How to Choose a Domain Name for Your Small Business

Your domain name is important

When you are creating a website for a new business, think carefully about the domain name for your website. It will represent your business in a unique way and it will become as important a branding consideration as your company name.

You want it to reflect your company, but there are several other considerations as well.

Decide on your top level domain.

This is the suffix at the end of your website address. Businesses should normally have a .com top level domain (TLD). But there are exceptions. Internet-based businesses, like web designers, may want a .net TLD. Not for-profit businesses and trade organizations may be best served by a .org TLD. And of course colleges and universities qualify for a .edu TLD.  Also consider that the Search Engine Institute recommends avoiding .info domain names claiming that they have a reputation for being spammy websites.

Start with your company name

Does it lend itself to a unique domain name for your website? Or does another business already have a domain name that matches your company name?

Consider including keywords

If your name includes keywords, so much the better. Jones Brothers Plumbing Co. might choose JonesPlumbing.com or JonesBrothersPlumbing.com. The keyword is likely to be slightly helpful in search rankings. You can also think about geographic keywords — like MorristownPlumbers.com. But don’t get carried away with something  like MorristownNewJerseyPlumbingAndHeating.com.

My 5 rules for a good domain name

I wrote about five rules for choosing a domain name more than ten years ago, and I’m happy to say they seem to have stood the test of time.

1. Easy to remember
2. Hard to misspell
3. Make it a .com TLD
4. Avoid hyphens
5. Shorter is better than longer.

Consider your domain name thoughtfully

Be sure not to make any of the 10 dumbest domain name decisions.

And finally, look at your domain name with a careful eye. Make sure you don’t choose an unfortunate domain name that can be easily or disastrously mis-read. I have a few surprisingly bad examples here.

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