Domain Name Suggestions for Your Startup Business
Building a successful startup business website requires a strong foundation. One of the key factors you must consider is getting the perfect domain name.
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is a human-readable address associated with a physical IP address on the internet to access websites. It is a distinctive name that comes after ‘www’ in web addresses.
For example, bigrock.in. Herein, bigrock is the domain name and .in is the TLD (top-level domain). A TLD (which could be .com, .net, or .in) is the second part of the domain name and appears at the end. We have explained different popular TLDs in detail further in this article.
The Importance of a Domain Name for Branding
Ideally, your domain name is your users’ first touchpoint with your brand. Thus, it’s an important element of your branding strategy.
A brandable, clear, and powerful domain name is one of the business’s valuable assets. On the other hand, a long, misspelled, or difficult-to-pronounce domain name may make you look spammy and not credible. Consequently, you may miss out on a lot of potential business opportunities.
Therefore, you should give an intuitive, impressive, and memorable identity to your website. However, choosing an appropriate domain name can be challenging as there’s a myriad of choices available. But fret not! We’ll help you choose one.
Choosing a Good Domain Name: 3 Factors to Consider
To get you moving in the right direction, we have listed below a few factors that you need to consider before choosing a domain name:
1. Your brand
Your business name should essentially reflect the type of products, brands, or services you are developing. This will impact your marketing and interaction with your target audience. With a thoughtful and creative domain name, you can eventually build brand recognition.
2. Your market
Analyse your competitors and think about what makes them memorable. Also, know the characteristics, demographics, and buying behaviours of your target audience. Along similar lines, think of ways in which you can make your brand stand out.
3. Searchability
Your domain name should be:
- Easy to find and memorable
- Meaningful, definitive, and relevant
- Simple, short, and memorable
- Devoid of grammatical or any other linguistic errors
- One that puts you in the limelight
- Use of a popular domain extension
When deciding on a domain name, choosing the right domain extension or TLD is important. Choose an extension that is in sync with your target audience as well as the purpose of your business.
READ: 11 Best Practices for Buying a Good Domain Name
Top Four Domain Extensions to Consider for Your Startup
1. .com
The .com domain extension means ‘commercial’ and was originally intended for use just by commercial organisations. But now, the rules are not that strict and anyone can register a .com TLD for any purpose.
As of June 2022, 48% of global websites are using a .com TLD. It is widely preferred as it is a generic TLD and targets the audience worldwide. Moreover, as most people are already familiar with this extension, it’s easy for them to remember the domain name.
However, it can be difficult to find a domain name of your choice with a .com extension due to its popularity. In this case, you can choose the next best domain extension for your web address.
2. .org
The .org domain extension stands for ‘organisation’ and was mainly used for non-profit websites like non-government organisations (NGOs), charities, educational platforms, and open-source projects. However, today it’s available to all.
While even for-profit businesses are legally allowed to use .org domains, public opinion is still much the same. Any website using a .org TLD is inherently perceived as a non-profit organisation and failing to disclose your business’s for-profit nature could have serious consequences.
3. .in
.in domain extension stands for ‘India’. It’s the best domain extension for websites that want to target Indian users and audiences (though websites with a .in TLD can target other regions as well).
With a .in domain, you can get higher rankings in the search engine results (for Indian users) as compared to other websites. That’s because it signals Google that your website is catering mainly to Indian users
For example, if an Indian user will search for ‘handicrafts’, probably Google will rank the domains with .in domain in search results higher than the other websites.
4. .net
Like the .com domain, the .net extension works for every type of website. Sometimes, it works as the second-best option when a .com is not available.
Originally, .net TLD was meant for internet providers, and it was more popular among tech and web companies. But now other companies have started using it too.
The decision to choose a .net domain depends on your website. If you have a web-focused or tech website, you won’t face any issues. However, if you have any other type of website that can sound like a tech website, avoid using it.
Here’s an interesting example. Suppose you have a baking website with ‘cookies’ in the domain name and you choose .net as the TLD, it could probably be confused with web cookies.
READ: 9 Mistakes to Avoid When Registering a Domain Name
Tips to Come Up with Domain Name Ideas for Your Startup
Though most domain name ideas work for any business size, we bring to you some great domain name suggestions specifically for small or startup businesses.
1. Reflect on your core values
A domain name reflecting your business’s core values is a great way to emphasise those values and keep them at the forefront of your customer’s minds. Therefore, it is vital to choose a domain name wisely. A few examples of brands that reflect core values rightly are:
- PrimaCARE (medical)
- Fidelity Investment
- Tender Care Animal Hospital
2. Showcase your value proposition
You can simply go with a domain name that highlights your business’s value proposition. But decide carefully depending on what you can deliver. Some examples of brands that showcase their value proposition are:
- Anytime Fitness (24/7 gym)
- Mothercare
- MakeMyTrip
3. Use ‘people’ words
While the names of large corporations might end with the product/service they offer (like Dell Technologies) or a word like “group”, “corp”, etc., small businesses can opt for personable ‘people’ words. Oftentimes, these represent the owners and founders of the business:
- The Coffee Girl
- The Wine Guys
- Angela’s Bridal
4. Prefer choosing small yet impactful words
Use words that emphasise small things, or you can say small things with big power. A few brands that follow this are:
- Tiny Rebellion
- Small Giants
- Think Big Work Small
5. Add local language
Local businesses give an impression of being more personable and authentic, and most consumers are inclined to support them. You can make your business more memorable by using the local language in the business name.
- Local Bounti
- Local Roots
- Neighbours’ Construction
However, if you’re unable to think of the right domain name despite following our tips and tricks, we have a useful tool for you – Bigrock’s Domain Name Suggestion Tool.
All you need to do is enter a phrase or word related to your business or product/service in the suggestion box and click on ‘suggest’ to find suitable domain names. The tool will give you various suggestions with different TLDs across different price points. You can either use it as it is or tweak it to make your own version but ensure that it is available.
You can even specify multiple phrases or words by using a space between the words.
When you feel that you’ve found a perfect domain name, prefer buying it immediately before someone else does.
Register Your Ideal Domain Name Today
Choosing the right domain name is one of the key elements of establishing your business or brand. A thoughtfully chosen domain name has the power to increase user interest and drive web traffic.
So, keep your creative juices flowing and come up with the best domain name for your startup. Use the tips and ideas above to help you get started.
