How to Choose the Right Domain Name for Your Business Website

In this Internet and social media era, having a website and giving your business an online presence is already a must to stay on the competition. Businesses and companies, whether big or small, are already using the power of the Internet to promote their brand, sell their products, communicate with their prospective and existing customers, and provide customer support online. A domain name, which will be the name that will be assigned to your website, is an important component of your business presence online. Thus, it is vital that you should learn how to choose the right domain name for your business and website. Here are important tips you should always remember in picking the perfect name that people and search engines will use to access your website.

 

Choosing the right TLD
Top-level domains (TLD) are the term for the domain extensions, such as .com, .net and .org, .biz, .info, .us and .ph. The extensions .com, .net and .org belong to the generic top-level domains (gTLD), while .us, .ph and other country extensions belong to the country code top-level domain (ccTLD). Now, to pick the best domain names for your business, you need to choose the right TLD. If you’re targeting the global market, then .COM would be perfect. However, good .COM names nowadays are already taken and not available for registrations. If you’re promoting your business to the local market, you can opt to register ccTLD names. For example, if you’re business is based in the Philippines, you can pick the domain extensions, such as .PH or COM.PH. You will find more available names to be registered in the ccTLD than in the gTLD. You may read our article on how to register a domain name in the Philippines here.

 

Your legitimate business name
Using the registered trade name of your business as your domain name can be a wise decision. This will preserve your trade name and reduce any confusion caused by using a different domain name from your registered business name. For example, Microsoft Corporation has Microsoft.com, Google, Inc. has Google.com, and Ayala Corporation (a Filipino company) has Ayala.com.ph. Now, if you’re just planning to register a business, and you still don’t have a registered trade name, you can pick a name that is both available for registration as a domain name and a business name.

 

Picking the right name
If you’re still brainstorming for a name that is just about to be registered as a domain name and a legitimate trademark or trade name, you should consider the following points:

1. Memorable – generic or common words can become memorable domain names. BusinessTips.Ph (Business Tips) is an example of a generic domain name using the country extension dotPH. Short names are also easy to memorize than the longer names. Further, short domains are easy to type than longer domains. Therefore, you should consider these factors in picking names.

2. Unique – think of Google, Yahoo, Twitter, Flickr and Tumblr, these names don’t have meanings until they become popular. Generic names nowadays may not be already available for registrations and are already taken by other registrants. Thus, thinking something out of the box can ensure that your name is still available for registration. And since it is unique, it will also reduce any chance of infringing any existing trademark or copyright. So be creative, imaginative and futuristic.

3. Make it interesting – Whether it’s a generic name or an invented name, be sure to offer your targeted audience something that will get their interest. So if you’re in the tech business, choose a name that is interestingly techy.

4. Make it honorable – it is important that your name becomes acceptable and not offensive to people. Furthermore, making your domain name truly honorable and reputable doesn’t only ends after you have registered it, but it continues to your life as a business person. Hence, after picking up the right domain name for your business, make sure that you will carry that name in your way to satisfying and helping your customers and other people.

I hope that these tips will help you choose the right domain name that will help your business to reach success. Always remember to pick a name that you can stand, value and keep for all of time.