Domain names are exactly like the name of a brick and mortar shop. It represents your website and gives visitors an immediate idea on what your website is about. In addition, Domain names also affect your website search ranking in Google (SEO), brand and Internet marketing. Thus it is crucial to choose a domain name that works for your website. Here, we are glad to have 6 website owners who share their valuable tips on how you can choose and own a powerful and influential domain name
1. The Power of Keywords
Japhanie Chay, Blogger, sgmumblogger.com
I’ve been a blogger since 14 years old (from a student to a mum). Based in Singapore, I know one of the most common searches is, “I read a review from a sg mum blog/post”. In fact, most Singaporean parents do search and read the blog and reviews written by other parents too!
As a co-founder of a creative design agency and a digital mum, I’d like to share that the keywords used in a URL also contribute as a search engine ranking factor. This can also help to improve your site’s search visibility too! So this is how my domain name came about — something strongly related to the nature of my blog posts and target readers.
2. Avoid Numbers and Hyphens
Lau Wee Kiat, Owner, eFusion Technology
When choosing my domain name, I avoid hyphens, weird spelling, and don’t end with a Z (it is not cool actually). Numbers and hyphens are easily misunderstood. People who hear your website name does not know whether the number is numeral or have to be spelled out; they can misplace the hyphens or even forget to place it there.
Another suggestion that I would like to share is, do not go for “XXX.sg” only. Most people are still used to typing “XXX.com.sg”. You can buy both (xxx.sg and xxx.com.sg) and do a URL redirect. Don’t be stingy and buy “XXX.sg” only.
3. Look for Synonyms or Names That With Related Meaning
Jeremy King, Owner, jeremyking
When I signed up for this website, I did not foresee myself featuring what I’m featuring now, which is my portfolio. It could have been a blog or a CV but it ended up like this. So I would like Generalism inspired me in some sort of ways.
Sometimes the easiest way to decide a domain name is to look at the name on your own identity card. If the desired domain name is taken, be humble enough to jumble the words. Or you can try look up for synonyms or related meaning of the origin name that you came out with.
4. Your Domain Name Attract Visitors Attentions
Mark Javed, Owner, RED PANDA
Choosing the right domain name can be crucial. A right domain name is when the brand name & brand services are shown in a couple words. A good tip is to come out with brandable SEO friendly names which are not too long (preferably 1 or 2 words). Nowadays, it’s difficult to find a great domain name but when brandable meets SEO, yes, it’s easy.
If you ask me about my domain redpanda.com.my. Being brandable yet marketing friendly was my thing, which eventually worked out quite well. People smile and ask me WHY RED PANDA, that’s exactly what I wanted. “Red” represents my favorite colour, which catches attention and “Panda” represents our team. It helps a lot in marketing as it gets immediate attention. That’s the inspiration in a nutshell.
5. Keep Your Location In Mind
Lua Cheong Rui, Owner, SGshop
SGshop is an e-commerce business originated from Singapore, started on a mission to help users to ‘Shop Global’, which abbreviated into “SG”, and “shop” is to tell people that they can buy things here, hence the domain name – SGshop.
When we expanded to the Malaysia market, our mission to help users to ‘Shop Global’ did not change. Thus we decided to continue using the domain name, but with .my domain extension. By using .my country code domain extension, we could improve our website search ranking on Google Malaysia.
Bonus tips:
6. Creative and Innovative
Try to create your own name by combining two words together, or be creative and come out with words that is not in the dictionary (Note: it’s fine even if the words are meaningless). For Example, Elon Masks purchase X.com for an undisclosed amount, and he also named his company boringcompany.com. Facebook purchased FB.com for 8.5 million dollars. Using these creative or innovative names for your website can impress audience and make people remember it easily.
Domain name is the first thing your potential customers or visitors see, and you only have a few seconds to make a great impression. Also, make sure that you make it easy for your audience as you want them to find it without trouble. Spend necessary time and gather as much ideas as possible to create a winning domain name that can build your business in the long term.
Here are the 6 tips on how to choose brandable domain from our existing customers, use this as a guidance next time when you are planning to get a new domain.
