There’s an array of marketing tools available for your business. You can print custom postcards, use social media, give out business cards, or run commercials on TV. To grow your business as much as possible, it’s essential that you make use of multiple marketing tools and use them to the best of your ability.
One marketing tool that is often overlooked is your domain name. Your domain name is the web address people type in to find your website online. Too many businesses treat their domain name as an afterthought, rather than as an important part of their marketing strategy. Below are just a few ways your website’s domain acts as a marketing tool, along with some information on how you can choose the best domain name for your business.
How to Choose a Domain Name
Before we cover the benefits of a good domain name, we should discuss how you find one. There are a few things you should have in mind when trying to pick out a good domain name.
First, keep it simple. Domain names work best when they are short and closely related to your business. It can sometimes be hard to find short domain names that are available because so many of them have been claimed already. Your best option may be to choose a domain name that is the exact same as your business name, but this isn’t always possible. However, it’s typically possible to buy cheap domain names that are closely related to your business, as long as you can put the time and effort to find them.
Next, if your domain name isn’t the same as your business name, make sure the domain name you choose is related to your niche. If you have a business that sells beauty products, you don’t want a domain name like “TheBestProducts.com”. This will give people a better sense of what you sell and help them to remember it better.
Domain name extensions are another important part of your domain name selection. There are now dozens of extensions available for your domain name, but they are not all created equal. For the most professional domain name, you’ll want to go with either “.com”, “.co”, “.org” or “.biz”. However, a case can sometimes be made for extensions like “.beauty” or “.agency”, depending on your type of business. When picking a domain name extension, try to choose something common and easy to remember, whenever possible.
What domain name you ultimately go with will depend on a lot of factors. You may need to search around for a while and try different things before you find something that works. The best thing you can do is come up with a list of ideas, including variations of your business name and keywords, then start plugging them into a domain registrar. Write down the ones that are available, with different extensions, and then decide which one you like best.
Brand Reinforcement
The first way your domain name acts as a marketing tool is by reinforcing your brand. Your business’s brand image is an important part of marketing. By shaping how your audience views you, you can better appeal to them and draw more people in. For example, some businesses may want a brand image that is quirky and fun, while others will want one that is professional and knowledgeable. By choosing a domain name that goes along with the brand image you are after, you have another source for reinforcement, which will work together with your other tools.
For more information on how to reinforce your brand, you can check out this guide.
Goes on All Marketing Materials
Your domain name is likely to go on all of your marketing materials as well. There’s no point in having a website if you are not going to promote it whenever you can. This means you’ll be including your domain name in your emails, on your social media channels, and on your print ads.
Every aspect of these marketing materials is important, with each one playing an important role in the overall effectiveness. If you spend a lot of time crafting the perfect marketing message, but then have a domain name that is unsuitable for your business, it will lessen the impact of your message.
Adds Credibility
A good domain name also helps a business to build credibility. When people are browsing the web, they want to visit websites they can trust. If your website looks unprofessional, they are less likely to visit it. For example, the domain name extension “.com” looks a lot more professional than the extension “.website”. Building credibility is especially important for new businesses, as you don’t have a track record to rely on yet. You need to come off as professional as possible, and your domain name is just one small but important way to do this.
Helps with SEO
Finally, your domain name plays a role in how well you do within search engine rankings. Having your website appear as high as possible within search results is a common and important goal for many businesses. There are many factors that search engines like Google look at to determine the order of the search results.
A website’s domain name is not typically one of the factors that are considered. However, they do consider how many people click through to a website. If your website appears often in search engines but rarely gets clicked on, it will start to drop in the rankings. By having a more accurate and professional domain name, you’ll ensure that more people click through to your site. This in turn will help your search engine rankings and then drive even more traffic.
Don’t Overlook Your Domain Name
When building your website, don’t let your domain name be something you move past quickly. Your domain name is an important part of your business’s brand and marketing strategy, and changing it later can be a hassle. Take the time now to find something that will help you grow your brand and bring customers in.
