Every Tuesday, the Volusion team will be posting quick educational videos to help you further succeed online. Today’s episode teaches you how to choose a domain name.
If it isn’t your favorite day of the week yet, we’re hoping the tide is turning towards Tuesday. Today’s episode in our weekly series is intended to help you choose the best domain name for your online business. There’s more to it than you think, so pay attention! This is one decision you don’t want to take lightly.
.
And here’s the written transcript if you like something on paper:
Hi everybody, my name is Matt and I’m a Marketing Associate here at Volusion. Welcome to Two Minute Tuesdays, where we give you two minutes of ecommerce advice to bolster your online success.
Today we’re going to help you find out how to choose the perfect domain for your new online business.
First and foremost, always remember that short and sweet is best. If you have a domain name that is something like www.myawesomeproductissoawesomethatitwillblowyourmindbecauseofthisthisandthat.com, no one’s going to remember it and no one’s going to care. So keep it simple, keep it sweet, and you’ll get more traffic coming to your site.
Next up, pay attention to punctuation. You may need dashes or underscores; but more often than not, you don’t want to. That’s a tricky maneuver for people to type in, and they usually don’t think that punctuation will be in your domain. Thus, try at all costs to avoid any type of weird punctuation within that domain name.
Next up, take the opportunity to define and brand your business. Your domain name is critical because it can help you 1) define what you do, 2) offer your unique selling proposition and 3) help people remember where to go. The idea here is to get people to type in your domain directly. That way they’re not looking for you in search engines where they can find competitors. So make it memorable and define your business through that domain name.
Next up, make a list of favorites. There are millions and millions of websites out there. Of course, that means that there are millions and millions of domain names taken, too. So you might think of the best domain for your business, but there’s also the possibility that it’s already gone. So make a list of about 3-5 that you’re more than comfortable with for your new business and figure out which one is best and available.
Finally, decide on the length of terms. Whenever you go and buy a domain name, whether it’s through your ecommerce provider or a domain/hosting provider, there’s a way for you to decide if you want it for one year, two years, or even 10-20 years. So decide on the price and you can even save some money by “buying in bulk.” Ultimately it depends on what your budget is and how long you’ll think you’ll have your website up.
Hopefully that was helpful in helping you decide the perfect domain name for your business. As always, if you have any questions about selling online, let us know. We’re happy to help!
So from me to you, happy selling!
Informative, simple, concise. Good job Matt – I am new to the e-commerce world and your 2 Minute Tuesdays are very helpful, keep up the good work!