Is your site’s domain name important? To short answer is – yes. Here is the long one.
The domain should follow some rule in order to be easily recognisable for search engines, as well as target groups.
1. The name
The domain name should correspond to the name of your product/service/person or at least describe your main activity.
Example 1.1.
Evinat Web Development Company. If www.evinat.com (*.bg, *.eu, *.net) was taken, the domain of the company could have been www.evinat-web-development.com (*.bg, *.eu, *.net). So you either focus on the name, or the activity or both.
2. The extension
The extension (*.com, *.bg, *.eu, *.net) should correspond to the region of your company or type of activity.
Example 2.1.
If your business operates only on the UK market, the extension should not be associated with another country.
co.uk – United Kingdom
.de – Germany
.fr – France
.us – USA
.me – Montenegro
.eu – Europe
If you own a hotel in London, your domain name should not be www.nice-hotel.de. This would associate the location of your hotel with Germany and not with UK. The domain should be something like www.nice-hotel.co.uk or www.nice-hotel.com.
Example 2.2.
You have a company which sells interior paints. You should not use a domain like www.interior-paints.org. The extension *.org is shortened for organisation and is usually used by non-profit organisations. You can choose something commercial like www.interior-paints.com.
Other possible commercial extensions: *.net, *.biz, *.design
Exception: You can use domain extension unlinked with your geographical location or sphere of operation, when this is your marketing strategy.
Example 2.3.
If you are a company which offers polygraph services, your domain name could be something like www.lieto.me. (Lie To Me)
3. Users
You should choose a domain name that your target group comprehends, likes and accepts. If your main target group is people of old age, you should skip words like “Wazzaa” or “S’up” (What’s up). You should also use words they are familiar with and avoid using newly invented words.
4. Search engines
The competition among web sites for ranking on search engines has become extremely high. If you want to be found by a specific word, including it in the domain could help your chances of ranking higher.
Example 4.1.
Your company called “Howdy” sells watches online. You are thinking of a domain name. The domain www.howdy.net is available. But if your domain is www.howdy-watches.net is could help you rank better when people are searching for the word “watches”, since you have it in your domain name.
These are the basic principles to follow when choosing a domain name. There are of coarse others. To summarise – when choosing a domain name thing about your target group and how it will appeal to them. Also think about the search engines and how they will rank you.
Have in mind that a lot of companies buy appealing domains and resell them at much higher prices. Still there are companies that buy them, because they want a good domain name.