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Having a website for your company or brand is essential, it’ll help you grow your business, But many make mistakes while registering a domain name unknowingly. Some simple mistakes can cost badly. So, in this article, I’m going to explain those mistakes and the things you should consider while registering a domain name.
When I wanted to register my first domain, I struggled to lot; I struggled to find the available domain names. This is the first problem you’ll face while registering. Already there are millions of websites, and finding a domain name that suits your brand is quite difficult.
It’s always good to choose brandable, and easy-to-remember names in the domain. It’ll help others to recognize your brand easily.
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Important Things to Consider While Registering a Domain Name
Check the Domain History
Once you pick the desired domain name, you should be aware of the fact that the domain name could be an expired one. An expired domain is a domain that was used before and was left to expire. There may be many reasons why the domain names are left to expire; the domain might be banned or blacklisted by Google, or the owner had no money/forgot to renew.
If you choose an expired domain name, you’re likely to face problems; your site might not get good SEO results. So always check before registering a domain name. There are tools like WaybackMachine to find the complete history of an expired domain.
Avoid Trademarked Names
Many people make silly mistakes here; they choose a trademarked name as their domain. For example; if you think picking a domain name that looks something like ‘Google-Blogger.com’ is cool, then you’re wrong. And you’ll definitely end up in trouble. Because ‘Google’ is a trademarked name, using trademarked names in your domain is strictly prohibited. So always check before registering a new domain.
There are some online tools to check whether the name is trademarked or not. Below I’ve listed some tools;
- Markify
- TMarque
- Name Check
Avoid Confusing names
I’ve seen many people using numbers, abbreviations, and hyphens in their domains. That’s a very big mistake they make; it not only looks terrible as a brand, but it’ll also confuse people. For example; if you choose the domain name ‘Apps4Pc.com’, the domain name can be confused with ‘AppsFourPc.com’. So always avoid these kinds of silly mistakes. Choose easy-to-remember keywords, and never choose long or difficult-to-spell words.
There are many domain name suggestion tools online, and you can use them to find good domain names. Below I’ve listed some tools;
- Name Tumbler
- Domain Suggestion Tool
- DomainsBot
Choose Top-Level domain extension
There are three top-level domain extensions on the web. Those are .com, .Net and .org. It is best to choose among these three for your business. I prefer the .com extension. Because I think Google usually gives a little more importance to the .com extension. Also, people are more familiar with the .com domain extension than the other two.
However, you can choose the .net and .org domain extensions. Usually, all the domains are priced around $10/year, which I think is affordable.
Also, there are country-level domains like; .in (India), .co.uk (England), etc. Only choose these domain extensions if you’re targeting a specific country audience.
Conclusion
These are the major things to consider while registering a domain name; Avoid making simple mistakes like trademark violations in your domain, and choose a simple, brandable domain name.