How to choose a domain name for your business
These days, more than ever before, it's essential to have a
unique and memorable name so people can distinguish your business
and find it easily on the web. This guide will help you to give
your business a strong identity on the web.
- Keeping it simple
- Optimising your name for search engines
- Registering your domain
Keeping it simple
On the internet, your business' name is not only your identity,
but also your address, so the more simple it is, the more memorable
it will be to customers. Also keep in mind that if you name your
business 'Turner's DIY and home repairs',
'turnersdiyandhomerepairs.com' may be too much for customers to
remember, while 'Turners.com' has already been taken, so opt for
something in between.
- Your name is your online identity and address
- The more simple it is, the more memorable it will be
- Strike a balance between memorable and unique names
Optimising your name for search engines
Search engines are designed to put the results which receive the
most hits at the top of the page, so while at first your site may
not be at the top of searches for 'DIY' or 'Home repairs', if you
get the right domain name, you might have good results for
'Turner's DIY'. Similarly, while hosting sites such as Geocities or
Tripod are free, paying that little bit extra for a domain name
will help you appear more professional.
- Search engines put the most popular results at the top
- Use a simple name to increase results
- Buy a domain name to appear more professional
Registering your domain
Before you register your domain, decide what kind of suffix you
want - a .com or .co.uk is most common, while suffixes such as .tv
or .biz are more industry-specific. Check on Nominet, the official registry for UK
domain names, to check whether your name is available, and register
it using a registrar.
- Decide which suffix you want
- Check whether the name is available on Nominet
- Register your domain name using a registrar
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