When creating your business’s website, you are probably more concerned with how the design of it will turn out and if it is going appeal to your target audience, but there is another aspect of your website that you need to put in some thought to: the domain name. The domain name of your business’s website may not be the most crucial part of your website, but it can do a good amount of damage to your SEO ranking if you get it wrong. Our web design firm wants to provide you business owners out there with a few guidelines before purchasing any domain names. 

Customers First

As a business, you are more than likely creating a website to reach your target market on a larger scale. A brand new website can do just that as long as your customers are able to find you. Sure, you are going to want to appease the search engines and get your website on that highly coveted first page, but you shouldn’t put that above your customers being able to find you. Here are some guidelines for putting the consumer first:

  • Don’t make your domain appear like a spam website
  • Make it something easy to read and memorable
  • Create a unique domain and make it relevant
  • Make it authoritative

Picking a TLD

You may be asking yourself, what is a TLD? TLDs are extensions found at the end of any web address like .com or .gov. The most common being .com. Not all TLDs are equal as far as search engine rankings go because some are tools used by spammers. A good rule of thumb is to stick with either a .com, .net, or a country domain like .co.uk. These are legitimate TLDs and won’t appear like a spam website. 

Other Miscellaneous Guidelines

Your company’s domain name should represent your brand and appeal to the customer base you are targeting. The following guidelines are to help you create a domain name that won’t damage your SEO ranking:

  • Avoid using hyphens. They appear to customers like a spam website. 
  • Keep the domain name short and to the point of representing your company.
  • Keep it to a one or two word maximum. Anything over that is too long. 
  • Avoid anything that has multiple spelling variations. If not spelled correctly to your domain, the customer will not find you.
  • Avoid difficult words that are commonly misspelled. 
  • And once again, be unique to set yourself apart from the competition. 

One final note from our web design firm, made-up words can be a great route to go but only if you have the resources to market this type of domain name. If your budget allows for this, then you can find great success when marketed correctly. 

A great rule of thumb when choosing a domain name for your business is to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. Would you click on this domain if it popped up? If the answer is no, then you need to go back to the drawing board.