Choosing a domain for your business that is both an accurate representation of your company or organization, and what service your provide can be very challenging. Most would like the cool, household recognition that multi-national corporations enjoy as a result of millions spent in branding and advertising, but new business owners rarely have that kind of marketing budget on hand.
The hope of your new website is that it will serve multiple functions. First and foremost as your online profile that tells the world who you are and what you do. Second, as an additional form of communication for potential clients to find, contact, or even purchase from you. The domain you choose is the first step in achieving those goals and is an important consideration to think about before the first line of code is written to develop your website.
.COM, .NET, .ORG
There are approximately 152 domain extensions in the world. Besides the well known “.com, “.net”, and “.org”, also called TLD’s (Top Level Domain Extensions), there is one for every country and territory. You have probably seen many of them...”.tv” is popular with the television industry, but is actually the extension assigned to the country of Tuvalu. “.fm” is a popular radio extension but it is actually assigned to the Federated States of Micronesia.
People mostly remember the top 3. When ever possible, and sometimes at all costs your first choice should be “.com”. It is the first, most remembered, most recognized, and most coveted extension on all the www (world wide web), and marketing extension of choice for just about everyone, especially in the United States. It is not always possible to find a decent “.com” anymore, honestly, it’s downright tough, but with some creativity if you can find one that fits, get it !
There is nothing wrong with “.net”. It is very recognizable , and many successful companies and busy websites use a “.net” extension. Many times it is possible to find what you want , or need in a “.net”, when the “.com” is not available, or is being held hostage for resale. Sometimes a “.net” is an even better fit depending on how the words preceding it flow (if you want to get all technical about your phonetics).
I like to reserve “.org” for informational sites, non profits or other kinds of organizations, but there is no enforceable rule that say’s you cannot use a “.org” for what ever you want. Although “.org” is highly recognizable, the general public still associates it with “Organization”. Many people use “.org”s when their first choice in a “.com, or “.net” is not available. That’s going to be a choice of perception for you, and what services your provide, matched with the public’s perception of what a “.org” is for.
There has been speculation for years, but I have never seen any concrete evidence that any one extension is given more preference in the search engines than another, however, country specific extensions may be given some preference in country specific searches, for instance, if you were to search in Google.co.uk, your search results may favor sites with a “.co.uk” extension (United Kingdom), but for the most part, search engines return results based on relevance, and link popularity. (there are other factors, but not necessary for this article)
Choosing the right domain comes down to 3 basic considerations:
Hip, Trendy, Brandable :
This is usually everyone’s first choice when choosing a domain..everyone wants to be the next “Google” or “Yahoo”, but realistically, at this point in the game, most great hip, trendy and brandable domains, dictionary words, nouns, verbs, adjectives, phrases, puns, products, and industry terminology (every industry) have already been registered, are in use, or are sitting in investment portfolio’s waiting for resale. While there is still a slim possibility that you will luck up on something for registration cost, odds are, you will end up with something that makes no sense, or have to pay a resellers cost to get that “one great domain” that you have envisioned.
The Pros:
- If you truly get a good one, it looks great on your marketing materials, and people will remember it, especially if it gives joy to the pallet when spoken. ie: fun words like “Yahoo”, “Salsa”, “Puddin Head”, and so on.
- Good domains retain great resale value and add to your company’s overall value.
The Cons:
- Extra effort needs to be given to the rest of your marketing, including your SEO ( Search Engine Optimization) so that people associate the random term you have chosen, with what your business does.
- If you pick a bad one, you may be stuck with it, or end up having to change it, and everything that it is printed on.
The pro’s are stronger than the cons. My personal opinion, if you find or get a good price on a truly remarkable one..get it. People like hip, trendy brandable, and an entertaining domain that stands out in a crowd is the first step to getting people to check you out and remember you.
Company Name
You can’t go wrong using your company name. It’s Marketing 101. It makes you easy to find on the web, looks great and professional on your marketing materials, and again, adds to the overall value of the company. Out of all the domain choices you have, this is usually the easiest to secure for yourself. Yes, there are possibly going to be other companies somewhere in the world, with the same name and have already registered the domain, but with a little creativity like localization…instead of “OffTheTop.com” you may need to go with “OffTheTopMiami”, or “OTTMiami”..you get the picture….most times you can get well into the ball park.
Pros:
- Instant branding for your business
- Easy to find on the web
- Memorable
- Easily integrated with your other branding endeavors and marketing materials
Con’s
- May not be keyword rich, and require extra SEO attention.
If you can find your company’s name available, you should get it no matter if you use it for your website or not. You will always have it for backup, and the last thing you want is for a competitor to buy it, hold it hostage, or redirect it to their website. You of course have legal repercussions if that were to happen, but how much damage would be done while waiting for a ruling in your favor ? Securing your company name is always a good idea.
Keyword Heavy
Your keyword is: What you do. What you want to be known for. How you want to be found online. If you are a plumber, you would love to own Plumber or Plumbing.com, if you are a plumber in Cincinnati, you would love to own Cincinnati Plumbing.com. Get the picture ?
Any internet marketer, or web designer worth his weight in Mt. Dew and Cheetos will tell you that from an SEO stand point, this is the most desirable to own. The problem is that most, if not all keyword or key phrase domains, much like the “brandable” ones, are all gone. Localization ,or personalization may open up a few possibilities with some creativity like in the example “Cincinnati Plumbing”, but odds are, you are going to have to target and narrow down some specifics, or “sub niche” to have a chance at the internet’s most coveted domain choice.
The Pro’s
- Strong SEO, and overall internet presence. A category and competition killer online.
- Will increase in value for resale
- Highly Memorable
- Traffic. A great keyword domain is easier to stay on top of the search results in all major search engines.
The Con’s
- Very few if any available
- If you find one for sale, they will be expensive.
Following a little basic common sense and basic knowledge of how search engines work will go a long way in choosing a domain that will be best for your online profile or website. When in doubt, consult with an internet or marketing professional. It is common to own multiple domains, or register a few until you decide which one to use. Competition for domains is steep…what you see available today, could very well be gone tomorrow, there are thousands resellers, bots and registrars eagerly searching for viable domains for registration everyday.
