that reflects what your site sells. If you sell macramé supplies, www.macramesupplies.com would be the perfect choice, but since that’s already taken, get creative and do your best to find something that includes “macramé.” Macramesupply.com, macramestore.com, macrameworld.com… you get the idea. All of those are probably taken, too, but keep plugging and you’ll eventually find the right domain name.
We suggest making a list of your 5-10 top domain name choices, check to see which are available, and then name your site after the best available. This is what many new businesses end up doing, and it’s much easier than wasting energy naming your store, only to find out that name is not available as a domain name.
For existing retail businesses whose company name is taken, or if you just insist on macramésupplies.com, you can look up the “WHOIS” information to find out who owns the domain name, and contact them to see if they’re willing to sell it to you. You’d be amazed how many domain names were gobbled up by enterprising folks for the sole purpose of reselling them.
Include Your Keywords
If you sell handmade greeting cards, well, handmadegreetingcards.com would be a great domain name – at least in terms of covering your site’s most relevant keywords (it’s a tad lengthy though, which we’ll cover below). Some search engines look more fondly on domain names that include relevant keywords, thus helping your chances for higher rankings for searched terms. And, as mentioned above, it just makes sense to have a domain name that tells people what you sell and what your site is about.
Avoid Hyphen-ated-Domain Names
Domain names with hyphens, aside from being annoying to convey verbally and type into your browser, are just not a great idea. If macramesupplywarehouse.com is not available, but macrame-supply-warehouse.com is, don't automatically jump on it. If a potential customer forgets the hyphens, which is a definite possibility, he/she will end up at your competitor's site. Not good. Also, imagine telling someone to visit "Macramé dash supply dash warehouse.com." How silly does that sound? If you can find a hyphen-free alternative, go with it.
Domain Name Length and Memorability
There are differing schools of thought on what makes for a memorable domain name, but one idea seems to be universally agreed upon: shorter domains are easier to remember. There are exceptions, of course. If your business is called Macramé Supply Warehouse, and "msw.com" is available, deciding which address, macramesupplywarehouse.com or msw.com, is easier to remember can be fairly subjective. Msw.com is certainly easier to type and less prone to error, but because the domain name is three obscure letters that don't spell any common words, "macramesupplywarehouse.com" could be easier to remember. In this example, the longer domain name would be better because it includes relevant keywords, tells people what the site is about and helps to brand the business. It's also becoming increasingly difficult to obtain short, meaningful domain names due to the lack of availability, so we're starting to see a higher frequency of longer domain names.
Avoid Abbreviated Domain Names
In the example above for Macramé Supply Warehouse, the company could go with the much shorter and simpler to type msw.com. But, again, for both branding and search engine purposes, going with the spelled-out version, macramesupplywarehouse.com, is the smarter choice. The "msw.com" domain name carries no meaning, doesn't tell anyone what the site is about and does nothing to help brand the site. Macramesupplywarehouse, while more of a pain to type, works better.
The Extension Decision
Even though .net, .org, .us, .biz and the like have become more common, ".com" is still, by far, the most common - and what most people automatically think of when typing in a Web address. According to Internet Statistics from the WhoIs database, 47 million active domains carry the “.com” extension. Domain names with the “.net” extension are numbered at 7 million active domains – a distant second to “.com.” So, if possible, choose a domain ending in .com, and market your business with that address.
And even though you're promoting your .com address, it's a good idea to register the other extensions, so that when people do happen to type .org, .net or .tv, you can make sure they're redirected to your site. You might also consider registering a few different spelling versions of your domain, including the singular or plural version, if applicable.
Say "No" to Numbers
Much like hyphens, numbers within a domain name can be problematic. Think of macrame4you.com. When telling someone about your site, you'll always have to remember to point out that the "for" is actually the number "4". And if a customer tells a friend about your site, there's the chance they'll just say "macrameforyou.com," and not point out that "for" is actually "4". So you have at least one lost customer. Of course, there are exceptions to this... if your business name already contains a number, like "Macramé 1-2-3" - it would make sense to go with macrame123.com. Just try to avoid macrame1-2-3.com.
Be Aware of Trademarks
One problem you do not want is to settle on a domain name that happens to infringe on someone’s trademark. Check out the Trademark Electronic Search System and do a little research if you think there's any chance your domain contains a trademarked term. Trademark laws governing the hard copy world are also applicable online, so make sure you don't register a domain and establish your Web identity - only to have Macramé World, Inc. come along and pull the rug out from under your business.
Get Your Domain Name Now!
Now that you've done a little research and compiled a list of candidates, hurry up and get one registered! The pool of potential names shrinks a little more each day, so the faster you grab yours, the better your chances of getting a good, quality domain that serves your business needs... and sounds cool, too.
MonsterCommerce is now part of Network Solutions, the original and most respected Domain Name Registrar. Visit networksolutions.com to register your domain today!
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