Are you having a ton of trouble coming up with a domain name for your business website?
It’s actually a lot harder than you might think!
With a little luck, you might be able to use your business name to make your domain name. But many times, that name will already be taken, which can leave you feeling frustrated and struggling to come up with a solution.
Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to generate a great domain name that will make it easy for people to find your website and come back to it again and again.
Here is a simple guide for coming up with a domain name for your business.
Start by Seeing If You Can Use Your Business Name to Generate Your Domain Name
Before you begin racking your brain in an attempt to come up with a clever domain name, check to see if your business name will work as your domain name.
If your business name isn’t something that a lot of other businesses use, too, you might not have any trouble snatching up the domain name for it. In a perfect world, getting your hands on a domain name will be as simple as this.
It doesn’t work for all businesses. But it’s a good place to start.
If That Doesn’t Work, Try to Get a Little Creative
If you find that someone else is already using your business name as a domain name, you obviously won’t be able to use it. But you might be able to get creative and find something that will work.
For example, let’s say you own an auto repair shop called Smith Auto Repair. There’s a good chance that someone has already gobbled up smithautorepair.com since your business name isn’t all that unique.
So instead of going that route, how about something like smithfamilyauto.com or bestsmithauto.com? It’ll be unique enough to set you apart from all the other Smith Auto Repairs without deviating from your original idea.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Make Your Domain Name Too Long
The absolute last thing you want to do is create a domain name that is entirely too long. You’re going to deter people from visiting your website if they have to sit and type in five or six words as part of your domain name.
In general, try to keep your domain name as short as you can possibly get it. Two or three words is ideal and will make it as easy as possible for people to find your website.
Don’t Make It Too Difficult to Type, Either
When you tell people your domain name, it should be easy for them to understand and easy for them to type.
Outside of keeping it on the shorter side, you should also make sure all the words in your domain name are simple to spell. Avoid using slang or any words that people could potentially spell wrong.
Otherwise, people might try to visit your website and mistakenly think it’s down when in reality they’ve just spelled one of the words in your domain name wrong.
Consider Including Your Location in the Domain Name
Is there a chance people might confuse your business with a similar business out there when visiting your website?
If there is, you might want to think about adding your location into your domain name. If Smith Auto Repair is located in New Jersey, smithautorepairnj.com might be the best option.
This will let your website visitors know where you’re located right off the bat instead of forcing them to search around on your site for your location. It’s also an easy way to differentiate yourself from the other Smith Auto Repairs out there without getting too fancy.
Make Sure Your Domain Name Is Something People Will Remember
One of your main goals when coming up with a domain name should be to come up with something that people will remember as soon as you tell it to them.
Most people know how to use Google and will be able to find your website in the event that they forget your domain name. But if they’re not aware of how to search for it or just don’t have the time to do it, a memorable domain name will save the day.
Don’t try to get too cute and make your domain name too long to make it memorable. But if you can come up with something short and snappy, people will remember it each and every time they go to visit your website.
Purchase Your Domain Name as Soon as You Come Up With Something You Like
The internet has almost 2 billion websites on it. And that number is constantly going up.
There are always people looking to start new websites, especially websites for their businesses. That means that if you put off purchasing a domain name after coming up with it, it could be gone by the time you go back to buy it.
If you create a domain name that you like and it happens to be available, purchase it as soon as you can. It’ll prevent someone else from swooping in and stealing it from you.
Coming up with a Domain Name That’s Right for Your Business Is Important
You could make the argument that coming up with a domain name is the most important part of creating a website for your business.
Your business website can be absolutely amazing and have all the bells and whistles you want on it. But if people don’t remember your domain name or, worse, if you have a domain name that’s too close to the domain name of another business, it could all be for naught.
Spend some time thinking about what the best possible domain name would be for your business. And once you land on something great, buy it before someone else does. It’ll allow you to begin the process of building a great website for your brand.
Check out our blog for more tips on choosing the right domain name for your business website.
