Choosing the right domain name is pretty tricky. In fact, it is almost impossible to choose the perfect domain name, unless you get lucky of course. That being said, on this page, I am going to share with you a few tips which should hopefully point you in the right direction:

• If you already have a company, opt for your company name as your domain name. Seems obvious, right? Unless you have a very general name for your company, it is unlikely that the domain name will have been taken. If it has, you can always add the location of your company to the end of it, just the place name. It is unlikely that will have been taken. Generally speaking though, the latter part is not a route that you are going to want to go down if you serve more than your local area, just to ensure that you do not confuse people too much.
• If you do not have a company name in place already, the world is your oyster when it comes to choosing the right domain name. You have a couple of options at your disposal. Most people will go down the route of choosing a particular keyword for their domain name i.e. if you offer tools you may choose EssexWebsiteDesignerDude.com this is, obviously, only going to be good for those who are operating within a local area in this case Essex. You would not want to do that if you are serving the entire country, or even operating on an international basis. That being said, if you wish to rank highly in the local searches for your particular keyword, this is a terrific route to go down as you reduce the competition by reducing the catchment area. If you are struggling to come up with a good name, try to think about something not quite so specific. Come up with a ‘brand name’. Yes, it is going to take you a while to build up that brand name but, in the long run, and if you work hard on developing a brand, you will make a whole lot more sales.
• What about the suffix e.g. .com or .co.uk? Well, what you choose should be based around the location that your company is targeting, or the way in which you are operating. If you are only going to be selling to clients in the United Kingdom, you generally do not need anything more than a .co.uk. This is the domain you should be developing. You should always purchase the .com ‘just in case’, but your main focus should always be on the .co.uk. If you are targeting international sales, you are going to want to develop the .com.
• Never choose a domain name which is similar to a large company, even if it is a couple of letters off. If people have the ability to make a mistake between your company and another company, you will be opening yourself up to legal action, and that is, most likely, not something that you are going to be dealing with.

Remember, choosing the perfect domain name is not going to be easy. It may take you days, weeks, or even months to find one. However, once you do, you will find that it is far easier to develop your website.

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