IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities. Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies & family owned businesses. The following blog article has been provided by Grant Polachek of Squad Help (www.squadhelp.com):
The Three Easiest Paths to Choosing a Powerful Domain Name for Your New Venture
As more individuals use the internet in their daily lives, the link between the online and physical worlds has gotten stronger. And, considering that the majority of customers now conduct most of their business online, it only makes sense for firms to have an online location for customers on the internet to access them.
As a startup business, your development strategy must include a well-thought-out plan for developing a strong internet presence.
And, because your website and domain name function as your online store and location, having an attractive website and an effective domain name will help you build a solid online reputation.
Your company’s online strategy should prioritize selecting a memorable domain name that will increase the usability of your website and stick in the minds of your visitors.
A domain name that contains irrelevant symbols, excessive numbers, or is longer than 20 characters is unsuitable since it will make it more difficult for clients to access your company’s website, failing its primary objective.
We’ve provided some useful suggestions to help you find the best domain name for whatever company name you choose for your firm, whether by brainstorming or using a random domain name generator to get great company names.
Three Simple Steps to Selecting an Excellent Domain Name
1. Check If it Allows Branding
The best domain names for your venture are those that promote additional branding initiatives by clearly linking to your company’s name and brand. EMDs (exact-match domains) are powerful domain names derived from corporate brand names.
Using an exact-match domain improves your website’s impact and value in the online space. Customers will be able to locate your firm online simply by knowing your business name and this is one great advantage of using brandable domain names.
Furthermore, they provide a strong framework for future online branding activities like newsletters and advertising campaigns.
2. Ensure it’s Brief and Captivating
When choosing a web address for your company, go with short, memorable ones, as they helps clients memorize, remember, and use your domain name with ease.
However, because the majority of these URLs have already been acquired, short domain names, like those with 3-5 characters, are extremely difficult to get. When they eventually become listed on domain exchanges, they are extremely costly and usually above the financial reach of a young business.
As an alternate solution, try looking for an abbreviation or shortened version of your brand name and getting it as your domain name.
3. Confirm if it has a TLD (top-level domain) Extension
According to the Domain Name Association, approximately 1500 new domain extensions are currently operational and usable, representing a 145% growth over previous years. There are several domain extensions available to you. However, you have to be careful when choosing one for your business’s domain.
Despite the influx of new domains into the market, some of which are gradually gaining popularity, TLD extensions like ‘.com,’ ‘.net,’ or ‘.org’ remain the most well-known and frequently used in the market.
To make the most out of your domain name, prioritize familiarity when deciding which extension to use with your domain name. If you don’t utilize a TLD extension, users may go to a website whose domain ends in a TLD instead of yours, as they are more natural to customers.
Top-level domain extensions often refer to trustworthy, credible, and respected websites and online businesses. This is why we advise you to get one for your web address.
However, we are not implying that you must only use the extensions listed above. Most people have difficulty registering domain names with top-level extensions, either because they are already in use by another business or because they are too expensive.
If you are in one of these circumstances and cannot get a ‘.com’ domain for yourself, consider emerging TLD extensions such as ‘.io’ and ‘.co’ or country-code TLDs such as ‘.us’ and ‘.uk’ that are swiftly gaining popularity in the market.
Begin the Selection Process as Soon as Possible
Don’t wait any longer; the sooner you register a domain, the better. Now that we’ve shown you what you’d need to do, hurry up and register the ideal domain name for your company.
Start your search for a premium domain as soon as you can to benefit from it and secure it before others do. Many entrepreneurs have lost out on great domain names for their companies because they moved a little too slowly. Don’t let yourself become one of them.
If you have questions relating to the content of this article or the services provided by Squad Help, Grant Polachek would welcome the opportunity to talk with you. Mr. Polachek can be reached at (847) 847-2536 or gpolachek@squadhelp.com.
IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, and real estate communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family owned businesses. IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation based on its long track record of successfully negotiating “win-win” business sale transactions in environments of full disclosure employing “best practices”.