Let’s face it, there are thousands of articles on picking a domain name, most of which give you the nuts and bolts: Pick a .com, don’t hyphenate, make it short, make it easy to say and spell, etc… However, with new blogs and websites popping up everywhere, fitting your brand into these tight criteria can seem nearly impossible! So here are some new tips for choosing a domain name! They may “look” the same, but these criteria strongly depend on your business, and how you interact with others!
Before you go register your blog or business name with every suffix and hyphen possible, ask yourself this one important question:
How am I sharing my content?
Social Media
If you are primarily sharing your blog or website through Facebook, Twitter, or other social platform where users CLICK over to your site, your domain name is going to be an afterthought. Since users aren’t physically typing anything into their browser, being able to spell or say the domain is not as important as it once was.
Tips for this type of sharing:
1. Make it easy to say out loud. If you’re referring people to your website, there’s nothing more awkward than SAYING dashes out loud, or spelling impossible names. “Yes, just go to “Johnstonemeyer, that’s s-t-o-n-e-m-e-y-e-r, dash sprinkler dash repair dot com” (johnstonemeyer-sprinkler-repair.com). Instead, make it short and simple to say, like “J-S-R outdoors dot com.” (JSRoutdoors.com). It may not perfectly reflect your business name, but it has simple letters (not “M”s or “N”s which are difficult to enunciate) and is short and sweet.
2. Make it easy to type into a browser. Trying to see small print on a business card or brochure can be difficult for people trying to type in your domain name. Avoid letters that string together like lowercase Ms, Ns, and double Ls. Capitalize letters within your domain, like “CreativeGirlMedia.com” when printed, and make the words within the domain easy to read. For example, it’s okay if you have a longer domain name if each word is simple, such as “HomeKitchensNebraska.com” because people can glance at each word in the domain and get it correct without having to read the exact spelling. However, if you have initials, random numbers, or strange words like “4fantasyftbl.com”, people are much less likely to get it correct or even attempt to type it in. So, don’t use abbreviations (unless they’re common, like “LLC”) and be sure to keep it simple.
If you do a combination of the above (which most people will likely do) – pick a happy middle. Most importantly, make it reflect your brand and purpose. The way you brand your domain, share it, and what content you have on your site is far more important than the domain itself. What do Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook have in common? Their domain names are all words that DID NOT EXIST or didn’t correlate to their site’s subject matter directly until they were branded!
No one would have ever searched for “Facebook” before it existed!
Most of the cardinal rules of getting a domain name may still apply, but with social media and other sharing platforms it’s much easier to market your website as opposed to trying to brand JUST your domain name! Focus on creating great content, or on your own unique idea – and no matter your domain, people will flock to your site if they are interested in you.
Good luck purchasing your domains!