In 2016, a business without a website practically doesn’t exist. You don’t have to take our word for it. Just ask the average shopper how he or she came upon finding his or her favourite store. Saying that the internet is a popular source of information is both obvious and an understatement. So, if you’re not promoting your business online, there’s no question that you’re missing out on a huge part of the marketplace.
If you haven’t yet established a website for your company, there is an all-important first step that must be taken. And that’s settling on a domain name. It might not be as easy a process as you may think. The obvious choice would be to go with your business name. But what if your business name is a long one? It’s best to go short and sweet when coming up with a website that you want people to remember.
Here are four tips for choosing the right domain name:
1. Make it easy to type. One easy way to ensure that your domain name is easy to type is that it will be easy to say. If it includes numbers or odd characters, it won’t be as easy to remember. Do your best to stay away from hyphens and incorrect spellings. When you say the name of your website, people should know how to type it in. At the very least, it should be easy for you to spell out for them without confusion.
2. Keep it short. If the name of your business is “John’s Dairy Farm & Milking Station”, it would probably be a good idea to select a domain name that doesn’t include every single word. JohnsDairy.com is a good example. The simpler you make things for customers, the more often they’ll be able to locate your business online. While our business is technically registered as “MeloTel Business Phone Company”, we clearly felt MeloTel.com was the right choice for our domain name.
3. Target your local area if necessary. If your business specifically caters to the residents in the city where it is located, it may be wise to include the name of the area in the domain name. For example, TorontoCakes.com may be an ideal domain name for a start up bakery in the nation’s largest city. Including the name of your city in your domain name can often make it easy for locals to locate and remember your brand.
4. Research the name first. You never know. Your choice for domain name may already exist. You may want to go ahead and do a few Google searches before you’ve settled on the domain name you wish to register. Lucky for you, MeloTel makes it super easy to find out if your domain name is taken or not. Simply go to the MeloTel Customer Portal and type the domain name of your choice in the box provided.
Select the “search” button and you’ll know within seconds if the domain name is available or not. If it’s available, you will be given a list of domain name options (for example, you can choose between getting a .com or .ca). You will also get pricing for each domain name. They range from $9.99 to $39.99. Domain name suggestions may not always be available. Availability is checked in real-time at the point of adding to the cart.
To learn more about MeloTel’s Domain, Email & Web Hosting or if you have any questions about how MeloTel can help you to get the domain name of your choice, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 1-888-MELOTEL or use the “Live Chat Support” feature on our website!