A Simplistic Approach to Choosing a Domain Name for your Business

A Simplistic Approach to Choosing a Domain Name for your Business

Choosing a domain name for your website is not the same as deciding on your business name. At times it is quite simple to decide on a business, especially when you are hooked to an idea manifested in a word or phrase and when you want to use your name, initials, family name or the names of the founders to name the company. A domain doesn’t have to be named after the business, although that is the widespread practice. Given the overdependence on search engine optimization, choosing a domain name is more about strategy than just using your business name.
Let us begin with a caveat. You should always use your business name as the domain name if more people recognize you by the official name than searching with generic but relevant keywords online. If you are relying on organic and inorganic traffic from search engines, social media and online ads then you should opt for an optimized domain name that will give you an edge. Should you be relying on people searching online using your business name or if your business name has some traction already, then you should use that as your domain name.
Imagine a plumbing business. Consider the owner to be Paul Thomson. The business name could be Thomson Plumbing, Thomson and Associations, PT Plumbing or any derivative of the name. There can be some word symbolizing the most treasured attribute of the company. The company could be Reliance Plumbing if Paul Thomson wants to highlight reliability or trustworthiness. It could be Green Plumbing if Paul Thomson wants to highlight eco friendly plumbing fixtures. It could be Century Plumbing if Paul Thomson wants to highlight durability of the fixtures that they would last a lifetime or longer.
Accordingly, the domain name can be anything from ptplumbing.com to relianceplumbing.biz, greenplumbing.net to centuryplumbing.us. But if Paul Thomson wants to opt for an optimized domain name, which is already search engine friendly by the virtue of its choice of words or phrase, then there are other options. If the company is based in New York then the domain name could be newyorkplumbing.us or newyorkplumbers.com. It could be plumbersinnewyork.net or plumbersny.biz. There are many variations of these words that are essentially keywords, being widely used by consumers including homeowners and commercial property owners. The domain name is naturally optimized in these cases and that will always facilitate a better ranking on search engine result pages.