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Effective Domain Names

If you do not have an effective domain name, you may well be missing out on a large amount of visitors to your website. Businesses should always consider their domain name to be the core element of their website's signage. With this in mind, it is advisable to pay particular attention when choosing a Domain Name. Following these simple rules will encourage potential clients to visit your website, thus reducing the reliance on the search engines to point visitor traffic your way.


1. Make it easy to remember

Choosing an easily memorable Domain Name is one of the most important things you can do for your website. Aim for customers to be able to type in the name without pause or thought. A good example of this is Easyjet. Many users will bypass Google and enter "easyjet.com" directly into the address bar. The name is simple and easy to remember.


2. Keep it short

Another plus for Easyjet is that it is short and to the point. If you choose a lengthy Domain Name, users may well resort to search engines rather than go to the effort of actually typing in the long URL. It is a fact that Internet Users are impatient; they want to find a site instantly and will use the quickest route available. If they opt to use the search engines, you run the risk of not being ranked at the top, thus allowing those companies that are, i.e. your competitors, the edge.


3. Easy to spell

There is little more irritating for a user than trying to locate a particular website, but not being able to come up with the correct spelling. There are two possible outcomes here; either the user will try several spellings before losing interest, or they will turn to the search engines, which again may affect the likelihood of them finding your site. The best way to reduce this risk is to choose an easy spelling for your Domain Name. Also, avoid using hyphens, where possible. Users frequently struggle to remember where the hyphen should go.

4. Ensure it is relevant to your business

Choosing a name that corresponds to your business activity can help people remember it. A good example is "diy.com". This Domain Name is owned by B&Q, one of the UK's largest 'Do It Yourself' retailers. Not only is it relevant to the business activity, it also meets all the above criteria by being easy to remember, short and easy to spell.

5. Branding

If you decide to have a domain name that isn't relevant to your specific business activity, you will have to put extra effort into branding it. This is more challenging for smaller businesses; you will need to find a way to make your website stand out from the 165 million others currently on the web - quite a daunting prospect. Including the name on all your marketing material is a start, but more is needed. Luckily not only are there many tools available to assist in optimising a website, but also the technology environments have advanced significantly, providing the website owner with more control over their web presence.

In Summary:

If you want people to go straight to your website you need to make it easy for them to do so. The best way to achieve this is for the website name to be memorable, short, easy to spell and relevant.

Now take a minute to consider your chosen Domain Name and ask yourself……
If you were the user, could you easily find it?