Your domain name is part of your online identity and you want potential visitors to remember it. Here are my top ten tips for making it really work for you.
1. Keep it short and simple. Aim for 20 characters or less.
2. Make it easy to spell.
3. Use real words. Maximum two or three words.
4. Don’t automatically use your business name. You’ll do better with search engines if the domain name includes keywords that have something to do with your business activity.
5. Watch for trade mark infringement. If you use any part of another company’s trade mark in your domain name they may treat it as an infringement of their trade mark even if you are associated with them.
6. Use .com. This is the original commercial extension and the most widely recognised. If you are a business, register a .com domain name if possible.
7. Use .co.uk if you are a UK business. This reinforces the idea that you are based in the UK rather than the USA. Some visitors will automatically type the .com extension, so register both and redirect .com visitors to your .co.uk address.
8. Use .org for a non-profit organisation. This reinforces your status as non-commercial.
9. Use a local name. If you operate exclusively in a particular location or city, consider including its name as part of your domain name. It will help in search engine listing.
10. Once you’ve registered your domain name, use it! Get a web site and include the domain name on business cards, stationery, and advertisements.
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Articles in this knowledge base are provided in good faith, but no responsibility can be accepted for the information provided. The material is copyright.
© 2005 John Pye Consulting Ltd.
Providing affordable and accessible web site design, web site audit, Internet consultancy and internet marketing advice for small businesses in Stamford. Oakham, Uppingham, Peterborough and the surrounding districts in East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and East Midlands.