Choosing it
- Your business name, as close as possible. People type what’s on your sign.
- .com if you can get it. It’s what people assume. A local business can also use a .us or a fitting newer ending, but you’ll spell it out on the phone forever.
- Easy to say and spell. Read it aloud to someone and have them type it.
- No hyphens unless there’s no other option. People forget them.
- Keywords aren’t necessary. A domain with your town and service in it doesn’t outrank a good site on a branded domain, and it’s awkward if you expand.
Registering it so it stays yours
- In the business’s name, in an account you control, not a web designer’s.
- Auto-renew on, with a card that won’t expire unnoticed.
- Two-step sign-in and the transfer lock on.
- A contact email that someone will always read.
Buy the obvious variations
The .net, the common misspelling, and the version with or without “the.” Point them at your real site. It’s cheap, and it stops someone sending convincing email from a domain one letter off.
Written by Nikita Huttenlocher, founder and lead engineer at Huttenlocher Technologies, a web design and software company in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.