The choice of the right company name must be usually made at the very beginning of a business idea. It is a crucial step, as it is very complicated to change it in retrospect. The name should exude authenticity and become an essential part of your brand. However, it takes time to find a suitable domain name and there are several aspects to consider before domain registration.

What exactly is a domain?

To explain it simply, a domain is comparable to your home address. Your website is reached on the Internet via the domain where you can convince your desired customers of your business idea. A domain could thus be defined as your digital address. This can significantly influence the perception of your brand.

A domain consists of several elements and is to be read from back to front, hence the designation top-, second- and third-level domain. The top-level domain contains the domain extension, the second-level domain includes the name of the website, and the third-level domain consists of the subdomain/hostname.

The domain extension (top-level domain) is an important criterion for many users to judge how serious a site is. The “.com” domain extension is one of the most popular extensions worldwide. It is therefore possible that your desired domain name with “.com” is already taken. This does not necessarily mean that you have to think about a new domain name. There is also the possibility to choose other top-level domains like .net, .org or .io, among many others.

Once you have a domain name and it is available, you should do a Google search to prevent a similar-sounding domain from already existing.

What is the best strategy for securing the ideal domain?

1. Domain name search

First of all, you need to find a suitable domain name for your business.

Keep it brief

The shorter the domain name, the easier it is to remember. Nevertheless, shorter does not necessarily mean better. An abbreviation of four or more letters can be difficult to remember. Therefore, you should be careful with abbreviations or complicated structures and choose your own domain name that sounds good and matches the website content.

Do not use…

• doubled letters

• extensive length

• hyphens to explain in detail what your website is about

2. Check availability

Second of all, you need to check whether your desired domain is still available.

• If it is ready for use, follow the registration process to secure it. Whether your desired domain is still available can be easily checked by using a domain checker. Hosting providers such as IONOS provide tools to search and find TLDs.

• In case the domain is already owned by someone else, try to find alternative domain extensions or think of new domain options.

What to consider when choosing a domain name?

Use of keywords

If you choose a domain that is indicative of your company, it should contain keywords in order to be more effective. This not only helps to show customers exactly what your business is all about but also has a positive impact on SEO. Therefore, prepare some keywords before checking the domain availability.

However, many users today do not like to click on XY-buy.com because they suspect a low-quality site behind it. A poor click-through rate can lead to poor rankings as a consequence. The domain name can play a crucial role in this. So if you choose XY-cheap.com in a segment where the searchers don’t care if the articles are cheap, it could result in a bad click rate. Therefore: the use of keywords is helpful, but a necessary consideration is indispensable.

Should you choose your own name as a domain name?

Many people choose their own name as a domain name. There is nothing wrong with that in principle, but there are several things to consider. However, if you choose your own name as a domain, you should keep in mind that it is central to make clear what your company does in other ways.

Legal protection for your domain name

Throughout the creative process of finding a name for your website, legal protection should not be neglected. Does your domain name infringe on naming rights? Has it already been registered as a trademark? Research in advance whether the domain name you have chosen is not already in use.

Short tips:

• Use a short, memorable name. Check that it is easy to spell when you hear it.

• Avoid hyphens, numbers, and special characters.

• A keyword domain is good, but with careful consideration

• Make sure to do a trademark search in advance to avoid legal problems.

• Fantasy names may not sound so great at the beginning, but in the long run, they might become a brand!

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