DOMAINS

What Top Level Domain Should You Choose for Your Site?

Selecting the correct domain name for your website can increase the flow of traffic to your web page. The reason for this is because people are skeptical about clicking on links with lesser known domains. People will be more hesitant to click on your URL because it may seem suspicious to them.

With an increase in malware attacks and dodgy links, people are more aware of what they click on. That’s why it’s exceptionally important to select the correct domain name for your business.

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is essentially an identification string that defines your webpage on the internet. It’s used to identify one or more IP (internet protocol) addresses.

Domain names are used in URLs (Uniform Resource Locator) to recognize particular web pages. For example in the URL https://digitalsouthhosting.com/domains/ the domain name is digitalsouthhosting.com

Every domain name contains a suffix that specifies which top level domain (TLD) it belongs to. There are only a limited number of these domains such as:

• gov: Government agencies
• net: Network organizations
• edu: Educational institutions
• org: Nonprofit organizations
• mil: Military
• ca: Canada
• com: Commercial business
• th: Thailand

The internet uses IP addresses and not domain names so every web server requires a domain name system (DNS) to translate domains into IP addresses.

How to Select a Memorable Domain Name

You should always strive for domain names that are:

• Short
• Easy to say/remember
• Not a hassle to write out

Easy domain names are valuable for process fluency and word of mouth advertising. Process fluency is the ease of which information is processed. Optimal word of mouth advertising can only be done if your domain name is easy to recognize.

People have more positive associations with names they can say, think about and pronounce. That’s why it’s advised to stay away from domains with numbers and unusual spelling.

The easier a URL or domain is to read for humans the better it is for search engines. This is because search engines rely on accessibility and usability as a ranking factor.

Use Broad Keywords

Include a keyword in your domain name that’s catchy and unique while still giving visitors an idea of what service your business provides. Avoid domain names that might be considered “keyword rich” with words such as ‘best’ (BestCupcakeBaker.com)

While these types of domain names were high ranking in the past they’re now considered low-quality content. This means search engines will identify these domain names as less valuable than others.

Conclusion

Now it’s time for you to pick your TLD for your website. When you’re selecting a top-level domain you should know that .com is always going to be the winner. It’s widely recognized and a trusted domain name.

There are thousands of generic domain extensions for you to pick from but they might be viewed as sites that can’t be trusted. Opt for the .com domain name with catchy keywords to bring in more visitors to your webpage.

Have you decided on your company’s domain name yet? If not Digital South Hosting may be able to help you.