At the end of the first quarter of 2015, internet services provider VeriSign reported that there were 294 million top level domain registrations globally, an increase of 6.5% from the previous year (VeriSign, 2015). This statistic, coupled with our high degree of connectivity indicates the importance of creating a favourable online presence for yourself or your brand.
After introducing you to our new domain-based service recently on the blog, we thought a logical follow up would be to provide some assistance for those considering registering their first domain, a key step in building an online brand. Read on for our top tips.
Make it unique
With so many domains already registered, it is important that yours stands out as much as possible. Your name, or that of your organisation is ideal, however if that isn’t available try brainstorming key words that relate to your brand, product or service.
Keep it short and simple
Be sure to favour simplicity as short, simple domain names are easiest to remember. Also, avoid using hyphens, numbers or names with unusual spelling or pronunciation, which may cause confusion, resulting in difficulty locating your site.
Be descriptive
Your domain name should give searchers an indication of what your website is about and the services or products you offer, making it easy to find.
Do your research
As best as you can, avoid using any name that is similar to domains that already exist, thus ensuring you don’t copyright or infringe on an established trademark. This will avoid potential legal headaches in the future.
Select an appropriate extension
Website extensions, such as .net and .org, have specific uses, so be sure to select the one that is most appropriate to your brand, product or organisation.
Check availability
There are various websites that allow you to check the availability of your chosen domain name, as well as similar variations. You aren’t obliged to purchase through any of these, so once you have found a domain you are happy with, go to your registrar of choice – Data UP for example!
Register quickly
Finally, once you have selected a domain name, be sure to register quickly to avoid it being snapped up by someone else.
References
VeriSign, 2015, The Domain Name Industry Brief Q1 2015 highlights, https://www.verisign.com/assets/infographic-dnib-Q12015.pdf
What did you think of our top tips? Have you got any to add? Let us know about them on Twitter at @DataUPAus.