I’ve had more than several recent conversations with people who are starting a new business. Given the services that I provide, the topic of a website will inevitably be brought up.
It is pretty rare that I come across someone who has already registered a domain name.
More often than not, the response I get when asking if the person has already secured a domain name, is that “they’re not there yet”.
In the flow of starting a business, other considerations tend to take priority before getting to the website stage. The main task being the legal formation of the business entity, including registering business names and DBAs.
I think that is a big mistake and here’s why.
The Digital Phone Book
In a previous post, I recalled that many businesses in the Pre-Internet Age chose a name based on where it would organically appear in the phone book listing. Which was alphabetical. It’s easy to understand why Aardvarks and AAA became popular business names.
For businesses whose names did not start with an ‘A’, the only alternative for favorable placement was to purchase ad space. Some things really don’t change.
The printed version of The Yellow Pages have long faded into the sunset and joined the interwebs. But even the digital version of this legacy brand has struggled to compete and remain relevant in the land of Google.
The old business naming strategy, on the other hand, remains extremely useful. The goal is still, for customers to find you first.
The question is, how are they searching?
But perhaps more importantly, are you easy to find?
Word of Mouth Still Rules
Many small businesses are locally based. Meaning that the majority of their customers are coming from the local region. In these instances, referrals and word-of-mouth are the most effective marketing channels that convert to sales.
And those interactions happen person-to-person.
Note that the conversation doesn’t have to be in-person. In fact, it’s likely to happen on social media, via text messaging, email, or even a phone call. But again, it raises the questions,
How easy will it be for your customers to pass along the business name you’ve chosen?
And will they be able to find you online by that name?
AI, Not Aardvark
Adam Reimer of Search Engine Land says that he developed a ‘Say and Type’ test when it comes to choosing a domain name. The test determines how easy it is to pass along your business website’s domain name. He writes,
“…gather a random sample of 10 people, quickly mention the domain as if it were part of a conversation, and then ask them to write it down or spell it out loud. This will help you gauge how easily potential visitors can remember and input your domain.
If at least 7 out of 10 people can spell your domain correctly, it’s likely a good choice. If not, consider finding a different variation.“
If at least 7 out of 10 people can spell your domain correctly, it’s likely a good choice. If not, consider finding a different variation.
Here’s the whole point:
The success of a business’ marketing strategy can be determined by its domain name.
So base your business name on your registered domain name.
Many web hosting and business formation companies have realized the importance of this part of forming a business. So much so that they are offering free tools like Business Name Generators to help savvy entrepreneurs get a jump start on the competition.
And they are implementing AI to facilitate searches.
Here is a list with links to some of the more popular generators:
- WordPress.com
- GoDaddy.com
- Shopify.com
- Wix.com
- Dreamhost.com
- Hostinger.com
- ZenBusiness.com
- Hootsuite.com
Dot What?!
If you are one to recognize patterns, you may have pulled the common thread that connects all the companies listed above.
They end in .com
The consensus among SEO experts seems to be that domain extensions (or TLDs: Top Level Domains) don’t play any role in SERP rankings. But not everyone is convinced this is so.
And admittedly, the most common and popular extensions like .com, .org, or .net tend to be ingrained in people’s mind. So users will naturally conduct searches using these extensions.
Still, It’s not all hopeless despair if your legally registered business name is not available as a .com domain. There are options. But you’ll have to be more strategic and the choices are more limited.
Bottom line, you still want a .com extension.
What Should I Register First?
By now, if I’ve done a good job of outlining why, the answer to this question should be clear.
Registering a domain name is the smartest way to choose a business name.
I only wish I’d learned this earlier.
*No affiliate links are present in this article .
Photo by American Public Power Association on Unsplash