In 2022, having a strong online presence can mean the difference between keeping your doors open or encountering a decline in your business. All businesses, from brick and mortar to e-commerce, services, consultancies and more, need to be found online. The shift to prioritising an online presence became especially essential during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many South African businesses had to temporarily close their doors and others had to move to a contactless way of doing business. The uptake in online shopping and people spending more time on the Internet also called for businesses to be malleable, get online, and interact with their customers more via social media.

If you haven’t decided to take your small business or side hustle online yet, here’s why companies of every size need to have a website:

Credibility
Reach more customers
Build your brand
Be accessible 24/7
Stay ahead of the competition

The first step to establishing a good online presence is getting a website. And the first thing you need to consider when getting a website is registering the best domain name for your business. If you are stuck and don’t know how to come up with a good domain name, we’ve got you covered.

Here are 10 tips on how to choose the best domain name for your business:

1. Keep it simple

Keep your domain name short and easy to understand. Customers have to be able to type it out on a search engine and get it right. Make it easy for customers to remember and to get the spelling right.

2. Target a specific area

Geo-targeting is always a good idea if your business only operates in a certain location. Use geo-specific domain name extensions to emphasise that your business is available in that country or town.

3. Use keywords

Use industry-specific keywords in your domain name to indicate the industry you operate in. For example, shaundejagerphotography.co.za is more effective than shaundejager.com. Or you can opt for an industry-specific domain extension like a .photography or .tech extension.

4. Avoid unique characters

Steer clear of unique or special characters when choosing a domain name. Keep your name as simple and as easy to understand as possible so you don’t confuse your customers.

5. Consider scaling

If you know you are looking to grow your business, consider registering the .com extension, too, because once you take it global you will need that domain extension. Consider registering your business name in all major domain extensions, so you always have that when it’s time to scale.

6. Be unique

Good domain names are catchy and brandable. Use a unique name that rolls off the tongue, is easy to remember and is distinct enough that customers will recognise that it’s your business.

7. Align with your brand

Your business domain name has to align with your brand and your vision for your business. The domain name has to be unique enough to be brandable and memorable.

8. Check if the domain is available

You need to check whether the domain is available, and you can do this by conducting a whois domain search. The results will let you know who owns the domain name and when the domain expiration date is.

9. Make it easy to type and remember

Pick a domain name that is easy to remember. Customers need to be able to memorise your business name.

10. Make it industry specific

You can also make your domain name industry specific by using domain extensions like .photography or .clothing to make it clear you are in a specified industry. Using these industry-specific domain extensions will also help with your website’s SEO.

If you follow the above steps, you’ll easily land on a perfect domain name for your website. When you’ve selected the perfect domain name for your business, you can go ahead and build your website with our DIY website builder. And you can easily scale the website as your business grows.