Businesses spend a lot of time, effort and money on marketing strategies and generating website traffic. However, one area that is sometimes overlooked is the value of acquiring a truly great domain name. In this article, we explore why choosing the right domain name is so important and provide tips so that you can reap the rewards.
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Why Choosing Your Domain Name Matters
Your domain name governs what users will type when accessing your website directly, so it makes sense to try and make it simple, memorable and catchy. For example, domain names with .com extensions are typically the easiest for users to remember, so if you have the option to acquire a great .com domain, you should do so.
Typically, your website URL is going to feature on most of your marketing content, so you need to think about what your domain name says about your business. If you have a simple, professional-sounding domain name, it can inspire confidence. By contrast, if you have a domain name that is difficult to remember or disconnected from your brand, it may serve as a red flag to some of your potential customers and can make direct traffic harder to generate.
Although your domain is not considered a direct ranking factor for search engine optimization purposes, it has been relevant in the past and algorithms could make it relevant again in the future, so adding a keyword can help.
Furthermore, while the importance of SEO is beyond question, rankings are not the only area to focus on when it comes to search engine marketing. You also need to think about how your links are going to appear on search engine results pages and a great domain name can help to add to your business’ credibility and generate more clicks.
Tips for Acquiring a Great Domain Name
When selecting your domain name, you must focus on how memorable it will be to your target audience, how closely it connects to your business and how professional it appears when used in marketing content. Using your business name with a .com extension is perfect, but you have to consider whether this domain is actually available, how long your business name is and how easy it is to type. It may be necessary to use a .net extension or an alternative.
The .com extension is considered desirable, because it is the most widely-used extension in the world. For many users, it is an automatic reflex to add “.com” to a URL and it can contribute to a sense of greater domain authority.
It is generally agreed that domain names under 10 characters in length, excluding the extension, are easier to remember and type, so try to aim for this, as it can help to generate more direct traffic.
You should also try to avoid hyphens, numbers and character combinations that could lead to typing errors.
Summary
Your domain name can make a big difference to your website’s performance and the best domain names are easy to remember and type, as well as easy to include within marketing content. For best results, it is recommended to try to get a .com extension and keep your actual domain name short and simple.