Monthly Archives: March 2015

The post Uncover The Best Domain Name For Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . Picking the right domain name isn’t a decision you want to rush. In the online space the domain is the first thing people have to remember when they want to work with you or visit your business. If you want your online presence and website to thrive you need a domain name that’s going to keep up. A lot of business owners make the mistake of choosing a domain name that’s too long, too hard to spell, or doesn’t relate to their business. Some domains names are only a few letters long, but can still have a huge impact on your business.   Most Common Domain Name Mistakes To Avoid As we alluded to above, a lot of business owners make mistakes when choosing their domain names. Of course, you can change your domain name if you already have one that isn’t really doing much for your business, but it’s much less of a hassle to just get it right on the first go. Below you’ll find some of the most common mistakes. 1. Using Too Many Words If you’re trying to stuff a bunch of keywords into your domain name and it’s getting very long and hard to remember it’s important that you shorten it. People won’t remember a long domain name. Or, you may have a very long business name and you want to use the whole thing. This can also be a mistake, as you’ll want your domain to be memorable. Often, you can shorten or abbreviate and still get the same result. 2. Using A Spammy Extension If the .com extension isn’t available for your domain it can be tempting to go with another, less standard extension. Using one of these can potentially be a burden to your business. Although, some other domain extensions are becoming more widely accepted they can still carry a slightly spammy connotation. If other businesses in your niche are using other extensions then they may be safe to use, but just take caution. This isn’t really an area where you want to be a trendsetter. 3. Following Trends Or Buzzwords We’ve seen some businesses try to get creative with their domain names by incorporating certain buzzwords or trendy words. For a while a lot of businesses were using the letter ‘i’ in front of their domains to mimic Apple. Or, we’ve seen businesses using the letter ‘z’ to make them seem more youthful and hip. Whatever the case make sure you don’t ascribe to any trends when you’re choosing your domain name. Domain names should be timeless, and when you’re relying on a trend it will only be memorable for a few years at the most, after which it will seem outdated.   How To Find The Perfect Domain Name Now that you know what not to do it’s time to start moving forward with positive steps you can take to truly find a hidden gem of a domain. 1. Keep It Simple When finding the perfect domain, simplicity is going to be your friend. Try your best not to include any unnecessary words or phrases, hyphens, or anything else that’s going to make your domain difficult to remember. Keep it as simple as possible, but no simpler. You don’t want your users to have a hard time associating your business with the domain. 2. Be Unique There are millions upon millions of domains out there. To truly stand out from the rest you’ll need to be unique. Try to be catchy, but don’t be too creative where people are confused or can’t remember your domain. When you think you’ve come up with the perfect domain you can try it out on your friends and family as well to see what their initial reaction is. 3. Do Your Research Before you buy your domain you’ll need to make sure you aren’t violating any copyrights, or ending up with any weird foreign translations, or have a name too close to a competitor. Spend some time making sure your domain checks out across these three categories and you’ll be ready to click buy. Crafting the ultimate domain name for your business doesn’t have to take weeks, but you should spend more than the few minutes most people spend on the decision. Your domain name defines your business in the online realm, make it count.   Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/35935652@N00/3845418669/ web hosting Continue reading →