How do you choose the best domain name?
Great tips to making your domain name your asset

When you’re about to set up an online store for yourself, wouldn’t you want customers to remember the name of your company? You wouldn’t want a domain name that is confusing, or sends out the wrong impression to customers, right? That’s why experts say that choosing a correct domain name is probably one of the most important decisions for your e-commerce business. It can either make or break your business.

• Registration: Even before you start choosing an actual name for the domain, you need to think about registration. Firstly decide if you want to register by yourself or through a web host. Generally it is recommended to register through a web host, because you can then manage multiple businesses through a single control panel. If you registered by yourself, you’d probably need to manage three different accounts – which can be very tedious and time consuming.
• Short and crisp: Next in stage comes the process of deciding a name. When you are choosing a domain name be sure to keep in short and crisp. The name needs to be a maximum of 20 characters. Keep a name that is easy to remember and has a relation to what your business is about. In fact many people try the reverse approach – they choose a domain name first and then name the business after it!
• Extensions: Next in line is about the extension type you plan on using in the URL. For example, the most common is .com. For a non-profit organization the extension would typically be .org. Educational sites (like for example college or institutional sites) will have an extension of .edu etc. However since .com happens to be the most common, your customers are bound to remember this one most easily. You might want to have an extension that is based on the geographical location of your business – like for example, .co.uk. However this will be useful only if you’re shipping products within your own country.
• Specific locations: If you plan on having a domain name that includes the name of a particular location, like say Las Vegas, it may actually restrict your traffic volumes. If your e-commerce site happens to ship worldwide, you’re confusing customers by having Las Vegas in your domain name! A visitor who resides in New York might see your domain name come up in search engines but may ignore your site altogether – since it has Las Vegas in it. Therefore use a location name only if you explicitly cater to that location. Not otherwise.
• Consistency: Once you have decided on your domain name of choice – stick with it and try to popularize it as much as you can. You need to use this name on all office stationery, business cards as well as other promotional material. Only this way can you improve brand recall and recognition for your e-commerce business!