The name you have chosen for your business passes on volumes of information to your potential customers. Like an effective branding strategy, the right name sets the right expectations in the minds of the people who visit your site and ultimately buy products.

Choosing a domain name for your e-commerce website is one of the most important business decisions you’ll make. Your name is the first piece your brand users will experience, and serves in the minds of users as a symbolic placeholder for your business. You will also need to make sure the domain name you choose is available for purchase and the name of your brand or business is identical.

You may think that if you already have a name for your online business, simply attaching a.com extension to your existing name is the choice of a name for your website. That’s not always possible though, and it’s not necessarily the best strategy.

Focus on your products

As noted above, your first impulse is probably to buy a domain name with your company’s name inside it. If you’re just starting, in a niche market, or a very competitive market, it might be better to choose a name that reflects what your business is selling and providing, rather than using your business’ exact name.

Choosing a name that includes the keywords you’re targeting is a great way to give an instant SEO boost to your e-commerce site, because once the search engines visit and index your site, they will rank your site based on several factors, including keywords. Choosing a domain name that matches your company name is never a good strategy. In some cases, it is a very well-functioning strategy. It depends on some factors, including the type of products that your business sells and the amount of your business name or brand recognition associated with that.

Keep it simple and easy

Remember that the domain name you choose is the one your customers need to remember when they want to visit your store and enter it into their browsers. Choose one that is easy to spell, that is easy to remember, and that doesn’t confuse your clients. This is one case where creativity can work against you, such as spelling words incorrectly, leaving out letters, etc.

Be original

Regardless of which domain name you choose, you want to make sure you pick one that is original and that somebody else is not currently using. Remember, domain names are not owned, and are rented by site owners for a specified time. Company names, product names, and slogans may however be owned or marked, and individuals who attempt to use them without the owner’s permission may be sued for copyright infringement.

At the end

The domain name you choose can have a considerable impact on your business success. If the.com extension isn’t available, you might want to try a.net or.gov extension, but in many cases, it’s a better strategy to simply select another name with a.com extension available. It’s easy to spell, pronounce, and remember: If it’s easy to spell and pronounce your name, it goes without saying it’s easier to remember. Relates directly to your business and to the products you are selling, even if they do not exactly match your business name.

Take your time, research your options, and make careful choices.