Do Your Domain Name Research
Once youve narrowed your search down to a few candidates, you can use a research tool to determine if its available.
However, just because the domain name is available doesnt mean someone else doesnt have a valid claim to it. To be safe, youll want to perform a trademark search before making your choice.
Its also best to make sure you can secure appropriate social media handles. If you cant get an exact match, try finding something that makes sense with your domain name.
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Use Domain Name Generators When Stuck
At this point, you should have at least a general idea of some possible words to put in your domain. Some of those words may already be taken, trademarked, or just dont have the sound youre looking for.
Thats where domain name generators come into play. These generators can turn your ideas into fresh, available domains.
Here are some of our favorite domain name generators to try out:
What Comes After Picking The Right Domain Name
Understanding domain names and the ancillary components are important steps when deciding on the perfect domain name.
Its not enough to know what a domain name is you need to understand why the domain name can help you grow your business and how to register that domain name.
The detailed guide above should provide the clarity you need to differentiate between the domain name and your website or URL.
In addition, you should now know the unique levels of a domain name and the meaning of various domain extensions.
Finally, you should have a better understanding of the domain name system , the differences between the registry, registrar and registrant, as well as the legal components associated with domains and websites, and the importance of domain names for businesses.
If youre ready to take the next steps with choosing and registering your domain name, see below:
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Your Domain Has Organic Search Value
The whole reason brands purchase domains, create websites, and conduct digital marketing is because they want visitors to land on their website and take some valuable action. Within all the online branding activities is a discipline known as search engine optimization .
SEO is a culmination of activities on and off your website that helps your site rank well in various search engines like Google or Bing. It includes tactics like content marketing and strategic linking to increase rankings for various search terms.
While there are hundreds of factors that make up the ranking algorithm for search engines, one of the key components is the domain name. A recent study by Higher Visibility found that keywords were included in the URL for the top search results 63% of the time.
In other words, including a relevant keyword in your domain or within the URL structure of a page can greatly increase the likelihood of your website ranking for that term. With that said, there are many other important factors that determine your rankingso relying entirely on a keyword-optimized domain isnt enough.
What Are The Benefits Of Owning Your Own Domain Name
Domain Name Registration is worth it or not?
Well! Absolutely yes! As just have people & businesses have names, in the same stated way websites also have names. Generally, it is considered as the specific address on the internet. And, with the passage of time, now it is well linked with the identity or brand. A domain name is your own unique identity and always will be as long as you continue to use that name.
Domain names are so cheap nowadays that theres no excuse for not having one. Now that youre ready to get yourself a domain name then, here are some pointers which will benefit you from having your own domain name.
Here is the list of the benefits of owning your own Domain Name which is as follows:
- You can showcase yourself & your work
The first & the foremost advantage of having your own domain name is that you can definitely showcase your work. Presently, you might be using social media to promote or showcase your business publicly but, as far as website & domain is considered it works out better over the social media networks.
Anyone out there, who is tending to have a website or a domain, must be equipped with the blog. The blog is considered as the best way for businesses to provide something valuable to those who else is visiting the website. A blog will not only indicate the current updates about you but, it will also depict the latest news about your company success. So, its well worth having!
- It cements your personal and business branding
- Domain Forwarding
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Has The Domain Been Previously Registered
Some domains have been previously registered.
This may or may not be an issue.
Since the old days of SEO and up to the present time, there is an issue with penalties that stick to a domain name.
What happens is that sometime in the past, a spammer used a domain, burned it causing the spammer to let it drop so that the domain becomes available again.
What sometimes happens is that when the next business registers that domain they will find it impossible to rank it for anything meaningful.
The site might pop into the bottom of the top ten once a month for a few days but then it drops back to the second, third page of the search results or worse, nowhere.
Before registering a domain, its wise to visit Archive.org where entering the domain name will show whether the domain has ever been registered.
If the domain has been registered, Archive.org will show an interactive timeline that can be clicked to view previous versions of the websites associated with that domain.
As I understand it, Google does not provide a way to remove a legacy penalty from a domain that received a penalty years earlier.
The Google Search Console will not report that there is a manual action.
So there is no way to submit a reconsideration request for a penalty that the Google Search Console does not acknowledge.
The first time I heard of this happening was to a newbie SEO professional around 2005 who couldnt figure out why his SEO site didnt rank.
How Important Is Your Domain Name
Branding is the idea that you can take something simple like a businesss name and have people associate specific feelings, memories, or ideas with that name.
Take McDonalds as an examplewhen you think of that name you likely envision the golden arches, you hum the jingle in your head, or you think about an experience youve had at one of their restaurants. Regardless of your specific reaction, the fact that you recognize the name and associate it with some feeling is, in and of itself, branding.
Thanks to the rise of digital marketing, the factors that make up your brand identity have changed over the last two decades. Companies used to only have to worry about their brands name, logo, color palette, and messaging on traditional channels. Now, companies must engage with customers on Facebook, find the right Twitter handle, and create an effective email marketing strategy in order to cultivate their brand identity.
One of the most important branding decisions youll ever make is also one of the most overlookedpicking the perfect domain name.
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What Is The Domain Name System
The Domain Name System is a technical process by which domain names are translated into their corresponding Internet Protocol addresses .
As we mentioned previously, every website has a unique, complex string of numbers and letters known as an IP address that computers use to render a web address to an end user.
While humans use words, letters and numbers to navigate to a specific website, the internet uses IP addresses to identify the web pages location.
When you type in the domain name or URL that you want to visit, the DNS works behind the scenes to find the sites correct IP address, and then it connects you to the website.
Important How To Protect Your Domain Names
Today, a global online presence is imperative for successful companies in their work to build and protect their brands. Large sums are invested in websites, search engines, and other types of traffic-generating methods. Everything is based on your domain name, your online brand, which today is one of your companys most valuable resources.
Considering how important the domain name is to your company, the question is raised: Are you doing everything you can to protect your domain name?
One of our most read blog posts of all time is Help! Someone has registered my domain!. The blog post is usually read by one of two reasons: either someone has lost their domain name, for one reason or another, or someone else has been quicker and registered the domain name they are interested in. In this post, we will focus on the case first mentioned and show how you protect your domain name there are a number of common mistakes that, unfortunately, can lead to the loss of domain name.
Here are four common reasons as to why companies lose domain names:
- Missed renewals
- Contact information is not up to date
- Lacking strategy
Missed renewals
Domains are yearly renewed licenses. If you miss renewing the domain name, and someone else registers it before you get around to doing so again, it is not all that certain that you are entitled to get the domain name back.
Measures to take:
Contact information is not up to date
Measures to take:
Lacking strategy
Also Check: Register Domain Privately
Why The Right Domain Name Is Important
There are some huge advantages in owning a high-quality domain name. A premium domain will not only protect your brand and make you look more professional, it also improves search engine rankings, generate traffic and it is a virtual asset which tends to increase in value over time.
So many domains are registered every day, and have been for the last twenty years, that all the marketable and generic names in the dictionary have already been registered long time ago. In short, in all probability your first choice will not be available to register now, and buying a premium domain name that has already been registered and which the current owner is prepared to sell, is the only option left to still obtain a truly valuable business name.
Answer yourself this simple question: Why would you want to incur masses of time and vast sums of money marketing a mediocre domain name when you can simply buy at a premium the domain of your choice as a brandable or generic quality domain name that will instantly give you results that are far superior? It might cost you more money, but it will save you thousands of pounds in ongoing marketing costs.
Having a good domain name is the first essential step in your quest for success. Heres why:
Referral traffic normally comes from links from other websites. Plenty of premium domains are aged and come with a high amount of backlinks resulting in a higher amount of quality traffic.
The Difference Between A Url And Domain
A websites URL will always include the sites domain name. However, as you can see, there are several other sections of the URL that are required to access any resource or page of a website.
The domain name directs users to the homepage of the website, and it wont include the protocol, file name, directory or subdomain if one exists.
While there is only one domain name for a website, there can be an endless number of URLs.
Every page, image and other media on your website has a unique URL. As the name suggests, Universal Resource Locators are used to pinpoint and render your websites unique assets.
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What Should You Know About Copyright And Trademark Issues With Domain Names
You always want to be 100% sure that you’re not registering a domain name that has already been trademarked by someone else.
The same goes for any domain names you might buy for niche sites. For example, if you’re planning to write reviews of a certain brand’s golf clubs, you should never buy a domain name that is xyzbrandgolfclubreviews.com without express permission from that brand. When in doubt, seek legal advice.
Marry Your Domain Name
It sounds odd, but you have to be absolutely sure you love your domain name. Once its set, you have it for years to come. If you decide later to rename it, then you will lose time, money, branding, and rankings. We do not recommend changing your domain once your blog has been alive for a considerable amount of time.
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Increase Professionalism With A Domain
An often-overlooked benefit to registering a business domain is the ability to create and use domain-specific email addresses. Many small business owners still use free email services like Gmail or Yahoo to communicate with their customers.
Consumers are becoming more tech-savvy, and they expect the businesses they use to have a certain level of professionalism. In a highly competitive market, small differences like having a business email can be the factor that tips the scale in your favor.
Related: How to use a custom domain name for email
Assign Domain Ownership To Corporate Entity
Never register a domain name under an individual persons name. To do so is to risk losing it if that individual leaves the company. And reclaiming ownership of your domain could take years and a lot of money. A domain name should always be registered to the name of a corporate entity, so that its continuation is ensured irrespective of the individuals who come and go from the business. If online anonymity is an issue for you, you can always activate domain privacy, a simple and inexpensive way to hide your personal details.
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Should You Use Choose A Domain Name With Keywords In It
Good quality of domains with exact match keywords in it, in my experience with affiliate sales, tend to convert at a higher rate.
I imagine that when a searcher reviews the search results pages and sees the domain name with the keywords in it that she may think, Aha, this site has what I want!
Keywords in the domain name quickly tell the potential site visitor that this is your specialty.
If you want a taco, would you feel your odds of finding taco satisfaction are higher at Joes Tacos or at Lauras Margarita Cantina?
And if you want a margarita, would you choose Joes Tacos or Lauras Margarita Cantina?
The keywords in the domain infer that the site not only has what they want but actually specializes in it.
Keywords in the domain name are often considered in terms of potential ranking value.
In my opinion, thats overstated.
The true value is in attracting visitors that have a greater intention of converting into a sale.
When a consumer walks into Joes Tacos, the odds are high that they will be going home with a belly-full of tacos.