How To Choose The Best Domain Name For Your Business?

Choosing a good domain is like choosing a good business name.

A domain is an address that people need to type if they want to see and visit your website easily. Domains usually get mistaken as websites or web hosting, but they have different functions and purposes. Web hosting serves like a house where your website lives while the domain is the website’s address.

A domain serves like a big company name banner pasted on a physical store location in the physical market. It’s like a mark that people can use to find where the store is. If there’s one thing you shouldn’t miss in creating a website, it’s choosing the best domain for your business. Since your business domain plays a vital role in establishing a lasting online presence, it’s crucial to choose an effective domain name that can carry your brand well.

In this article, we’ll talk about the parameters you can use in choosing the best domain name for your business.

Read more: Why Is Using Custom Domain For Online PDF Files Good For Your Business

The advantages of a good domain

A good domain brings extraordinary benefits that every business needs. Here are some of them:

It speaks of your brand

One of the many advantages of having a good domain is that it helps you establish your name and brand online. To let people recognize your business and what you offer in just a bunch of letters, you must add your branding to your domain. If you have a good brand-associated domain, people will remember it and mark it as your identity.

Adds credibility to your business

Good custom domain names give your business a professional look. Aside from making it look nicer and more organized, it also makes people feel confident about your business. A good domain screams reliability–in just a quick glance, potential customers have the confidence that you can attend to their needs.

It helps your SEO

SEO or Search Engine Optimization refers to a strategy that most businesses use to boost their online presence. It’s all about boosting your position in Google and other online places like social media.

Different factors affect SEO, and that includes your whole website and domain. If you have a click-worthy niche-relevant domain, the chances of you getting a spot in the SEO ranking is higher. Making sure that you have the correct keywords on your domain, Google has higher chances of boosting your ranking in their search pages.

It maintains your online presence

As mentioned, your domain helps people find your business online— it’s actually what people remember most of the time! It has the same function as a physical store’s address. Whenever people need your services and products, it’s what they’ll use to find your website (which serves as your store). To add, your site’s domain also gives you a unique online identification apart from the almost 2 billion websites existing today.

Indeed, you can never underestimate the power of a good website domain, so you must pay attention to the process of choosing the best domain for your business.

How do you choose the best domain name for your website?

To enjoy the benefits mentioned, you need to choose the best domain name for your business, and here’s what you need to do:

Keep it short and simple

When it comes to naming a domain, the shorter and more straightforward it is, the better. Choose something easy to type and remember.

If you’re having a hard time with it, here are some tips on how to come up with a catchy yet straightforward domain.

• Don’t overuse keywords, choose a short keyword that’ll best describe your business if possible.
• Keep its length under fifteen characters.
• Use words that are easy to spell.

Choose the right domain extension (.com, .org, .net)

Before you choose the right domain extension, it’s important to note that .com, .org, and .net extensions have differences in usage.

The .com extension is the most commonly used and recommended domain extension–it’s like a default extension that you can use whatever your website is all about. To add, it is easier to remember compared to the other extensions. I recommend using this one because it’s already registered in the minds of most online users.

The .org extension, on the other hand, stands for organization and is a perfect choice for nonprofit organizations. This extension was made originally for non-commercial bodies.

Lastly, if your preferred .com domain name is already taken, you can use .net to use the name still. The “net” in .net extension means “network” and was designed originally for websites that serve as portals of smaller websites. It is best for IT, web hosting, and database companies.

These are just the three most commonly used domain extensions in the world wide web; you still got more choices like .edu, .gov, .name, .pro, etc. Like the first three, they also have their roles that you need to know.

Now, ask yourself, “What does your company do?”, “What is it all about?”. Think about these things before choosing among the extensions mentioned above.

Make it unique and brandable

Treat your domain as your company name or a trademark that people will think of once they start to look for products or services that you offer. Choose something that stands out and speaks of your brand well.

Here are some tips on how you can come up with a unique domain name:

• Use your domain name ideas to search if it already exists.
• You can use various domain names generators like Namecheap, Name Ideas Generator, and GoDaddy.
• Focus on your niche, goals, and objectives.
• Read niche-related blogs about domain names.
• Be creative. Use catchy phrases that’ll leave a brand impression.

Insert keywords in accordance with your niche

Niche-related keywords are beneficial for two primary reasons. First, it’s helpful for SEO or Search Engine Optimization. Second, niche-related keywords help your customers find your business online (considering the number of companies online).

If you’re running out of ideas, try to conduct keyword research to come up with other unique company-related words you can use as a domain name.

Here’s the list of tools you can use for keyword research:

• Google Keyword Planner
• KWfinder
• Semrush
• Moz
• RankTracker

Since you’ll need the keywords for brainstorming, it’s ideal to sign up on these tools first and try them for free.

Pro Tip: I recommend subscribing for FREE when trying out tools, especially if you’re starting your business. So if you’re a PDF user, it’s the best time to try making your PDFs fillable for FREE with the help of PlatoForms, an online PDF form tool.

Avoid numbers and hyphens

Using numbers and hyphens on your domain isn’t a good move. They might give your website a spammy impression that’ll lead people to avoid your website. To add, they’re also challenging to remember and are prone to typographical errors.

Conduct a domain name survey

For your domain name to be more effective, it’s recommended to ask people about their thoughts on your domain. Do they find it reliable? Catchy? Dull? Do this by conducting an online survey that you can conduct in just a few minutes.

You can use tools to create your online survey forms, and from there, add questions like “Which of these domain names are easier to remember?:”, “Does it look professional to you?”, or any question that’ll help you gather enough information to come up with a good domain name idea.

Pro tip: You can make online fillable survey forms with Platoforms in just a few clicks. Let’s suppose you have an existing survey form in PDF file format. In that case, you can also turn it into fillable PDFs online and share it with your colleagues for a survey.

Check the domain history (for old domain names)

A catchy domain isn’t enough; it should at least have a clean and reliable history as well. If the domain you chose isn’t brand new, it’s recommended that you do a background check first. Know if the name has a reliable history or even a dark past. To do that, you can follow these steps:

1. Get to know what makes a domain bad. (You can use the list below)

• Spammy and explicit content
• Link of untrusted sites inside the domain
• The negative image displayed to users
• Bad search signals

1. Use the Internet Archive to check past content.

• Go to Internet Archive.
• Enter the URL on the search box and from there, you’ll see the past content of the old domain.

1. Try to use SEO tools like Semrush and check the domain history as well as the domain rating.

Choosing the best domain name is challenging, but don’t worry because it’ll be super worth it. If you choose your domain name well, there’s also a greater chance your business will go well online.

Use your custom domain on your online PDF forms with PlatoForms

The use of your custom domain is not limited to search engines and websites only. You can maximize your custom domain and use it for other online marketing materials like web forms and online PDF forms.

Maximize the use of custom domains by incorporating them with your online PDF forms using PlatoForms. PlatoForms is a tool that helps you make fillable PDFs online or turn your PDF files into fillable forms. Using PlatoForms, you can create, convert, edit, and share online fillable PDFs with your colleagues and customers in just a few clicks. One of its add-on features is the Custom Domain feature that helps you use your company domain on your online PDF link. With that said, it also enables you to maximize your custom domain by associating your branding with your online PDF forms. Sign up here to try.