Just when you are in the middle of the process of choosing a niche, creating a brand, reviewing your competition’s strategy and determining the ways to differentiate your online proposal, this is the right time to choose a Domain Name for your website.
It’s important to have in mind that a powerful and brandable name is not the way to start your business and choose your niche.
There are no powerful names on the Internet that transform a site into a business that works if you don’t have clear beforehand why are you starting online.
With this in mind, let’s look at a simple and easy procedure that you can take in order to create a good name for your site:
1. Develop a clear, concise and simple definition that describes our business.
Having a clear description of your business will allow you to choose the correct domain name that will define the entire business concept.
2. List all the words that are related to your business idea.
A list of words related to your business and its categories, products, services, target audience and key differentiating factors is a very important source of information from where to extract ideas for a good Domain Name. Be creative and try to make it memorable.
3. Do a brainstorming, combining the words from the list you prepared
Make a brainstorming linking two words from the list above can give you the key to a good name to use on our website.
Now, Which are the characteristics of a good name?
A good domain name should be short. Of course this is not easy to find, but a short name is ideal for easy recall, allows you to create simple images and logos, it is easy to write and avoids typing errors on a computer keyboard.
In addition, a good domain name is unforgettable.
Generic names are easy to remember but they will not distinguish us from our competition. We have to think of original names (think, for example, for a bookstore Amazon and Google for a search engine are original names that are not related to anything referred to the business category they are in).
The main thing is that any name that is generated should be easy to memorize.
A good domain name does not look like an existing one. Using options with prefixes or suffixes before the main name or choosing different endings like “.org” or “.net” instead of “.com” from names that have been already taken, will only generate confusion in your audience. Our Goal then, is to find a unique name to stand out. That’s the key.
Also, bear in mind, that the owners of the original name could limit us when we try to register the brand or might order us the prohibition of use due to the similarity between the names chosen and existing ones.
Finding a functional name that describes your business in a unique way and that transmits emotional concepts is not an easy task but there are some tools available on the web that will help you out, such as: www.nameboy.com and www.networksolutions.com are free and can help you a lot.
The domain name creates brand image
If the name you have chosen for your site has the “.com” domain extension already taken, try to choose another name. This is because “.com” is the most accepted extension by users than from those ones with different extensions like: “.net”, “.info”, “.tv”, “.cc” or even country extension like “.co.uk”) which tends to give less credibility and less commercial value.
Verify the availability of a Domain Name, register it and buy it
As soon as we have the results of our brainstorming for possible domains for your website, next step will be to check if they are available to be registered.
Domain names have an annual cost. Depending on where you buy them, this cost might go from $10 to $16 per annum. There is a strategy which is commonly used by some “domain investors” that consist in buying certain Domain Names with the purpose of reselling them in the future. It’s also a good option if you are trying to make some extra money.
One of the best tool to check Domain availability is www.who.is, which provides information on free and already registered domains that are expired or currently taken, with contact information of the owners of those domain names we want to request a negotiation in order to obtain that name.
Optional Step after registering a Domain name: Check availability of the domain name as a brand.
When you have registered the domain, you must continue with the verification of the name of the brand and register it as such.
Useful information and news
Abuse Registry domain name cybersquatting, or cyberocupación, is the act of registering a domain name in an act of bad faith, with the sole purpose of selling it to the rightful owner of the name. Generally, this is done with registered names or characters known brands, and is expected to sell those domains when the owner of the name you want to install your own website.
