When you decide to start a website or a blog, the first thing that you must do is to select a good domain name. A domain name is the address that identifies the location of a website on the internet. A domain name is also an online brand name for your company and you should therefore be very careful not to make the common domain name mistakes that most beginners usually make.
1. Long domain names
A good domain name should be as short as is practically possible. Many start-ups make the mistake of using a domain name that is too lengthy just because they want to use the full business name as their domain name. The argument is that they want to build the website on the already established goodwill of the physical brand name. However, the problem is that long domain names are not easily remembered by human visitors. It is better to come up with a short domain name even if it means shortening your business name or abbreviating it.
2. Hyphens in domains
Hyphens have no negative impact on SEO. However, very few people might actually remember to type the hyphen in the address bar. If you want to register mybusiness.com and then discover it has already been registered, it might not be a good idea to register my-business.com. Human beings are innately lazy and will therefore type the domain name without the hyphen the next time they want to visit your website or blog and they might just end on another website.
3. Ambiguity in domains
Words are very powerful. Words conjure pictures in the minds of the readers. For instance, if you read the word “cake,” you most likely begin salivating. It is therefore important to make sure you choose a domain name that has no ambiguity at all or else, you might just send a wrong signal. For instance, a company called “who rings” might register a domain called whorings.com. The ambiguity is that at first glance, one may think the website is about something completely different to what the website actually contains.
4. Numbers in domains
Unless in cases where it is absolutely necessary, it is good practice to avoid using numbers in domain names. Just like hyphens, numbers make it difficult for human users to remember. For instance, if you told someone by word of mouth that your blog was 7days.com, chances are he or she will type sevendays.com in the address bar. To avoid such scenarios, try using words instead of numbers for domain names.
5. Wrong domain name extensions
There are several domain name extensions that you can choose from e.g., .com.au, .com, .org, .info, .net, etc. All these extensions have their own uses and meanings. For instance, .com is reserved for commercial purposes while .org is set aside for charities and non profit organisations. If you are setting up an e-commerce store, you would be better of using a .com or .com.au extension if you are operating within Australia. Visitors can guess what type of website it is before the page finishes loading just by seeing the domain extension. You can get more information from your domain registrar on the best extension to use for your kind of website. To find out more about .au registration requirements visit the Digital Pacific website.
A good domain name is an extremely important part of your online marketing campaign. In fact, your business can either succeed or fail based on your domain name choice. You should therefore take some time to ensure you have not made the common domain name mistakes that most people do.
To find out all you need to know about registering a domain name and setting up a web hosting account visit www.digitalpacific.com.au.
