How to choose a domain for the site?

Why choose a domain better before the development? The fact is that the address of the site significantly affects its position in the search engines and the behavior of users. So much so that some companies are willing to pay up to $ 1000 to copywriters-neymers, whose task is to come up with the most suitable name for the resource.

And how to choose a domain name for the site yourself? The main thing is not to rush and understand that this is not a creative process, but the result of a competent analysis.

Which domain is better?

Here everything depends on the specifics of the specific project. Most often we find sites located in the zones. RU, .COM and .NET. However, in fact, there are many more. For example, the largest in the CIS service REG.RU gives the opportunity to register a domain in more than 740 different zones.

All of them are divided into two large groups:

• Geographical;
• Thematic.

Now about how to choose a domain name. If you develop a business in a particular region, the best option is to find the appropriate zone.

Examples: .SOCHI.SU, .KIEV.UA, .BERLIN, .MIAMI, .TOKYO.

Why is it profitable? At least in terms of search engine promotion. When a user searches for a specific product or service, on the first pages he sees the sites and addresses of the companies of his city. In terms of business, you will get a larger influx of customers at the same cost of advertising. If there is no clear geography, you can use .COM addresses.

And how to choose a domain for a site, if you create an information portal or own an entire network of institutions in different cities and countries? That is why there are thematic zones.

Examples: .CASINO, .DESIGN, .FILM, .PHOTO, .TAXI.

Such domains carry bright images and associations, and therefore are quickly remembered. In addition, they contribute to the promotion of the resource in the chosen niche.

Ideal domain length

The shorter and simpler the address - the better. Have you noticed that popular sites are never "tricky"? Their addresses are simple and laconic - vk.com, yandex.ru, youtube.com, adme.ru. The limitation is only one - in the title should be from 2 to 63 characters. But ideally, you need to select a domain of up to 10 characters - this address is quickly remembered and looks attractive when printing.

Is it worth using keywords in the name of the site?

On the one hand, such resources are faster in the search engines. On the other hand, the domain name of the company has its advantages. This address looks more solid and enhances the brand recognition. There is a new source of traffic - people who are purposefully searching for your site (advised by friends, saw reviews on social networks, etc.).

Which domain should I choose? If you just create a website for earning (for example, on links), it makes sense to just use themed keys. But to promote real business via the Internet, it is better to choose a domain in which the company's name is present.

Analysis of competitors

More precisely, you need to make sure that your name is not consonant with any known domain. Why waste time on this? Imagine a situation: you decided to make a site with interesting culinary recipes, found a good domain, for example, eda.st, relatively inexpensive and (oh, miracle!) Free. But what's next? Thousands of people, trying to remember the address of the site, will by habit write .RU instead of .ST and get to your direct competitors. And you can avoid this by spending only 10-15 minutes at the selection stage.

How to make a domain user friendly

Trivial, but even an occasional misprint can lead to the fact that users will not be able to find the site, and you will lose money every day. But even if there are no errors, the domain may fail. Why?

First of all because of the subtleties of transliteration. An elementary example is the letters "I", "Ч" and "Ш" (they correspond to the combinations "YA", "CH" and "SH"). Yes, it's a school program, but even here some people are confused. Also, try to choose a domain in which there will be no letters "C", "F" and "S". They have no analogues in English at all, which makes reading difficult. For example, the word "flowers" can be written as cvety, but few people will immediately understand what it is about.

A small lifhaq: in 90% of cases, a hyphen can be erased without loss of meaning. This rule applies to domains consisting of 2-3 short words.

Examples: fast-news.com> fastnews.com; Love-me-too.net> lovemetoo.net.

As you can see, just by discarding the dashes, you can make the domain more simple and memorable. It is also undesirable to use numbers in the title. Many entrepreneurs are asked to use the region's automobile code (for example, 31sandwich.ru) or simply to add at the end "1" to emphasize the leadership (advertising1.ru). In practice, such addresses look cheap and have real shortcomings. Take the codes of regions - with the expansion of business the owner will have to register new domains.

Some more important tips

• Remember that the name of your resource should remain relevant even after 3-5 years.
• Study the history of the domain. With the help of the web archive you can find out which sites used to exist under this name, and what "trail" extends to them. For example, if the domain came under search engine filters, you first need to bring it out of the ban. Sometimes problems arise because of the old reference mass. The previous site is no longer there, but on other resources there are anchors, which were led to it. For example, if this address belonged to a funeral home, all of them will be connected with coffins, hearses, etc.

• If the budget allows, it is better to immediately buy out all consonant and close on writing free domains (for example, with a hyphen and without it). Even if the user makes a mistake when entering, he will still get to you.
• Experiment with the abbreviations. You can always find a more euphonious option. Compare yourself: the "sweet table" can be represented as sladkiy-stol or sladstol. The second option is shorter and looks more attractive.
• Do not use Russian and English words at the same time. For example, you wanted to register a domain fashionbags.ru, but it turned out that it was busy. Some will try to make a "course of a horse" and use something like fashionsumki.ru. However, this is not the best idea both from the point of view of SEO optimization and from the point of view of memorability.
• If the budget allows, it is better to buy a domain not for one, but at least for 1.5-2 years. As practice shows , this gives the site an additional advantage in ranking, especially in the first months after launch.

Well, finally: if you are still not sure about the choice, conduct a survey among friends and acquaintances. Show different options and ask what they like more and why.