When selecting a domain name for your business, it’s easy to fall into one of two traps. You can choose a name that’s convenient for you, or you can go with a domain provider’s suggestion. Which one is right for you? Well, neither is necessarily the case. The cleaner your domain name is, the easier it’ll be for prospective customers to find your business. For example, if your business is named Ed’s Grommet shop, you’ll want to get a domain that’s as straightforward as possible. Don’t use hyphens and underscores in your domain name. On the other hand, some entrepreneurs will look for names that accentuate a ‘cute’ factor. For example, they’ll go with a domain name like ‘www.grommetshop.com’ or ‘yeswehaveglrommetstore.com’. The result? A cute name that’ll be easy to forget about.
You may even try shortening the name like “somewhat” or “a bit.” Your shortening will vary from person to person, and your potential customers will be left scratching their heads. If you’re still working on developing your online business, it may make sense to research a few business names and see which ones are available as domain names. If you brand your business name at the same time as your domain name, your clients and potential clients will find your site much easier. You can choose a domain name that is different from your business name. However, you may need to spend a lot of time marketing the new domain. Some existing businesses have their 800 number as their online presence identifier. There’s a famous flower distributor that uses their 800 number to identify their online presence and works hard to brand it along with their toll free number. In essence, they kill 2 marketing birds with a single domain name – a website and a personal contact.
Some companies also make the error of choosing an online hosting site that offers a free domain name that is not related to you or your company. The idea is that this free domain name will help you grow your online business. In reality, most of these domains are ignored by most online users and are unlikely to rank highly in search engine results. So, if you haven’t had the chance to get your ecommerce website up and running yet, take a few minutes to do some research not only on your business but also on a domain that can be easily remembered by your customers, if only for the sake of being your real business name