Nomenclature of a Website

Nomenclature of a Website

What is the next step once one decides to build or get a website built? Yes it is the naming of the website. Well as easy it sounds as difficult and cumbersome it is to choose the right name for one’s website! On very basic level it should be in congruence with the content of the website or the reason for which it is made. It should be easily understood by everyone, most importantly by the target clients and customers while it should be bit unique in its own senses. Believe it or not it is more important than the content of the website itself. Someone has rightly said written or spoken words are mighty, they have the power to make or break it and here no one could ever say- What’s there in the name, especially in this era of digital marketing and branding development.

What should come before the .biz, .org, .com, .de, .info, .net is a serious matter of concern. What if during the course of time one realizes that the name is not catchy enough, in that case renaming the website or transferring websites to new URLs can potentially reduce the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) therefore naming it correctly from the start is necessary. The other important thing is it should go along with one’s brand name keywords so that it appears on the top 10 list of SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). Problem arises when one tries to name their website an already existing one; in that case the person will have to buy the domain name from the existing owner but what if it is too costly. Here is the gamble game; it is the owner’s call. These days the world is going towards optimization i.e. less input providing more output way, people want single word names while it is a very good idea, such names are almost already extinct. Hard to digest but that is the reality. In lieu of this how to choose domain name, how to choose website name is a concern for the website owners.

Comprehending some of the useful tips to choose domain name below:

a)      What exactly is a Domain Name :

To define it in layman’s language a domain name is a unique URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or address belonging to a particular website that defines itself from each of the other website on the World Wide Web for e.g. a site would be Gmail, but its domain name would be www.gmail.com.

b)      Name thy Brand :

The first step into doing the same, one has to look for the URL options available, and then choosing one’s own brand name comes. Doing a fair research of existing names and analyzing who (especially the competitor or businesses in the same category) is using which name. The name that one chooses should be new, exciting, original and innovative so that it gets higher SEO and appears easily on the top 10 SERPs.

c)        Relate with the Brand :

Whichever domain name one chooses, it should go in line with the brand name or the product base the website offers, unrelated domain names create confusion and lead to poor clicks events which could decrease the profitability through pay per click.

d)      Don’t just co-relate with the keywords :

Although one of the factors for choosing the right website name is the keywords, they are not the sole reason for a high ranking in one’s domain name. One should choose a memorable, striking, brand related and available domain name and at the same time not get obsessed with it. Also here the game is all about – the shorter the sweeter. It should be simple and easy to understand yet should have some sense of mystery to it like Jane. One of the biggest problems that could curse website forever is domain abuse. One should be careful and check the existing back-links on Google beforehand (a great way to ensure clean domain name is the Wayback Machine).

e)      Don’t try and be over smart :

Though novelty is always rewarded, one should keep themselves from hard to spell, difficult to pronounce, clever and complex words. Here, one should do themselves a favor by dumping all cutesy names and avoiding numbers. In that case the best practice would be to use a name with only one possible spelling.

f)       Be ready with back ups :

In case the name one is short listing for naming the website already existing, one must be ready with backups or alternative names with equal characteristics as that of the original. Also after naming the website, one should try buying similar domain names as most of the people using internet are bad typists. For example if one’s website is called www.doghouse.com then the owner should try buying other similar names like www.dogshouse.com and www.dogshouses.com at the same time one should be careful as other misspelled sites .

g)      Not just Extensions (.com, .org, .net etc.):

As per the statistics till June 2013, there are approximately 110 million .COM, 10 million .ORG and 15 million .NET domains on the internet. One should not be in the misunderstanding that only .COM is the only available domain name.

h)      Miscellaneous :

Infringing on someone else’s copyrights is an absolute crime when it comes to naming websites. It’s a better practice to always register one’s domain for maximum period. Top publishing websites like BlogSpot and Word press can be used for reference.

Therefore if one keeps in mind the aforesaid tips to choose domain name, a successful website name can be built easily and all the queries regarding how to choose domain name and how to choose website name can be answered. Thus choosing the right name for one’s website is a creative task that is as important as designing the website itself. Just as one puts in a lot of thought, rational and strategy to run one’s business, giving a successful and memorable name to the website needs some rational churning of mind.