Introduction
When asked what he would do differently during an interview with Y Combinator’s Jessica Livingston at Startup School in 2009, Mark Zuckerberg was quick to mention he would “get the right domain name.”
Choosing a brandable domain name is one of the most important business decisions you will ever make. Your brand name will become your identity, and your brand name will be associated with the hard-earned reputation you will have earned over time. So it’s essential to get it right the first time.
Much like real estate, domain names have been victim to “squatters” who buy domains they do not intend to use with the intention of reselling them for a higher price later.
So what are the best practices for choosing the perfect domain name for your business & what are your options if your ideal brand name is taken? Read on.
Finding the perfect domain name in today’s competitive domain market can be difficult. Follow the advice in this article to nail that perfect domain name!
So what makes the perfect domain name?
A great domain name is:
Memorable-One does not have to struggle to recall it.
Has a suffix, that is apt for the market you are targeting, for e.g. tv is a common suffix in the web tv industry, and .ai is recognized in the tech sphere to represent artificial intelligence. For all consumer-facing industries .com is the most recognized and trusted among web visitors.
It is fun to pronounce, e.g. "Branderella."
Has imagery, e.g. “The Yoga Hut”, We imagine a hut with yogis inside!
Signals what you do even if it does so implicitly. For e.g. “The Yoga Hut”, signifies a place to practice yoga.
It doesn't step on any competing trademarks. Make sure to run a quick Google search to see if there are accomplished competitors using the same brand name. All is not lost if you find out. a brand name is already trademarked. You can still use a trademarked name as long as it does not compete in the same category or region. When in doubt check if a trademark is registered within the same business category in your region of activity.
Avoids hyphens," e.g. "organic-skincare.com," as people find it a nuisance to type them.
Is a ".com" if you are targeting a global audience. If you target a specific country, it's ok to take a domain name with a suffix commonly used in that specific country. E.g. ".fr" for France or ".ca” for Canada or “ac.uk” for the United Kingdom.
That being said, if you use a localized domain name you will run into problems should you want to expand globally later, as most people are wary of country suffixes that are unfamiliar to them.
What if the Domain name you want is taken?
If a domain name you love is already taken, here are the options we have:
If the domain name is available for sale, you can attempt to purchase it from the owner. This will usually cost at least twenty times the price of a regular domain. If you are willing to pay this price you can try to contact the owner directly or use a third-party service to negotiate for you.
You can add prefixes and suffixes such as "a”, “my” , the plural "s," or "the" to see if the alternate version is available.
Play with synonyms, e.g. "cash" instead of "money."
Further Considerations
After deciding on & purchasing your domain name of choice, I advise reserving four social media channels under the same name, e.g. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn & TickTock. Of course, the channels you choose will depend on where your ideal client hangs out. To protect your brand name further, it's advisable to reserve your brand name on all popular Social Networks in your target market!
Where to Purchase your domain name?
I recommend purchasing on Google Domains. Go, Daddy, in my experience, buys the domains you search on their platform and sell it to you for many times the price!
Next Steps
Start by brainstorming a few alternatives based on the advice and principles provided in this article and verify their availability via Google Domains. You might be surprised that with a bit of creativity, you can find a perfect domain name for your brand that is available!
Questions?
Have a question about a domain name you are considering? Comment below and I’ll do my best to answer.
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