How to Choose the Right Company Domain Name

Your company’s domain name is a unique, one-of-a-kind address for your business. It's an advertisement in itself that can draw consumers to your site. A domain name is used for promotional and advertisement purposes. Therefore, finding a domain name that’s right for your new business is an important decision. Follow these steps to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet access
• Computer

1. Enhance the company’s image. Your domain name is one of the most visible forms of promotion your new company has. With this in mind, choose a domain name that's professional--one that will enhance the purpose of the business.
2. Keep it short. Your potential customers will have a short attention span. If they can’t remember your domain name, they won’t visit it. Choose a domain name that's short and easy to remember. Try to choose a domain name that includes the company’s name, or one that's related to your business.
3. Make sure it’s easy to pronounce and to understand. If your domain name is hard to pronounce or doesn’t make sense to your average customer, people will not pay attention to it. Use common and catchy words.
4. Make it easy to spell. If customers can’t spell the domain name, they’ll never get to your new company’s homepage. Always use a domain name that doesn’t require a dictionary to navigate to. If your business is selling flowers, you will not want to have the domain name "phlouers." It will make it difficult for people unfamiliar with your business to find the site.
5. Find out if the domain name is already taken. There are several websites that list available domain names. Domain names for sell and provide searches when you are checking your domain name. Go online to find out if your domain name is available (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• Once you have several domain name ideas, type them into a search engine to make sure they haven’t already been taken.
• Use a domain name that is easy to fit onto a standard business card.
• Once you find an available domain name, be sure to register it immediately so nobody else takes it.
• Register similar domain names so other businesses can’t use your company’s name recognition for their own financial gain.