Online marketing campaigns are necessary for increasing brand awareness and engaging consumers, but building a high-quality website and choosing an impactful domain name might be even more important. When performing a Google search, your domain is the first thing potential users notice, which is why it should grab their attention immediately and encourage them to visit your website.
For this to work well, however, you will need to select a great domain name that improves your brand and perfectly complements your digital marketing efforts. Here’s how to do just that:
Keep it short and simple
When choosing the most effective domain name, remember that audiences prefer simplicity. As long as you select a name that’s short and easy to remember, your users can find your website more quickly, and wider audiences might be more drawn to your page when searching for general terms as well, such as the products or services you are advertising.
If you already have an established brand, including it in the domain name is the easiest way to increase brand perception and visibility, and ultimately improve your digital marketing efforts. If you have yet to develop your brand online, on the other hand, it might be wiser to select a domain name that focuses on your products or services, as the most effective solution possible.
Go for top-level domains
When choosing a domain extension, top-level domains (TLDs) such as .com and .net tend to be the most popular option. Not only are they ranked highly by Google, but they also help to build trust and credibility among audiences, while improving brand authority as well. If you an Irish business trading within Ireland, for example, using .ie domain names shows you are a genuine business with strong connections to Ireland. This builds credibility and establishes your business as a local entity.
If your chosen name is already taken, however, there are some alternatives you could choose.
For example, country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) can also give you great branding opportunities. Due to the location-specific nature of these extensions, they are a particularly good choice for national companies wanting to target local audiences through an effective website and their online marketing campaigns.
Personalize your brand
If you’re attempting to market and grow a personal brand, on the other hand, choosing a more trusted personal domain name such as .me could be the best course of action. This is a safe and reliable extension that’s quite SEO-friendly, operating similarly to traditional TLDs and being ranked by Google in the same way.
Such a personal domain extension enables you to instantly establish a name for yourself in the industry, boost brand awareness and recognition, and establish loyalty and authority among audiences. This solution can be especially beneficial to freelancers, entrepreneurs, and any other professionals attempting to increase their online presence through efficient digital marketing strategies.
Ensure memorability
Ensuring your domain name easily sticks in users’ minds is possibly one of the most important aspects, as your marketing efforts heavily depend on the needs and intents of your audience. But a common issue arises in the modern digital era – your audience is likely bombarded with different types of ads and sponsored content each day.
If you want your website to stand out, you should choose a domain name that’s simple to pronounce, remember, and quickly type into search engines. These easy and practical domain name features can allow you to get more traffic while encouraging users to trust and remember your brand as soon as they find your website. Keywords combined with branding aspects could be of great help in this instance.
Consider using keywords
Just like fonts and brand identity are closely linked, a branded website cannot reach success without utilizing the right search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. And while optimizing your website content for search engines might already be a part of your strategy, using relevant keywords in your domain name could give you that additional boost your marketing campaign may need.
It’s advised to go for the most natural and applicable keywords to your specific brand. Common words like “fashion” or “health” can easily describe your website while being more relatable and recognizable to users. Keep in mind not to force or spam keywords, however, as this could only cause a negative effect, leading you to be penalized by Google for unethical practices.
Final comments
While online marketing campaigns might entail a number of detailed and variable elements, your choice of a domain name can truly make or break the entire strategy. So, choose your domain wisely, focus on names that reflect your brand and objectives the best, and you will surely reach success.
Written by Mike Johnston