Branded domain names have the power to change the way online customers and search engines perceive the nature of your business. Frankly, the importance of having a branded domain name cannot be emphasized enough. If you select a brand domain name simply because it happens to cost less, your business might come across as unprofessional and amateurish.
The reason why companies spend hours brainstorming hundreds of domain names is that a branded domain can give your business a distinct competitive edge. A brilliant domain name helps shape up the personality of your company and defines business outreach. Very often, it helps to decide the profile of your target customers.
Customers identify with your product or service through your domain name. All the standard benefits of choosing a good brand name apply when selecting a domain name on the Internet. It’s a good idea to tie up the brand name with your website domain as this will help clients know where to find you again.
Branded domain names used to be a premium at one time. They were expensive and high-end corporations were about the only ones who could afford them. Fortunately, the scenario is quite different now. You can choose from a decent set of branded domain names without burning a hole in your pocket. Remember, a brand name has a long-term relationship with your business (very often it’s a permanent one), so take your time selecting the right one.
Here are a few tips to select a branded domain name for your business:
The Alphabetic Order
Most prominent directories like Yahoo! will pull up your website depending on the starting alphabet of your brand name. For example, ‘Acme Pet Shop’ will get priority over ‘Yelp Pet Store’ and ‘Bella Fashion’ will score over ‘Zebra Style’.
Keep it Short and Simple
It becomes irritating for customers to have to remember complex brand names. The profile of online clients varies from offline customers in that online shoppers tend to have very short attention spans. A longish and complicated brand domain will tend to put off customers simply because they simply cannot remember your company name to begin with. Avoid embedding dots, numbers and too many extraneous characters.
If you absolutely must use a brand name with letters and numbers in it, ensure that customers get directed to your website even if they type in the original business name. The idea is to make the process as easy as possible for clients to find you. Excess punctuation has a habit of causing a lot of confusion when customers perform a search. It’s best to keep them to a minimum or better still, to avoid them altogether.
Make the Domain Name a Variant of Your Business Name
It’s better to keep the domain name as close to your original business brand name as possible. This helps maintain customers connect to the name they’re already familiar with. If possible, opt for a personalized domain extension. For example, ‘.au’ or ‘.org’ will tend to create a more lasting impact than simply ‘.com.’ Specialized extensions typically cost a little more but they are worth it.
