The choice of the domain name could contribute to the success of your website, blog or e commerce portal , impacting on the way you will be perceived by visitors and positioned on search engines . It must represent your digital identity and, at the same time, be easy to search and promote.
To create your site you will need to decide your domain and purchase a hosting space in which all the elements that make up the site are hosted, such as pages, files, images and any database.
How to choose the perfect name for your website? Here are the 10 practical tips to follow for a successful domain.
Associate the domain name with that of the site
At the corporate branding level, it is good that the domain name coincides with the brand name. This choice is winning from an SEO perspective for search engines that read a correspondence and from a consumer perspective : people will look for the name they remember and, if the two coincide, you are more likely to be found.
If your site name matches the URL (web address) users will already know what to type.
Make sure it’s easy to type… especially on mobile
If the world is now mobile, it is better not to be left behind. Mobile searches have now overtaken desktop searches.
Choose a domain that’s easy to type on your smartphone keyboard, short and simple. Have you ever wanted to visit a site and think “Ok, how do you spell it?” Here, make sure that people don’t ask themselves this question when they want to search for your site.
Watch out for: phone self-correcting system, jargon, abbreviations .
Look for a short, straightforward domain name
Linked to the previous point: the shorter the domain, the easier it will be to type. There’s no need to use long, complex names or play on words – it just might confuse people who need you.
In the digital world, the length of the domain is a much discussed topic: the name can reach up to 67 characters and many decide to use them all. The advantage of a long name lies in the visibility and degree of detail that you can give to your site, but is it worth it? Will users remember it?
If you have a new or little-known brand, the best choice is a short name, easier to remember , just as we explain in the following point.
Choose a name that is easy to remember
To be easy to remember, domain is best short unless the brand has decisive authority and strength. Let’s think for example of Mc Donald’s: although it is long and contains punctuation marks, it will be difficult to misspell it.
The name must be simple, captivating, easy to remember and to share even through word of mouth.
If you have a winning idea, don’t miss it and register your domain name right away before someone steals it from you.
Use the brand name or keywords related to your niche
Have you noticed that Google has started to highlight the keywords that appear in the domain name? If, on the one hand, that’s not proof that they are used in ranking, having a keyword in the domain is definitely a bonus.
If possible, include keywords that people will tend to type when searching for your services or products.
We recommend that you use the brand as a first choice, especially if it is known and fall back on keywords if your industry uses common terminology keywords that can easily direct users to your site.
Do not do keyword stuffing : remember that your domain must be clear to Google from an SEO perspective but, above all, to your visitors who must remember it and associate it with your business.
Avoid numbers and dashes
While it is still a hot topic, the majority believe that numbers and hyphens are a cause for misunderstanding and error for people typing the site name . Arabic or Roman number? High or low dash?
It is easy for the user to forget to put the hyphens when writing a web address and risk ending up on the competitor’s site.
A few years ago hyphens were used to separate keywords within the domain and facilitate SEO positioning in the SERP, thanks to the clearer separation of keywords that made the topic better understood. To date, this practice has fallen into disuse and many argue that it is not well regarded by Google.
Choose the right extension
The choice of the extension must be correlated to the business objectives: if e-commerce prefer the.com which has an international value, the sites that operate exclusively in Italy prefer the .it to affirm their belonging to the territory.
The .com domain is certainly the most popular and you may have a hard time registering your brand with this extension. Numerous new and increasingly specific extensions come to the rescue to meet every need. Whether you want an extension related to shopping, technology, sports or business etc.
Buy the domain for multiple years
Google, like other search engines, knows how long you register your domain. Buying the domain for only one year gives the impression of a passing site that will never acquire enough authority and could therefore be penalized by search engines that prefer sites with greater potential.
We therefore recommend that you buy the domain for several years, that’s why with us the domain is free for the first year with the purchase of a hosting.
Protect your brand
Do you know that buying different domain extensions helps protect your brand ? It is one of the ways to tackle trademark infringements online: by registering the same domain name but with different extensions, you will secure your brand and increase your reputation, preventing others from taking it over. For example, if you have a domainname.com site, register all variations of that name as domainname.eu or domainname.it.
Think about your target audience
When choosing your domain, think about your target audience, your audience. What do you expect? What keywords will it use on search engines? Probe user psychology and use Google Trends.
Here are our tips for an effective domain: now you just have to choose it and register it!
