Many small businesses neglect the importance of their domain name, and this oversight can harm their ability to reach clients as effectively as possible. It’s crucial to choose the right domain name if you want to establish trust with your audience and grow your business over time; it’s also vital to ensure that your domain name isn’t too generic or too closely associated with another brand, product, or service that you don’t own or are associated with in any way.
To get started, use the following tips on how to use a domain name for your small business!
Why should I register a domain name?
You may be wondering what exactly registering your domain name has to do with promoting your business and getting more customers. If you’re not sure about the benefits of this idea, we’ll take a look at some of the benefits below:
- First, when someone types in your domain address, they know that they have found the right place to work without any confusion.
- Second, if you want to see anything online or offline then it’s easier for people to find your site by typing in just one word rather than having to type in an entire URL. Thus, many companies have multiple sites and it can get confusing if they don’t have different URLs because visitors won’t know which site is which unless they pay close attention.
- Third, once people know how easy it is to find what they’re looking for on your website then they’ll be more likely to come back again and again and purchase from you!
What makes a good domain name?
A good domain name should be short, catchy, memorable, and easy to spell. The words you choose should be related to your business niche. But the most important factor is that it’s memorable; because when it comes down to it you want your customers to remember you and connect you with the company.
Generating Creative Ideas for your Small Business
If you want to create a small business but don’t know what niche market you need to focus on, then here’re some brainstorming questions that will help you generate ideas:
- What do I like?
- What do I not like?
- What skills/knowledge do I have?
- Who inspires me? What worries me about the future?
- What are my passions?
- What am I good at doing?
- What subjects did I enjoy in school or college? What subjects did I struggle in school or college?
Try to keep it short and memorable
When it comes to choosing a domain name for your business, you must look into the length, simplicity, keywords, and brand name factor.
- Length: Less is more when it comes to domain names. Users are more likely to find you if your name is shorter and easier to remember and type. When there is less to read, it is also easier to stand out. It’s best not to exceed 2-3 words when creating your perfect business domain name.
- Simplicity: You want people to remember and type your domain name correctly. Words or names that are complicated or uncommon may be difficult to remember and spell correctly.
- Keywords: Relevant words assist users in finding your business website in search results and quickly recognizing what you do. Keywords can be related to what you do or offer (for example “coffee” or “cleaning”) or even your physical business location (such as “new jersey”) in your domain name may also assist you in targeting local customers and users.
- Brand Name: Your domain name should be consistent with your brand, and vice versa. Brands can take time to develop, and including your distinct brand name in your domain name can help you stand out, gain recognition, and increase website traffic. Just make sure not to use any existing brand names or trademarks when creating your brand name and domain name.
Is my new domain name perfect or not?
Many people waste time trying to find the perfect name when they could be spending that time building a great brand around a perfectly good domain name. Don’t let the search for the perfect domain deter you from starting your new business.
Look up domain registration tips and tricks
Is it possible that your domain name has not yet been registered yet? Though it may seem easy, registering and maintaining a domain name requires vigilance in order to keep it from being re-registered by another user or company.
Whether you’re buying one or transferring one over, these tips will help you get started:
- When you buy a domain name, make sure it includes the extension (i.e. .com, .net, etc.). If you do not, the purchaser of the domain can switch it to that extension without your permission.
- You also want to consider using only two words with the same meaning. For example, dog foods might be a better word to implement rather than using the domain name word consisting of ‘woofwooffoods.com’. Longer domains are easier to type on mobile devices and can help you increase your click-through rates on search engines.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important integral part if you want your visitors outside of your circle of friends and family to find your site. Keep in mind that search engines like Google prioritize keywords with more letters, so avoid using them excessively. You should also use hyphens instead of using underscores or spaces between words when typing URLs because they make it easier for search engines to index your site faster.
Do I really need all those extensions?
When you create your website, the question of whether or not you need an extension will most likely pop up. The answer is: it depends. Here’re some questions to help you decide:
- Do I want my site to be available in different languages?
- Does my site target users around the world?
- Do I have files with special characters that need encoding?
- Will someone else be translating my content?
If the answer is YES, then probably go ahead and purchase those extensions (such as .ca). However, if you don’t need them, it would just be one more expense.
What do you mean by Premium Domains?
Premium domains are difficult to come by. They are high-value domains, usually those that contain terms that are exclusively related to an industry or market niche. You will often see them in various industries including insurance, finance, real estate, etc.
These domains are highly desirable because they offer their owners not only a chance to capture searches related specifically to the domain but also provide them with the ability to market themselves as specialists in their field of business – which can be attractive for search engine ranking purposes as well.
It’s not just businesses who enjoy some benefits from premium domains though; they’re also of interest and beneficial to potential customers searching on the internet because there is no doubt about where you’ll end up on your browser if you land on one of these domains.
Tips for choosing the Right Web Hosting Platform for your New Domain
Choosing a good web hosting platform is probably the most difficult part of setting up your domain. There’re many companies that offer web hosting and various features. Here’re some things you may want to think about when deciding what’s best for you:
- Whether you’re running a simple website or one with complicated scripts, does the provider allow for easy installation? How much disk space does your web hosting provider give you? Do they have control panels that make it easy to install applications and manage content? Do they offer 24/7 customer service?
- Consider how much room you need on your server. Will each site be sharing the same space or will there be more than one site hosted on your server? Do some research so that you know what size account would work best.
- What type of domains can I register through this company? You should take into consideration what domains you want to register. You might not have any idea at first but if you start thinking about them now, then by the time it comes time to sign up, it won’t seem like such a daunting task.
- Check if there are any additional fees other than your monthly charges that you’ll need to pay every month (e.g. setup fees). Keep in mind that these prices could change in the future as well so don’t get locked into something too expensive if there are any chances those prices will go up later on.
Why do I recommend BlueHost?
I use Bluehost to host my blog and I really enjoy their service. If you’re looking for hosting that’s fast, dependable, and simple, then I recommend using Bluehost. I’ve used many other hosting services in the past with mixed results but once I found Bluehost everything has gone smoothly.
With Bluehost, I have never had any downtime on my site and it’s super simple to make changes. They also have a great customer service team who are always there 24/7 which is really reassuring! There’s NO WAY you can go wrong with Bluehost!
The monthly price of Bluehost is relatively low compared to other web hosting providers out there in the market, especially when you take a 36-monthly plan subscription. If you are a new customer with Bluehost, you can get a free domain name for the first year. With the Bluehost subscription, you don’t have to worry about any hidden fees.
What about the pricing?
The great thing about Bluehost is that it offers a wide range of services at a discounted reasonable price. It provides three main business niches, each with a different pricing plan. These include Shared Hosting, VPS, and Dedicated Hosting.
I recommend that you opt for the Shared Hosting plan because it offers you with more flexibility and is most popular with Bluehost users. Having that said, all pricing plans include a free one-year domain, free CDN, free SSL certificate, custom themes, and 24/7 support.
So, what are you waiting for?
Wrapping Up…
I hope that this blog post has been informative and I’ve helped you. For small businesses, a domain name is an important asset in order to spread awareness. Although domain names can be very expensive and complex, it’s important not to get discouraged when trying to register your website.
Instead, take your time, and think about what you want out of your website and how you want it branded. Once you’ve considered those things, start looking at how much the registration will cost and see if there are any discounts or promotions being offered by providers that you might be able to use.
I hope you enjoyed reading my blog post.
Let me know your thoughts or suggestions in the comments below.
And if you liked it, Share it!
My name is Sujoy Mukherji. I am an Internet Marketer, Entrepreneur & Professional Blogger. Founder of the Affiliate Hub Blog.