Whether your website is for personal use or intended as a business venture, a solid domain name can play a crucial role in attracting visitors. As any seasoned web marketer can confirm, a good domain name is essential to a site’s success. Looking at some of the web’s biggest success stories will reveal that they all share one thing in common: catchy, easy-to-remember domain names that leave a lasting impression on visitors. Fortunately, coming up with an equally enticing name doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. Arming yourself with the right knowledge and learning the ins and outs of domain name creation can pave the way for big rewards down the line.
- Similarities to Names That Are Currently in Use
When considering your options, make a point of avoiding domain names that bear striking similarities to ones that are already in use. If people accidentally wind up at your site when they attempt to visit another one, this is liable to give off a bad impression and cause them to view your site as an annoyance. Furthermore, if your domain name is similar to that of a considerably more popular site, visitors are likely to think that you’re trying to piggyback off of their popularity. Luckily, companies like Register.com make it easy to research and register premium domain names, ensuring that people have all the facts before they decide on a suitable name.
- Excessive Length
Keeping things short and sweet is the core principal that should guide your creative process. The fact that many of the web’s highest traffic, most profitable sites sport one-to-two-word domain names is far from a coincidence. In addition to being easy to type, shorter names are easy to remember and more likely to leave a lasting impression on visitors than their lengthier counterparts. While successful sites with long domain names aren’t unheard of, they’re not terribly common, either. With this in mind, take care to limit your domain name to no more than two words, regardless of how attached you may be to a longer one.
- Unnecessary Symbols
Not only should you opt for a shorter name, you should also avoid including numbers and/or hyphens in your domain name. Even if the inclusion of these symbols doesn’t make a domain name difficult to remember, they can make it cumbersome to type – especially on smart phones and other mobile devices. As is the case with longer names, some names that contain the aforementioned symbols are associated with successful sites, but these cases represent rare exceptions to the rule.
While a domain name isn’t the only determinant factor in a site’s success, the importance of a good name cannot be overstated. As attention spans grow progressively shorter, first impressions are becoming more important than ever – and when it comes to websites, their respective names factor heavily into visitors’ first impressions. To ensure that your site is given the right domain name, remember to avoid names that are too similar to other sites, keep things short and nix unnecessary letters and hyphens.