You’ve stumbled upon a brilliant new idea, the likes of which the world hasn’t seen yet. Awesome! What’s next? Not to rain on the cheer parade, but before you present this idea to the masses, you need to secure a fabulous domain name for it. 

Navigating the world of domain names can be a slightly daunting task if you haven’t registered one before. With the sea of knowledge out there, you can get overwhelmed and make a mistake that could negatively affect your brilliant idea. 

With billions of websites already registered and more getting registered, there’s a high chance you may not get the domain name you want. This is a tricky situation. Most business owners compromise or alter the name they want, which hurts their brand in the long run. To avoid this, you can consider the following don’ts and do’s before you hit the register button on your domain name.

Don’t:

1. Buy a Domain Name Without Checking Into Its Past

Sometimes, even an available domain name can get you in trouble if it is too similar to another company’s trademark. Therefore, before you settle on a domain name, you need to conduct a thorough search to make sure that the domain name is free of any copyright or trademark infringements. Doing this can save bundles of resources in terms of legal fees and time.

2. Use Numbers or Hyphens In Your Domain Name

You might think an easy way to get a good domain name is to add a hyphen in the domain name or change the spelling of words or add a number to it. While this might get you the name, it negatively impacts your branding and business opportunities. A good domain name that is easy to spell helps in word-of-mouth marketing too.

Do:

1. Use New Domain Extensions

With the constant evolution of the online space, a lot of new and unique domain extensions have come into play. Unlike the regular ones, these are keyword-rich and brandable. Moreover, your chances of finding a domain name on these new domain extensions are significantly high. For example, if you are an eCommerce business, then you can go for a .store domain name.

If you are not sure which keyword-rich domain extension to choose, then you can go for something more versatile like a .online domain name.

Get Your .online Domain Today

These new domain extensions help you make your domain name memorable and unique, and most importantly, they are intuitive. Just by looking at the domain name, a user can guess what the website might be about, and that gives you bonus points for memorability.

2. Add Words Before or After Your Brand Name

Let’s say the domain name you want is unavailable. Instead of changing the name completely, you can add words such as ‘the’, ‘my’, etc., before the name and try again. However, you need to ensure that the word you use easily rolls off the tongue and doesn’t hurt the memorability of your domain name. As a hygiene check, you need to think about word-of-mouth and see if the web address will be easy to share in a conversation.

Pro Tip: If you need more ideas on how to choose a domain name, check out our article 7 Steps for Choosing a Name for Your Website.

3. Incorporate Geography (If Possible)

Sometimes all you need to do is add a geographic location to get the domain name that you want. This also helps you narrow down your territory and can add more value to your brand if you’re a local business.

4. Use Creativity Tools

Today, there are multiple AI tools available in the market that can help you find a domain name that works for you. You can also take the help of AI-powered domain name generators to get ideas and name suggestions that are available. Such tools use advanced AI and machine learning to use your keywords and generate domain names that are relevant to your brand.

In Conclusion 

Your domain name is a crucial factor in your online presence and has a significant impact on your branding and overall business. Therefore, before you settle on a domain name, you need to ensure that you are a hundred percent confident about it because it will stay with you and your brand in the long run.