In the age of digital marketing and the internet, having a well-established presence online is critical for any company to be successful, no matter how big or small it is. In emerging economies like the one in South Africa, the need for online visibility for a brand becomes even more important because of the level of competition.

A very large part of online brand visibility depends on choosing the right domain name for a website. Choosing a complicated domain name can in many cases, hamper the expansion of a particular brand as well as negatively affect the website’s search rankings. This is why it becomes essential to choose the right domain name for any business. Luckily there are a lot of service providers and companies who offer to register domains in South Africa on behalf of companies.

With that being said, below are a few tips to help business owners select the right domain name for a business.

1. Use Keywords: Keywords can play a major role in the type of domain name you choose. Using keywords in the domain name would help search engines understand what the website is about. This paired with good user experience, site reliability and quality content can have a significantly positive effect on a website’s search rankings on search engines.
2. Short Domain Name: Keywords are important but so is domain length. The domain name should be short and memorable to make the desired impact on visitors and prospective customers. It is best to restrict the domain name to a maximum of 15 characters, as longer domain names increase the chances of users misspelling or forgetting it, which ultimately leads to a loss of traffic.
3. Easy to Pronounce and Spell: A domain name should be easy to spell and pronounce in order to easily share it when speaking and typing it. The domain name should also be brand-able, unique, catchy and memorable, whilst being simple.
4. Avoiding Hyphens and Double Letters: It is generally recommended to avoid creating domain names with hyphens in them. Domains with hyphens are often indicative of being associated with spam domains, something which would drive visitors away from the website. Using hyphens in a domain name also increases the chances of spelling mistakes. Similarly, double letters should also be avoided for the same reasons. Failure to do so can result in a lot of lost traffic and decrease the number of potential customers in the process.
5. Researching before Committing: Before committing to any particular domain name, it is good practice to always check whether the name is already in use. Trademark searches can help a user see if there is already a similar or exact name taken by another entity. Having similar or matching names with another domain can not only cause confusion but also have negative legal implications on your business.