"What's in a name?" mused Shakespeare's Juliet, "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Indeed, the delicate fragrance of a flower cannot be experienced by its name. And, much like roses and websites, a name (a domain name in this case) cannot entirely transform its true nature. However, domain names play a crucial role in your website's branding power and credibility, and they can even influence its search engine ranking.
Choosing a domain is an important part of your online presence for three reasons:
Confers professionalism: As the online address of your business, creating a custom domain contributes to conveying a respectable and professional image of your website, making it more credible.
Helps people find your website easily: Choosing the right domain name will make your website more memorable and accessible to potential customers. Selecting a domain name that fits your business and is easy to remember translates to more website visits.
Improves your website's search engine ranking: Your domain name can be crucial in terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). While there are many factors that influence your website's SEO, choosing the right domain is one of them, and a significant one.
¿Qué es un nombre de dominio?
El nombre de dominio es tu dirección en Internet y está compuesto por el nombre de tu página web y un sufijo (o extensión). Por ejemplo, el dominio del Estudio es estudiocks.com.ar, donde ".com.ar" es el sufijo. No debes confundir esto con la URL. La URL es una dirección web más específica que conduce al visitante a una página específica dentro de una página web. Por ejemplo, la URL del contacto de nuestra página es https://estudiocks.com.ar/contacto
What is a domain name?
A domain name is your address on the internet and is composed of your website's name and an extension (or top-level domain). For example, the domain for "Estudio" is estudiocks.com.ar, where ".com.ar" is the extension. This should not be confused with the URL, which is a more specific web address that directs visitors to a particular page within a website. For example, our contact page's URL is https://estudiocks.com.ar/contacto.
With these concepts clear, we explain how to choose the right domain for your website:
Choose a short name
Easy to spell and pronounce
Use only letters
Associate your domain with your brand
Include keywords if it helps
Show off your roots
Avoid legal issues
Choose the right domain extension
Availability on social media
Plan everything in advance
01. Choose a short name
Choose a short name: Technically, domain names can be up to 63 characters in length. However, creating a domain of this length would be a mistake as it would be tedious to type and remember. It is best to select concise or short domain names. Ideally, a domain name should contain between 3 and 12 characters. If the name you have in mind is longer, it's better to shorten it or choose a different one.
02. Easy to spell and pronounce
The best domain names are easy to pronounce and remember. Nobody wants website visitors to struggle to decipher or spell their domain name before entering it. Therefore, when choosing a domain name, it's important that it's easy to spell and pronounce. It's best to avoid words that people frequently misspell or that are difficult to pronounce.
Testing this can be done by asking friends to pronounce your domain name. If they can't do it correctly on the first try, it's best to look for another name. If you plan to use your personal name, one key to choosing a domain is to combine your first and last name. Also, you can combine your name with your profession, as in this example: "YogaWithEva."
Another one of our recommendations for choosing a domain is not to use abbreviations (including overly informal ones) like "doc" instead of "doctor" or "fam" instead of "family."
03. Use only letters
If creating a secure password for your email is about choosing a combination of symbols and letters that only make sense to you, you can't do the same with your domain name. One of the best tips for choosing a good domain name is to avoid using special characters, numbers, or hyphens.
For example, a domain like "to2-uni2" for an NGO would be highly discouraged. Numbers and hyphens are often confused and are also difficult to type and remember. People frequently wonder whether to write numbers as digits or in words, and with hyphens, it's easy to get confused and not write them in the right place on a web address. Moreover, they are not readily available on most mobile phone keyboards. T
herefore, it's best to avoid including them in the domain name. Finally, here are some tips for choosing a domain name in Spanish (valid for Swedish, German, and French as well) that few people consider. Avoid the use of the letter "ñ," accents, and double consonants. Although these can technically be registered, major search engines don't support them.
04. Associate your domain with your brand
A strong brand identity is composed of many different elements that together convey a coherent image. The best domain names adhere to this rule. Therefore, it's essential that your domain name fits with the rest of your marketing efforts, such as your brand's logo and tone, to speak the same language and convey the same message.
Your domain name can be the same as your business name, a variation of it, or your company name plus a keyword (as indicated below). If you're still looking for a name for your business, take the time to think of a catchy name that embodies your brand's spirit. You can invent words that sound good (like Google), look up words in the dictionary with special meanings, or use online tools to generate business name ideas.
05. Include keywords if it helps
With SEO techniques, you can increase the chances of appearing on Google when people search for businesses like yours. A good SEO tip is to include a significant keyword in your domain name. This helps visitors and Google associate your website with your area of expertise and, in turn, improves your ranking for that type of search. While very advantageous, it's advisable to use keywords sparingly and only when they naturally fit into your domain name. Forcing it is not recommended from an SEO perspective since an overly optimized domain may be counterproductive. Remember that, although this SEO strategy for domain names can be beneficial, it is not essential.
When including a keyword elegantly makes sense and is memorable, don't hesitate to use it. For example, if you have a shop specializing in serving poke (Hawaiian food) named Aloha, your restaurant's website domain could be alohapokebar.com. If you're creating your photography website, adding the word "photography" or "photo" to your name can be a plus, as in this case: cksphotostudio.com.ar.
06. Show off your roots
If your business operates only in a specific country, highlighting your geographic location in the domain can help you get more traffic through local SEO. Choosing a domain with local SEO isn't particularly complicated; you simply need to include your location in the domain extension rather than using the typical ".com." For example, an Argentine alfajores online store could be called alfajoresricos.com.ar.
07. Avoid legal issues
Before purchasing your domain name, check that your competitors aren't using it. Consult patent and trademark records and also the trade names used by your competitors. Choosing a domain adopted by other companies, even indirectly (i.e., any use other than the domain name), can create confusion among customers and probably legal problems. It's better to research everything necessary to be informed before making a decision.
08. Choose the right domain extension
The domain extension is the suffix that appears at the end of your domain name, also known as the Top-Level Domain (TLD). While the ".com" extension is the most common on the internet, there are other extensions that may suit various types of websites.
These extensions help explain what the website is about, and understanding them greatly helps in choosing the right domain. For example, ".org" may indicate that your website belongs to a non-profit organization.
There are many domain extensions available, from less conventional ones like ".guru" to more descriptive ones like ".tv." The following list summarizes the characteristics and uses of the main domain extensions:
.com: Abbreviation for "commercial" and the most common domain extension on the internet. It's the extension that inspires the most confidence and is generally the best choice when choosing a domain. The ".com" extension is associated with for-profit businesses.
.org: Abbreviation for "organization" and the domain extension typically used by non-profit organizations and charitable entities. For example, wikipedia.org.
.net: This extension is a direct reference to the Internet and is generally used by online businesses, startups, and technological applications and services. For example, Behance.net.
.info: Informative or educational websites generally use this extension, which is an abbreviation of "information." - .me: This extension is suitable for CVs, blogs, portfolios, and personal branding websites.
Geographical extensions: As mentioned earlier, this type of extension indicates your geographical location and can be very helpful for local SEO. Some examples include "com.mx" for Mexico, "com.co" for Colombia, ".es" for Spain, and ".com.ar" for Argentina, among others.
09. Availability on social media
When choosing a domain, it is essential that your domain name is consistent with all elements that make up your brand. This includes your brand's presence on social media and anywhere your brand has an online presence. Keeping the same name across all your channels only enhances the customer experience, reinforces your online presence, and inspires trust.
Therefore, before buying it, it is also important to check if a domain is available on different social media platforms (referring to the usernames).
10. Plan everything in advance
This step is not obligatory, but if you believe your business is scalable and has the potential to grow in the future, it is advisable to plan which domain to choose well in advance.
The first step is to search for available domains for your business.
The next step is to purchase all the variations of your domain name to protect them from your competitors, whether they are different (both the ".com" and ".co" extensions, for example) or similar names with or without articles like "The," "La," "Los," and "Las" at the beginning. This maneuver is especially useful because it allows you to connect more than one domain to a website.
Moreover, you must ensure that the domain you choose will not limit your business in the future. For example, if you own a beauty salon that offers nail care services but you dream of diversifying into hairdressing and spa treatments one day, you must be sure that your domain name is broad enough to encompass your future aspirations. The same applies when choosing a domain name for online stores.
Registering a domain name
By now, you probably already know which domain to choose for your website. If that's the case, it's important to register your domain through an accredited domain registrar. An accredited domain registrar handles the domain registration process on your behalf with ICANN (the organization responsible for managing internet domains) to protect your domain name and ensure it's yours and yours alone for the period you have paid for.
If you're curious about how much a domain name costs, you should know that there are several factors that influence its price, such as the type of extension and the duration for which you have paid (e.g., securing ownership of a domain for a long period).
If you need help, we're here! We can search and register the domains you need, create your website, connect them, and put it online. And, of course, when the time to renew them is near, we will remind you to see if you want to renew them.
