6 Things to Avoid When You Name and Buy Domain

Paul Velia
Sep 4, 2018 · 5 min read

Looking to launch an online business? You’ll need a name for your business, and a domain name too. In this article, you’ll learn how to avoid six crucial mistakes when you buy domain that could do long-term damage to your business. Picking the right business name and domain name is a vital task. Get it right with these tips.

  1. First off, using a name that’s already taken. It’s a really obvious one but it’s still something you need to think about. At the very least, picking a business name that’s already taken will confuse customers and at worst you’ll end up being sued for a breach of someone’s trademark. And of course if you use a business thing that’s already taken, the chances are the domain name will already be taken to do plenty of research before you’ve settled on a name. Be sure to check registered trademarks to avoid legal issues and also check if your preferred company name is available as a domain name.
  2. A complicated name. Twitter, Facebook, Google, Apple, they’re all names that are short, easy to spell, easy to remember and you also know that if you put .com at any of these names you’ll end up on that company’s website. Now imagine a business called something like THJL.KentonPlumbers. If I was to remember that name in 30 seconds time I bet you’d have forgotten it. So what chance does a potential customer have of to remember a business name like that? And when you turn it into a domain name it gets even less memorable, THJL.KentonPlumbers I mean it sounds and it looks terrible. To keep your business name and your domain name simple, avoid using special characters for both memorability and for ease of typing your name should be as short as possible. Short names are also easy to share on social media where character limits exist and wherever your net name is listed either on a search engine results page or in an email or even in print, a short name gives you the advantage of space. I also strongly suggest you avoid numbers and hyphens in your name, it creates lots of hassle if you have to explain that the number. Your domain is a numeral rather than a word and that the word hyphen when passed verbally, it doubles the size of the domain.
  3. Losing out on your domain. So you’re launching a business, you’ve got the perfect name, you check for a domain name and it’s available but you don’t need to buy a website yet. So you don’t buy your name after a year or two of growth, you decide you’re ready to expand into online sales, you go to buy the domain name that matches your business name and you can’t because someone else has snapped it up and we hear from customers about this all of the time. Really does happen all the time. It can be really frustrating. Yes, there are ways to get a domain name back from someone if they’re cybersquatting on it. Yes, you might have a claim for trademark infringement but that stuff’s expensive and it’s time-consuming. So it’s always best to buy up matching domain names as soon as possible. The cost of a domain name is nothing compared to the cost of prolonged legal action.
  4. Following trends as something to avoid. As names are in limited supply, misspells or linguistic twists on regular words they become really commonplace. Think of Flickr for example or even something like Bitly. It’s even become trendy for tech companies to use a .IO domain name. So consider carefully if you believe this will be a long term trend or will mark out your brand as from a particular era one which fashion may move on from over time. So picking a name because it’s on trend can leave you with a business that sounds really outdated. If that happens, you might have to rebrand which will cost you money and you might not be able to afford it. So pick a name because you like it and not because it’s on trend.
  5. Avoid choosing the wrong domain extension. So should you go with the .com or a .uk or both? With so many domain extensions out there, picking the right one that can feel really daunting so instead, look at the process as avoiding picking the wrong extension. So when it comes to .com versus .uk, either would be fine if you’re looking to focus entirely on the UK customers but if you wanted to sell to US customers then you can rule out UK’s, it’s not relevant in that market. There are also plenty of new domain extensions for you to choose from and the same rule applies. If you’re starting a coffee business based exclusively in London, then get a .London that would do the trick, but if you’re planning to expand across the UK then maybe you should consider a .coffee. And one other thing I’d recommend is to register a brand name in as many of the well use domain extensions as you can and then redirect these to your domain of choice. This prevents competitors grabbing up those domains and gaining visitors who were actually looking for you.
  6. Deciding on your own. So choosing a business name may feel like a really personal decision but if you’re really you’re looking for a name that potential customers will like and remember, so get out there and do some research. If you’ve got money to spend you might want to go for some full on paid research into your potential name. If you’re on a shoestring, you can just ask friends what they think. Try to gather honest feedback about what appeals and what can be improved. It doesn’t mean that you need to change your choice but you might want to emphasize particular benefits in your early marketing efforts if the name in itself doesn’t communicate them clearly.

Written by

I am a Blogger currently living in Australia. My interests range from web development to design. I am also interested in writing.

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