“This domain is already taken.” You are usually hanged up with this line when you register a domain, especially for one-word domain names. According to Domain Name Industry Brief – October 2012 published by Verisign, there are more than 240 million registered domains globally across all top level domains (TLDs). Aside from businesses and individuals racing to launch their online presence, speculators also register domains with the anticipation of harvesting hefty deals later.
Domain is the core and main nomenclature of the Universal Resource Locator or URL. It serves as the main address of a virtual space. In terms of marketing, domains are vital in branding. General Motors uses www.gm.comto protect its trademark initials; Microsoft offers a virtual store through www.microsoft.com; British Broadcasting Company keeps better recall through www.bbc.com.
Creating the right domain is not easy; it takes a combination of creativity, imagination, strategy, and linguistic knowledge. The right and compelling domain is part of the essentials on overall website design and the product itself.
Factors in Selecting the Right Domain Name
What are the factors that must be considered to come up with an effective domain? Most websites failed to advance in marketing and ranking due to poorly drafted domain. Understanding the core of selecting the domain eliminates unnecessary cost, wasted time, and low turn-around.
The Purpose of the Website. Let's start with the main thing – knowing your business. What will be written on the website? Are you going to sell products? Are you going to provide basic information on certain topics? Have you envisioned how the website will look like? Understanding the main purpose of the business dictates the top level domain that best suits the website. The top level domain tells web users the vision of the website. Most non-profit organizations use .ORG; educational institutions have their own .EDU; government sites utilize the .GOV; and most companies favor the commercial .COM.
The Target Audience. A full comprehension of your target audience sets your limits in check. The demographics of your audience tell you the right word or tone to use. Central to this is the language of your target audience. If you want to reach rock and roll music lovers, domains like rockmusic.com, keeprockin.com, or musicrocks.com are acceptable. But if the website intends to reach top executives of companies, these hippy domains will not work.
Location. www.LosAngelesAttorneys.comaims to attract residents of Los Angeles seeking legal assistance, while www.PayDayLoansLondon.comtaps Londoners who need short-term financial loans. Using the local location increases search engine-friendliness of the website, but does not encourage branding. In broader scale, location of the target audience affects the choice of top level domains. Take notice of Google's local sites to provide customized settings and services. While www.google.comserves the US and international audience, www.google.caworks best for Canada, www.google.co.ukis locale of UK audience, India has www.google.co.in, and many other regional Google sites serve their purpose.
VisitorPerception.Linking the domain to the personal experience of web users increases the search engine optimization of the website. There is always that 'something' that connects the domain to the emotion of the website. Take www.facebook.comfor instance. When a person hears or reads www.facebook.comhis or her personal intimacy and desire to stay close with people is triggered. The web user visualizes the 'face' of another person after hearing or reading the domain.