Your personal domain name is more important than what you believe it to be. For starters, it clues your visitors about what the site is about. It also has a pivotal role to play in laying the structure of your blog. In this blog we will learn about what is a domain and the importance of domain names in a business.
What is a Domain?
A domain name is your identity. Its like a website’s fingerprint that is totally unique and the sole way to access a site directly. Much like a home address or a phone number, it’s the essential component of your website, a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols that no other site can use.
Rather than relying on lengthy strings of letters and numbers (known as IP addresses), these names simplify the process of exploring the internet and quickly accessing specific websites. Not to mention, these names possess economic value and can be purchased, exchanged, or sold in multiple online venues.
So, in other words, investing in a quality and right domain name is definitely worth it due to its limited availability.
Types of Domain Names
There are different types of domain name extension to choose from that is ideal for your business.
Top-Level Domains (TLD)
Top level domain, also known as an extension, is the suffix of a web address. For example, in “www.google.com,” com extension is considered as TLD. Now, three other categories fall under this:
Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs)
These types of TLDs caters to a larger audience and are very much favored by business as they hold a lot of value in the online market. Some examples are “.com,” “.gov,” “.edu,” “.org,” “.int,” “.net,” and “.mil.” These extensions are not country-specific, but they give an idea about what the website is related to.
Consider Country Code TLD (ccTLD)
ccTLD, also known as Country Code Top-Level Domain name, helps your business to be seen by users locally, which will lead to the narrowing of your customers to a smaller region. This means that you can target your customers in a better way by concentrating your business on a specific geolocation. Examples are “.us,” “.ca,” “.in,” “.uk,” “.au,” “.ru,” etc.
Sponsored Top Level Domain (sTLD)
These are used mainly by specific organizations, universities, or government entities. Just like gTLD, these also provide details about a site and what industry they belong to. These extensions help users find information easily over the web.
Examples of sTLD are “.museum, given to websites dedicated to the museum,” “.mobi, for those providing mobile products or services and sponsored by dotMobi,” “.museum, sponsored by Museum Domain Management, given to websites dedicated to the museum.”
Premium Domain Name
Premium ones are slightly more valuable and higher in quality than the standard domains, which are bought and sold by investors to make a profit. These are short and simple to read and drive more traffic to your website. These names are considered premium due to their brand name, length, and keywords used. Since these are pricey, not many people buy them, but if you do, you can surely succeed in the long run.
How Do You Decide On a Domain Name?
Choosing a domain name that fits your business and is based on its potential to branch out and expand into other niches in the future. If you make it too specific, for instance, domain name like “mumshealth.com,” there is a high chance of you putting a cap on the search volume.
Eventually, you might just run out of areas to talk about that deal specifically with mothers’ health. Instead, it is wiser to come up with a name that has more scope, something like womenandhealth.com.
You can easily expand upon the site and talk about mothers’ health as well as something that caters to working women, homemakers, and the like.
In case you are still wondering how this is crucial for your site, the simple answer is GROWTH! It is like a snowball effect. The more areas you have to talk about, the more you can grow and build the authority of your site.
You start gaining the search engine’s favor and improve your search engine rank for everything that is remotely associated with your site only because Google trusts your site more than any other site. So, keep this in mind when you’re planning and growing niches.
Significance of a Domain Name for Your Business:
Having a good domain name provides the following benefits:
Builds authority and trust in your business:
A custom name gives your business or brand an air of professionalism that can’t be matched by generic, free web-hosting URLs. With your own unique name, like www.yourcompany.com, you can instill confidence in your customers and show them that you mean business.
Provides Brand Visibility:
An ideal domain name is something like a shop window, displaying your brand and luring customers in. It’s a brilliant way for internet users to find your website and get your brand noticed.
Provides Mobility for Your Internet Presence:
Owning your own domain name provides mobility for your internet presence. If you ever choose to switch hosting services, move to another country, or even host on your own virtual or bare metal server, your name remains the same. This enables to keep building a business without having to start from scratch.
Improves Your Marketing and Visibility:
Having a name that is branded, short, and easy to remember can take your marketing and visibility to the next level! With a memorable name, users and search engines will have an easy time finding you, leading to increased reputation and natural traffic to your website, all without any recurring costs.
Search Engine Optimization Ranking:
If you get a name that matches your target keyword you’ll get an edge. But even more crucial is the bendability of your domain – the power of your brand cannot be underestimated. Your name is how customers will share, recall, search for, and connect to your online business. In search engines and on social media, the name is the main way people identify and know where the links are taking them.
Custom domain name for emails:
Having a custom name opens up the opportunity to create a custom email address that reflects your professional brand. Instead of using a generic email address like Gmail or Yahoo, why not show off your business’s identity with something like “info@businessname”? This not only gives you a much more polished, professional look but also builds trust with potential customers, demonstrating that you are a serious, dedicated and legitimate business.
Where Do You Buy Domain Names From?
There are several sites from which you can buy a domain name. These are:
GoDaddy: GoDaddy is one of the largest and most trusted platforms to get a domain name. It has several web hosting plans and types to choose from, making it perfect for beginners.
DreamHost: DreamHost is a reliable platform that offers reliable hosting services at affordable rates. It is one of the best options for those looking for fast performance and adaption on their websites.
BlueHost: If you want a web hosting provider offering multiple features, BlueHost is the best option. Their wide range of features helps you seamlessly build your website, offering an excellent deal.
Namecheap: Namecheap might be the right choice if you have a limited budget for your first name. They register names at a much lower cost than their competitors. Also, they respect your privacy and will keep your data confidential.
You can follow the following steps for listing your name:
1. Brainstorm a catchy name and check its availability
2. Choose a reliable domain registrar
3. Pick an appropriate suffix
4. Buy and register the domain
5. Don’t forget to renew at the end of your term
Things to Keep in Mind Before Choosing A Host:
Now that your business name has been taken care of, you need a good host. InMotion, BlueHost, and WPXHosting are some of the names that you can consider. While opting for a particular host, you need to keep certain things in your mind.
Speed:
Check whether your host has a good page load speed. Google considers the time taken for your website to load as an extremely important criterion. Therefore, you need to choose a host that has excellent speed.
The audience does not have the patience to wait for 10 seconds for a web page to load. Therefore, your host must be able to provide you with maximum page load speed.
Location:
Go for a host that has its servers in different locations. This shall give you immense opportunity to choose from for the location of a website, which will eventually be responsible for increasing the speed.
Support:
You need a host that provides you with support round the clock in case of any emergency. Even if there is no emergency and you are an amateur who needs help with setting up the website, you need to be able to reach out to people who can help you out with your issue.
Additional Details to Check:
Check if they provide their services at the best price in the market and also see whether they provide your site with SSL certificates, a factor that works tremendously well with Google.
Connect Your Domain and Host:
Now that you have registered your perfect domain name and have a host at your disposal, you need to connect the two so that when someone searches for your domain, they are directed to your website.
The process is usually simple. From whichever site you buy it, you’ll see simple steps that shall teach you how to go about the process.
It usually takes a day for the entire procedure to be completed, and your website shall go live in a day.
So. you will have to wait until then to get started with your online presence.
The Bit About a WordPress Website:
WordPress has made content management and website optimization easier than ever. You can choose from a host of themes and plugins that are available for free.
Your host could also provide several advantages that you could reap from WordPress. An account with WPXHosting, for instance, means that you are entitled to malware protection, backups, and others.
When it comes to very competitive niches like casino and gambling SEO, you need every advantage that you can get. Here, malware protection becomes even more important as there are some very competitive webmasters out there who want to outrank you at all costs.
Conclusion
Not many people harp on the role domain names have in the growth and expansion of existing business. This is pretty negligent behavior, especially on the part of the ones imparting knowledge about search engine optimization. Authority SEO content can get you far, but a strong domain is like attaching your content to a rocket ship.
The era of digital marketing has changes significantly. So, you should take your time when selecting the perfect name for your business project. Choose a name that is easy to type and remember, and that allows you to expand into other niches so that you can scale up your website.
Remember to see it as a long-term business strategy. After all, it’s like getting a tattoo where you want it to be just right, as it’s meant to be with you for the long haul. Sure, you can change it, but that would require effort and cost more resources.
FAQ
Can someone else own my domain name?
Once you have registered, you are the only person with access to it as long as you keep renewing it and maintaining ownership. As long as you continue to pay the costs and keep the contract’s data up to date, you retain the rights to use that company name for a certain period.
Who is called a domain registrant?
A company or person who registers a domain name with a domain registrar is known as a domain registrant. The person who registered is the rightful domain name owner and has the sole authority to use it.
Who is a domain registrar?
A company that handles the domain name registration on the Internet is known as a domain registrar. They hold accreditation from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the DNS and allocates the names to certain IP addresses.
