By Bob Deakin
A domain name speaks volumes and gives driving directions to your site. Therefore, use an effective domain name to claim your space on the World Wide Web. If it calls out the name of your industry, you’re in luck. If someone else wants it, even better.
What Makes an Effective Domain Name?
Stefanus Hadi, Product Research Manager at DreamHost, urges website owners to conduct market research, embrace your brand, keep it user-friendly, and get it right the first time.
“Search engines use your domain name to understand what your site is about and help determine its position in search rankings. That’s why it’s essential to try to include relevant keywords in your domain if you can.”
He also reminds us that short names are SEO-friendly, and easier to remember and type.
“This is especially important as more and more people are browsing the internet on mobile devices. A short domain name means fewer opportunities for mobile users to get blindsided by maddening autocorrect.”
Don’t Make Your Edge Too Sharp
Clarity of words makes it easy for everyone. If you’ve got a hot new site for cars and www.Cars4U.com is your domain, it will cool quickly unless you’re placing Superbowl ads.
Judit Ruiz Ricart of Wix explains in How to Choose the Best Domain Name for Your Website.
“Another good practice is to choose a domain name that is predictable, meaning your audience won’t have to second guess how to write it properly. With this in mind, refrain from shorthand and spell out your words. For example, go for “you” instead of “u” and be wary of words that can be spelled numerous ways (is it ‘ok’ or ‘okay?’).”
How Does a Domain Name Work?
The URL (uniform resource locator) includes a protocol, domain, and path. It is a complete website address that directs visitors to a specific page. The domain name (let’s use www.apple.com) includes the third-level domain “www” (or subdomain). The keyword “apple” is the second level (SLD or 2LD) domain. The domain extension “.com” follows, also known as a top-level domain (TLD).
What About Those TLDs?
According to the VeriSign Q3 2024 Domain Name Industry Brief, there are 362.3 million TLD registrations with .com and .net accounting for 169.6 million.
The top five most registered TLDs are:
.com — 156 million registrations (72%)
.cn 19.7
.de 17.7
.net 12.9
.org 11.0
Did You Use an Effective Domain Name to Claim Your Space on the Web?
Not all business and domain names end up as serendipitously iconic as Apple, but on any scale, your business and domain should work the same way. The business name, keywords, and corresponding domain all work together in the brand-building dream world.
So, take an extra few moments to choose your domain name. Sleep on it. Changing it means changing tedious little parts that make up the whole, which takes time away from what you do best.
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GoDaddy lists the top five (publicly reported) expensive domain names:
Business.com — $345 million
LasVegas.com — $90 million
CarInsurance.com — $49.7 million
Insurance.com — $35.6 million
VacationRentals.com — $35 million
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