Things to remember

A domain name is also your online identity, it can say a lot about you or your business. Here are our tips and tricks to choosing wisely:

Easy to communicate

How easily can your domain name be communicated? Something random like nuwayz.co.uk for an online clothing store might appear catchy on the surface, however people may hear it, read it and type it incorrectly.

Remember also that numbers and abbreviations may be confusing: 4/four and U/you - would your potential visitors find you?

Specific industries & niche markets

If your website is focused on a specific or niche area, it's a good idea to give extra consideration to including the keyword somewhere in your domain name. For example, a tyre shop called 'Turbo' - should think about using turbotyres.co.uk.

Target locations

If your target market is local, consider adding your town name, e.g. turbotyreskent.co.uk as this may help local customers find your website quicker on search engines.

The long and short of it

The longest domain name you can register is 63 characters long... try and keep your domain name as short and straight to the point as possible.

Keyword relevance

The advantage of having an obvious domain name that is relevant to your website's topic, is that it may help people find your website through keyword searches on Google and other search engines. Think of the keywords that best describe your website content, business or products - how would you search for your website?

For example: nuwayzclothing.co.uk is more likely to appear in searches for clothing stores, than just nuwayz.co.uk.

Memorability

Choosing a domain that is fairly intuitive will also help people remember your website. Now what's the name of that website that sells last minute holidays again?

Symb%ls & punctuation!

The domain naming system does not allow symbols and punctuation within the part of the domain name that comes before the .com or other extensions - apart from a hyphen.

Did you know the most common length of new domain registrations is 9-10 characters? This trend has remained constant over recent years. (Source: Verisign 2002 - 2011 figures)