When I first launched my company the domain or url was 25 characters long. Your Twitter handle cannot be over 15 characters, but as you see my domain was rather lengthy. Which, if someone already knew of my business then that’s perfect for me, if not, there is added work on my end and the consumers.
Purchasing a domain may seem easy, but there are a couple of things you really need to know if you want to land the perfect url for your business dreams.
What’s Your Name
Hopefully, you have a unique business name. Not to rag on people who launched Luxe Extensions or Closet Envy Boutique, but those domain names have been snatched up. It is easier to purchase a url that has your company name in it, versus having a url that is completely different. There is no need to add words like shop or boutique to your domain name. You can create a sub domain like “shop.yourdomain.com” in your hosting. It is extremely important that the name of your business and your domain are spelled the same.
Availability
I have been using Go Daddy for six years with no hiccups. Yes, they have made several changes that made me look at them crazy, but they have great service, in my opinion. They are extremely helpful when I need assistance. You can simply go to GoDaddy.com and type in the domain name you want to choose. It will tell you if the domain is available. If so, you can purchase it right then and there. If you are wanting other options, you can try Domainr. It searches to see if someone already owns the domain name or not. In addition to, Lean Domain Search allows you to place several words together and provides you with options.
Alternative Options
In recent months, one thing I have been doing is buying several options to my domain name. Not just the .com or .net aspect, but also lengthwise and with variations of the spelling of the name. I don’t want to give anyone the chance to make money off of my company’s name.
Privacy Settings
Have you ever wondered why your email is saturated with spam from foreign countries or else where? I too, wondered why I kept receiving those consistently. To prevent the spam bots, SEO people, and others from crowding your inbox, take advantage of the privacy settings option that they have. Go Daddy only charges $7.99 for this.
Social Media Handles
You want to have the same domain name and social media handles. It’s great to have the domain name of your dreams, but the social media handles go hand in hand, too. It alleviates confusion on the consumer part by making sure they are the same. You can check all the major sites that you might utilize such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat. Those are good ones to checkout. You can easily search them by going on Namechk and it will do the work for you.
Also, if you don’t find your website at first while searching, someone might be selling it. I have met people who purchased their domain names back for $1500. That name meant the world to their business. There are also stories about how people paid millions for their domain rights.
It’s always cheaper to buy your domain name time wise in bulk versus one year at a time. Most people score their url for $9 or less for the first year, and then lo and behold at renewal time it cost $20. Buy your name for 3-5 years if you can afford to at that time.
