Choose your domain wisely
Your domain is the front window of your online identity, so it should clearly display your activity or business.
These are the key factors for domain selection:
Keep it simple
Your domain should be easy to share, via link, during a conversation or on social networks. Avoid difficult and fancy words: the name should be engaging but easy to digit/write, read and remember.
Domains such as bibbitarooo.it are difficult to remember and write and could reduce visits to your website.
Add relevants keyword
If you are entering a competitive market with a new brand name, it may be convenient to have a keyword in your domain name. es. Turbotyres.com
This way users can automatically associate your brand with your business.
Consider geography
Do you operate locally or your target user is a local? Add a city name to your domain.
This may help people when looking for such a business in your area.
Short and straight
You can use up to 63 characters but shorter names normally work better.
developers.com vs sviluppatoriapplicazioniweb.com.
Choose a category killer
If you are willing to expand your business quickly use a category killer domain such as documentary.com which now redirects to nationalgeographic.com
Memorability
An intuitive domain can help people memory and drive direct traffic to your website. What is the name of the website where you can book last minute holiday?
Symbols and punctuation
Be aware that not all characters are accepted but hyphens are ok.
money$money.com wrong
money.money.com wrong
money-money.com right
What to avoid?
Don’t register a domain name which is similar or the same of an existing brand.
Don’t register a domain name where the language and the extension don’t correspond.
The right extension for your domain
Which one should I choose?
Choose the most compatible extension with your business: for example non profit organisations should use a .org domain name, personal blogs should use .me, someone working in Italy should have a .it domain.
Geolocalization is very important nowadays and search engines tend to prefer .de websites if people are searching keywords from Germany for example.
Get a .com
.com is the most popular extension across the web. If you have the chance to register a good .com domain name don’t let it go!
You’ll get a great domain extension, a lot of direct traffic and your competitor won’t register it instead of you.
Protect and promote your brand
There are no restrictions on registrations. You can register as many domains with keyword related to your brand as you wish.
Then you can decide to divert traffic to you main website with redirects.
Start with the most relevant domain name and then add local extension such as .it or extension of other countries if you plan to expand abroad.
