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6 top tips on buying the perfect domain name

10 August 2016

Siobhan Hancock

Sometimes the hardest part of building your online business can be choosing your domain name. Once you’ve chosen your domain you are attached to it, so it is best to do your research and purchase a domain name you can be confident in. Here are my 6 top tips on buying that perfect domain name.

 

1. Keep it short

When it comes to domain names, size matters. Keeping it short doesn’t mean you should turn your business name into an acronym, however the shorter it is the more memorable and easier to use it will be. If nothing else remember these two points on your search:

  1. All the 3 and 4 letter domain names are currently taken but aim for under 10 letters if possible.
  2. Try and keep the domain name to two syllables or three at an absolute maximum.

 

2. Choose your residence, .co.uk

This is the question I get asked the most. Should my primary domain name be the .co.uk or the .com? The answer is solely based on your preference. If you are a business based in the UK and your market is mainly UK residents, then a .co.uk holds more sway with search engine ranking than any other domain extension, so this is an easy choice.

That being said, it’s always good practice to buy the .com too and have both, as .com is the standard top level domain name extension and the most popular extension on the web. Another reason to go for the .com is because we are just so used to it. Whenever we are typing out a domain name it is almost muscle memory to type .com at the end and if it doesn’t work, let’s face it, not all of us have the attention span to try others.

If you search for a .co.uk domain name and the .com is unavailable maybe think twice, keep searching and see what alternatives are available.

 

3. Make it memorable

Memorable domain names are exactly what they say on the tin, easy to remember. So pick something that is easy to spell and feels catchy to you. It doesn’t always need to be whole words, however pronunciation is key. Take as an example ‘YouTube.com’ It’s easy to spell, to remember and to brand. Think about the websites you remember and why you remember them. Straight away we have a movement where two words have been compounded to make one catchy name ie. YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp. So get combining and see what you can come up with!

 

4. Make it brandable

Competition is fierce so having your own strong brand is important. Make sure that name is brandable, make sure it’s available on your chosen social media platforms before you buy it. Twitter and Instagram are always a good place to start. Whether you have something to sell or something to show people you can guarantee someone else is doing it too and if they aren’t they will soon, which is why making a brand for yourself is so important.

 

5. Don’t rely on keywords

Some people buy domain names with keywords in just for SEO purposes. Whilst we cannot really know the ins and outs of Google’s algorithms, we can say that the value of having a keyword or buzzword in your domain name is no longer valued as highly by search engines.

It is true that search engines take the keyword into consideration but not nearly as much as website content. In 2013 Google removed their Keyword Tool and replaced it Keyword Place, which is aimed towards the success of your campaigns over anything else. Today’s tips for driving traffic to your site are much more content focused, in short there are many more important factors to your domain name.

 

6. What about new gTLDs?

If you haven’t heard of the new top level domain names yet they comes in endless shapes and forms. Instead of the classic .com or .co.uk you can now also choose from extensions such as .business .team .company .tv and many more. The TLDs 34SP.com supply can be purchased here.

As a whole, TLDs are coveted because they are great option when it comes to your brand and a good gateway to get that shorter domain name you have been after. When purchasing a TLD however, refer back to point 5. Don’t rely on keywords.

‘Overall, our systems treat new gTLDs like other gTLDs (like .com & .org). Keywords in a TLD do not give any advantage or disadvantage in search.’

Googles handling of new top level domain names

If you ever need help purchasing a domain name contact our sales team, we would love to hear from you and your choices for domain names. We also have a Knowledge Base to discover what you can do with your domain name after you have purchased it.