One of the most misunderstood part of running a successful online business is the domain name and web hosting packages that will host that domain name. Why?
Because your domain name represents your business online, and it will stay with you for a long time while you are building your online presence. That means, you need to consider a domain name that is ideal in the long term.
Domain Name Options to Consider
There are three important aspects when considering to register your new domain name, and they are:
- Branding
- Keywords
- Branding and Keywords
Branding Within The Domain Name
I would recommend this over other options, because its much better in the long term as opposed to choosing to register domain name with keywords in it hoping to get quicker search engine rankings. For example: rankya.com can be thought of my efforts to brand the term RankYa which many of my followers easily recognize and can easily find me when they want to rank keywords using search engine optimization techniques
Keywords Within The Domain Name
You can choose to select a domain name with keywords within the domain name itself. For example: googlestructureddata.com contains keywords which assist in gaining higher Google rankings (for search terms that include Google, Structured Data and any other variations that can stem from these keywords) when the website is optimized using SEO Methods outlined in this free SEO Tutorials
Branding and Keywords Within The Domain Name
Another option to consider then would be to use a branding term that also contains keywords. For example: I could have easily registered a domain rankyaseo.com which would allow me to focus on branding as well as the keyword SEO
Which Option Should You Choose When Registering Domain Names?
There is no set answer really, because all of the options outlined above can be useful depending on what type of website you will create. I would always recommend branding over other options for your main website (whether your new site will be for a Local Business, eCommerce, or even blogging)
FREE Domains
You can let wordpress.com cloud servers take care of most of your online business needs. You can even create a free domain using popular blogging platforms such as WordPress.com or even Blogger.com or many others.
Self Hosted Domains
You can register domains and host them on your own web server or get fully managed WordPress hosting using various services online, here are some of the popular domain name registrars and web hosting service providers
- hostgator.com
- godaddy.com
- crazydomains.com.au
Changing Domain Names
First, if your website is currently online and you now want to change its domain name (that is its address on internet). Then, Google Search Console has a tool for change of address because:
As your business grows or goes through major structural changes, you can change your domain name to any other name you want. The process is straight forward and most web hosting services providers will assist you if you contact them for help.
Keep in mind that changing domain names can result in your website losing its current Google rankings unless you plan the domain name change thoroughly to avoid website traffic decrease. So consider selecting a domain that is suited for your online objectives
