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Domain names are what your consumers use to find you on the Internet.
For most businesses, they will seek out their business name in a domain name.
For others who are more flexible, they may seek out a domain name and then name their business. This can be extremely important, especially if there is already a business that has the same name as your website.
There are several costly domain name mistakes that people make, even though this process seems to be relatively straightforward and simple.
Here are tips on avoiding these mistakes:
Mistake #1: Name Your Website Something Different from Your Domain Name
For most people it is only natural to name the website after the domain name, but you would be greatly surprised as to how many people don't do this. There are numerous domain names that are bought and then the site is named something completely different.
This can cause a lot of missed sales in the long run if the site has a different name. This is because people always assume that they were at whateverIwaslookingat.com. So, if your business is called Susan's Creations, you don't want a domain name that is www.greatsnacks.com.
Chances are that your consumer will type in www.susanscreations.com and end up at a completely different website and they won't know how to get to yours because of your obscure domain name.
Mistake #2: Going with a Generic Domain Name
Some people may think that the more generic the domain name is, the easier it will be to find it. However, this is not really the case in our marketplace these days. Consumers are looking for specific items when they are shopping.
You wouldn't go to www.computers.com if you were looking for a new PC. No, you would most likely go to www.dell.com or www.compaq.com. Your consumers think the same way. If you have a business, use your business name or brand name. If you are advertising a specific product, consumers are going to look for that specific product.
Mistake #3: Less is more Sometimes
There is an age-old argument over whether or not a short domain name is better than a long domain name. The fact of the matter is that it depends on your product or the name of your company. If your company is regularly known by an acronym, for example, the American Quarter Horse Association is well known by AQHA and thus their domain name is www.aqha.com.
Short domain names are easier to remember and less prone to typos, but if your business's name is Sammy's Moving Service, your domain name would be www.sms.com. How obscure is that? Besides, it's probably already taken and there's a good chance that nobody has bought www.sammysmovingservice.com.
Mistake #4: Forgetting to Market the Domain Name with the The or My
In an attempt to get the domain name that we want, we may often settle for domain names that add a the or my to the front. This is all fine and dandy as long as you are sure to include those articles in front of the website name at all times.
For example, your business is The Ticket Site but you often refer to it as Ticket Site or you may even advertise it as Ticket Site. This means that people will often leave off the the because the site is not advertised as such. This leaves the door open for competitors to build a site called the Ticket Site and steal all of your customers.
Action Steps For Choosing A Domain Name
- Write out several domain name ideas and then search for them individually. You may get the name you want, you may not.
- Depending on the name you get for the domain, you must use that name for your website and business name. This avoids a lot of confusion.
- Be certain that you market the site properly so that people will go to the correct website.
Important Points For Choosing A Domain Name
- Be careful using articles such as the and my. •Be careful using different extensions such as .net or .org and especially the more obscure domain extensions such as .tv or .de. •Whichever domain name you choose be certain that use the proper extensions and spellings on all of your marketing materials.
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