There are a number of things to keep in mind when registering a domain name for your new site. We’ve scoured the web and our summary of the best advice from a range of experts on choosing a domain name for a new website is as follows. By choosing a domain name carefully and following the tips below, you will be able to select a successful website domain.
The best types of domains to buy in order of our preference are:
Whilst we would recommend .com.au you can realistically rank just as easily with any of them. The .com always wins out simply because that’s what people add by default. Also, since it is one of the oldest extensions .com shows that your business has been around for a while and that you have a well-established presence on the Web. However, if you’re getting found in the search engine ranking pages does anyone really pay attention to the domain name anyway?
How to find available domains
There are a number of services available to help you find available domains. We use www.melbourneit.com.au. To find available domains, simply click on the DOMAIN tab and type in the keyword that you want to include.
Make it easy to remember and target “type-by” traffic
Remember that whilst most people usually type the website domain into a search engine to get to a website, other people will type directly into the address bar.
When choosing a domain name you should avoid long and complicated names, as people may get it wrong when typing it and simply lose interest. Choosing a domain name with plurals should also be avoided, along with names that feature double letters. Therefore, try to keep the domain name short and preferably singular.
Double letters in a domain name can make it incredibly difficult and confusing for people to navigate to, for example marcsshirts.com.au. But if you really do want a page with double letters, then it's a good idea to register both versions - marcsshirts.com.au and marcshirts.com.au. This will prevent you from losing traffic when someone enters the name wrongly.
Used commonly spelt version of words. It is important that people are able to understand and spell your domain correctly, otherwise you will lose traffic. It is preferable to spell out numbers rather than using digits. The easier the domain name, the easier it will be for people to remember you and visit your website.
Keywords in the domain
Most business’s don’t have the massive marketing resources of a Zappos or Amazon. When selecting a name to fit with your website, you want to ensure it’s relevant to the topic or theme of your site. There is no point registering a URL completely unrelated to what you’ll be promoting. The exception to this rule is of course, a really catchy domain name. Whilst sites like Google, Yahoo and Twitter have proved to work exceptionally well in creating an online brand presence there are obviously the exception rather than the rule.
If your website is going to be business related or involved in some form of commerce it makes sense to have a well-searched-for-keyword incorporated within the domain name. The majority of online businesses are still found through search engine queries. By and large though, a good rule of thumb is to incorporate the most searched for term (for your market) in your domain name.
A lot of discussion happens around the importance of having your keyword in the URL. The argument against it is that good on-page search engine optimisation negates a need for your keywords in there at all. But time and time again we see keyword rich domain names ranked amongst the best. If at all possible we recommend including keywords in your domain name.
Brand names in the domain
The argument against this is that if the site gets too big and starts to outrank the actual company site for whatever product you are selling, they will simply take you down.
To hyphenate or not to hyphenate?
The shorter your domain name the more memorable it’s going to be. However you’ll discover that most one-word/two-word domain names have been snatched up already. The question about whether to use hyphens frequently raises debate in many forums we frequent. The consensus is that although they don’t look nearly as pretty use of a hyphen in a domain name has no negative impact on search engine optimisation in the long run. For this reason adding the hyphen is an option when looking for available URLs. This additional keystroke can bring an otherwise unavailable keywords back into play.
Most SEO experts concur that hyphenating a string of words makes a long domain name more search engine friendly. The downside is that when it comes to word-of-mouth dissemination most folks won’t bother including those pesky hyphens, with the resulting consequence that intended referrals to your domain could end up on your competitor’s doorstep. Sometimes choosing a domain name is a bit of a balancing act.
The addition of other words such as those below might also work really well:
Whether you add the word to the beginning or the end again has no real impact on the overall rank of your site. Words like Cheap and Bargain should be avoided, as well as any other word that implies something negative about the product.
Direct match domain names improve adwords click through rates
In a recent review done by Memorabledomains.co.uk, direct match domains enjoyed superior click through results. Three Google AdWords campaigns were set up with identical ad copy, the difference being the targeted domain name for each ad. The primary domain name used was ElectricBicycles.co.uk, being an exact match for the keyword electric bicycles. The other two domain names were YourBikes.co.uk and InAHurry.co.uk. The results showed a 42% improvement in CTR for the exact match domain; however there were other benefits, as well. Memorable Domains also reported that the ad was displayed more often and had a higher quality score, the end result being a 105% click advantage over InAHurry.co.uk and a 45% advantage over YourBikes.co.uk.
(Cited on http://marketaire.com/2011/07/07/drastically-improve-ppc-performance-with-an-exact-match-domain/)
Those are some serious click differences!
Register more than one domain
If you come up with a really good domain name, other people may try to piggyback on your awesome domain name by registering something similar. If possible protect your business or website by registering similar sounding domain names and parking them. For example, if you register marcsweb.com also think about registering marcsweb.net. Some businesses also register common misspellings of their site’s name. Remember that several domains can point to the same website.
Where do you register your new domain
There are any number of providers that can be used to register your domain. We use intaserve.com.au to register all our domains (not an affiliate link). They cost as little as $13.98 per year. They are honest and reliable, and I strongly recommend them to anyone.
When registering your domain name it’s a good idea to register it for more than one year. There are usually discounts for multi-year registrations from most domain name registers and Google considers multi-year registered domains as less likely to be spam sites. Consequently, right off the bat your site will have a search engine advantage and a shorter evaluation period in the Google Sandbox.
….and finally register your domain as soon as possible
Domain names are being snatched faster than a one legged cat tryin' to bury a turd on a ferris wheel. Register soon unless you want to get stuck with the-domain-name-that-no-one-else-wants.org.
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