It is critical for your website to choose the right domain name for it. It is basically a website’s unique name. In order to create your online presence, you need a domain name.
Don’t go for a sub-domain that is free. Rather pick a domain and register for it. It is important to use a paid hostname only. If you want to register a domain name at a reasonable cost then go to the ICANN-accredited registrar whose name is Namecheap. Now I am going to describe about 11 things to consider when buying a domain name.
Try to get .com always
There are a number of hostname extensions like .blog, .shop, .biz, .edu, .co, .org or .net. Among these one more is .com. It will be right for you if you get the .com instead of other tempting TLDs that are fancy. The reasons behind this are:
- People don’t like any weird extension but they know .com very well. They will consider most of the sites as of .com.
- It has been found that among all the sites, 47 % use .com TLD.
Sometimes get the local domain
Get the local TLD if the local audience is going to see your site. As an example, .de hostname is right for you if your article is about the German market. This local TLD will make the people think that you are in Germany and will also increase your trustworthiness among them.
Experiment with TLDs that are non-traditional
Today you can get .design, .blog, .store, .club, .shop and several other hostname extensions. But some years ago, these were not available. Also, .cc, .ly, .it, .fm, .io, .is and various other hostname extensions can not only act as local TLDs but you can use them for a number of other motives.
In a single expression you can include TLD and the hostname. Like .it is an Italian TLD and you can use it in translate.it to see the Microsoft Translator.
You can buy some other main TLDs
Suppose you already have a local TLD or .com domain extension. Now you can have other TLDs that are popular. Set these TLDs for the purpose of redirection to the first TLD. For instance, if SeeMeBloggin.com is your main address then you can include:
- SeeMeBloggin.co.uk
- SeeMeBloggin.org
- SeeMeBloggin.net
- SeeMeBloggin.co
- SeeMeBloggin.in etc.
Pick a brandable name
If you want to get success in the long-term then it is crucial to have a brandable hostname. But how can we make it brandable? Some important factors which play a big role here are:
- There is no particular meaning of the brandable name. For example, we cannot consider YouTube as a word.
- Always pick a unique brandable name that does not match with any other name in a different company.
- Choose a brandable name that is not complex or wordy but easy to remember.
- Select that one which you can pronounce easily.
Select a hostname that is predictable, short and simple
A hostname of good quality has some general characteristics which are:
- It is predictable – Avoid spellings that are weird so that it looks predictable. For example, if JonBlogs.com is your hostname then the users will mostly type JohnBlogs.com.
- It doesn’t use numbers in it – Try to make the maximum use of just words and not numbers.
- It is simple – Don’t use any complicated word or underscore or hyphen in it.
- It is short – Use less than 15 characters in it.
Redirect the misspelled domains to the basic one
You can purchase the misspelled hostnames so that you can redirect them to the basic one. If you do this then people will know about your site and it will become popular.
Use domain name generators to get a cool domain name
If you are unable to find a unique hostname then you can take the help of domain name generators. You need to enter a keyword in these tools and you will get a lot of ideas. Some tools that are very good are:
- Nameboy
- LeanDomainSearch
Select a domain name that can be legally yours only
Before you register a hostname, go to the search engine and check if any other trade has this name. If some other trade has this name then select a hostname that is different from the previous one.
You need to be attentive if you want to buy existing hostnames
Before you go for an existing hostname check its history to see if it was banned because of containing email spam or gambling etc. If you find these kinds of things in its history then don’t buy it.
Find a domain registrar that is trustworthy
In order to register your hostname, you can take the help of a company known as domain registrar. But go for a trustworthy and respectable registrar only so that you do not face any problem in the future. Some of these registrars are:
- SiteGround
- GoDaddy
- Namecheap.
