You had a great name for a business, it really clicked and everyone around you thought it was a winner. However, as soon as you typed the name into the domain service to register it, you found the same name was already owned in five different forms, and the current owners really had no interest in selling the domain. So, how do you go about selecting and securing a good domain name for online business activities, which are more important than ever?
Go back to marketing basics
Thinking up a good name is not done in a locked room in isolation. Your domain name is like your business name, it needs to be unique but easy to remember, functional but also creative, and it needs to represent you in your market. So, take a step back and think about what really resonates in your industry. What are people looking for and what do they associate as names with solutions? There are some really good possibilities out there if you start to use tools that already tell you what people want.
For example, if you know consumers and businesses regularly look for certain topics, items, products, or terms in your industry, Google Analytics and similar search engine tools are really handy in telling you what terms matter the most. Search terms are probably the most objective, real indicators of demand in the digital world. So, if you can think of a good business name, start with terms that people want on a regular basis anyway. Focus on the mobile searches if possible as those are the terms that make up the majority of searches now (up to 60% annually).
Get creative
So, once you have the terms that people look with the most, half the battle is done. Now you just need to get a bit creative with the terms and come up with something unique and catching that also works with a .online address tacked on the end of it. Using a .online domain is a smart idea because there are more available domains you could potentially own than .com domains.
Let’s take a look at an example. Let’s say your business is about selling the best stainless steel professional cookware. Most of your clients, obviously, are going to be restaurants, hotels, cafeterias and caterers. So, start with what kinds of terms these folks are looking for. We’ll say, for sake of argument, Google comes back with “stainless steel cooking”, “quality steel pans”, and “high-quality cookware” as the top, most used terms over the last years based on frequency.
Now, it’s time to take that information and tweak it to come up with your business name that works and is memorable. Here are some quick examples:
- SteelCooking.online
- StainlessCookware.online
- SheerStainless.online
- SteelCooking.online
See? It’s not that hard and the names already incorporate the very terms that people are looking for. You could even play with the spelling, using incorrect versions of the words to come up with even better, tricky names. Still need help? Use a domain name generator and see what you get.
Get the name owned under your registration ASAP
Even if you’re not sure about a name that works, get it registered under your name as quickly as possible. You’re not the only business out there trying to come up with a new, catchy name and domain. Just about every day, thousands upon thousands of names are registered, many by domain parking businesses who in turn want to then sell the name to a business like your own for a profit, at your expense.
The best way to know for sure if you got a possibility is to check the name under whois.domaintools.com. Enter your domain idea and check if it is available or if it is already taken. If it’s already taken, there might still be a chance you can claim it as your own if the current owner is willing to sell it. It might be worth it to pay a little more for a really good domain that matches your business perfectly.
Keep at it
Even if your first creation turns out to be lost to someone else already, don’t give up. Some of the best names happen naturally through processes, habits of nature, building up followings and audiences with special language and unique names and similar. All of these areas can also generate really good business names that resonate with your customers and consumers similar to them as well. Just don’t quit if you run into a failure or frustration at first. A good domain name takes a bit of effort to produce, and it’s worth the push to make it happen.