Having a website of your home service can greatly boost your business. But, the first thing you need for your website is a domain name. Choosing a domain name is crucial for your website because it will represent the service you provide. Now, you are probably wondering how to choose a domain name for your home service business.
Domain names should be short and memorable. It should be optimized with the main keyword of your website to rank in search engines. Therefore, you must do proper research to choose the perfect domain name.
In this article, I will talk about the effective ways to create a domain name for your website. If you are creating a website for your business, choosing a domain name related to your business is important. You may wonder why a suitable domain name is so important.
Why Choosing the Right Domain Name Is Important
A domain name is the online address of your business on the internet. People will write your domain name to search for your business. As you can see, the domain name is an essential element of your website. Here is how else a good domain name is important for your business:
● It tells about your service: Your domain name is the first thing people are going to see. From the domain name, visitors of your website understand what services you provide. So, you need a domain name that will have a positive impression on people.
● SEO Ranking: People search for various services online using specific keywords. For example, they also search for home cleaning services. Hence, the keywords in a domain name will help you rank on top in search engines.
● Opportunity to create unique brands: Your domain name allows you to have brand recognition. When you successfully choose a unique domain name, people may recognize it as a brand name.
● It shows you are legal: Having a domain name means you have an authentic presence on the internet. A good domain name assures visitors that you are trustworthy, and run a legal business.
● You control your domain: When you publish content on a third-party platform, the hosting site handles it however it likes. It may move your content or delete it. Having a domain name means you can have control over your content. No other party can delete or move your content from your domain.
How to Choose a Domain Name for Home Service?
So, how can you choose a domain name for your business website? Here is what you have to do for that:
1. Research Domain Names
You just cannot pick a random name for your website. Think carefully before you choose a domain name. For that, you need to do some deep research.
Before you choose a domain name for your home service, make sure there are no other popular websites or blogs of similar names. Similar to an already established website may lead some visitors to accidentally visit your website, but it also means your website will always be under the shadow of that website.
To check your domain name, you can search it on search engines like Google or Yahoo. Search the name without any top-level domains (TLDs). Then see the domain names of the top ten results on Google search. You can also use online domain availability websites to check your choice of the domain name.
Search engines are not the only place where people look for different services these days. They also search on social media. In fact, many services these days are focused on social media. You can search for your domain name on different search engines to avoid similarities.
If you do not want to search manually, you can try namecheck.com and knowem.com. You can type your choice of a domain name on the search bar of these sites, and they will show you websites of similar names on Google and various social media platforms.
2. Choose Short and Memorable Name
Your domain name should be short. It should not be more than 15 characters. Too long, and people will make mistakes when they type to search for it. Besides, people cannot remember a long website name. Hence, they may not share it often compared to the short-name websites.
You may have a long-term keyword phrase that can rank you on top of the search engine. But it will become problematic. So, try to keep your domain name as short as possible. Make some adjustments to your long domain name and try to make a final decision.
However, it should not be too short. The name should tell the visitors that you run a home service in short, yet effective words. Besides, it must be easy to pronounce. So, pronounce it out loud to see how it feels to your ears. Ask your friends to pronounce the domain name and see what they say.
3. .Com Vs. Other TLDs
When you choose a domain name for your business, you also have to decide on a domain extension name. Most people are familiar with .com, but there are hundreds of other Top Level Domains (TLDs) extensions. The most common TLDs are .com, .org, .net, .gov, .mil, and .edu.
People who cannot find their domain name under .com, often choose the other TLDs right away. This is not the best way to choose a domain name. Some of these top-level domains are actually nice, but they are not as effective as .com.
Your first concern should always be getting a .com for your websites. About half of the websites and blogs on the internet use .com as their TLDs. Consequently, most people unconsciously type .com at the end of any website they search on the web.
For example, you have a house cleaning service. Now you want the domain name to be ‘cleanhouse.com’. But this domain name is already taken, and you may be suggested to use ‘cleanhouse.net’. There is a strong possibility that people searching for your service will end up typing ‘cleanhouse.com’ instead of cleanhouse.net.
So, try not to go for other TLDs the right way. If you cannot get .com for your first choice as a domain name, then make some changes in your domain name. Try using procleanhouse.com and see if it’s available or not. Like this, change or add some words to get .com.
4. Experiment with Other TLDs
It is not always possible to get a .com with your preferred domain name. If you cannot get a .com, even if you changed the domain name, consider other TLDs. Some of the TLDs are great for creating a unique domain name.
Your second choice after .com should be a .co or .net. These are other well-known TLDs. There are other unique TLDs that are becoming popular, such as .shop, .store, .blog, .design, .mil, and .cc. While you choose other TLDs, try to be more creative because people get easily confused about them.
For example, you may have a home cleaning business, and want to open a website for that. If you choose cleanhome.blog or cleanhome.edu, it will seem like a blog for cleaning home. Again if you pick cleanhome.org or cleanhome.gov, it looks like a government organization.
But you can try ‘cleanhome.shop’ or ‘cleanhome.store’. They have the appeal of a home cleaning service. Then again, for a home décor service website, you may choose .design.
5. Select Domain Name for A Long Time
Choose a domain name you will use for years. Many people do not think about choosing a domain name for the long term. They choose a name focusing only on the present. It becomes a huge problem when they want to explore some other areas in the same niche.
People who choose short term trendy domain names also fall victim to their past actions. They have to change the domain name of the website, spend lots of money for that, and go through a lot of hassles.
For example, you chose a domain name focusing on your city like LAcleanhome.com. Now, a time may come when you want to expand your business beyond Los Angeles. Thus, you have to change the name of your domain in exchange for a good amount of money.
It is not only about spending money. All the time you have worked to rank in Google will be wasted. Therefore, take your time and choose a domain name that will serve you for a long time. If you think there is a possibility of expanding your home service business, do not add any specific location name.
6. Avoid Number and Hyphens
Your domain name should be easy to remember. So, it should be simple, easy to type, and of course, easy to pronounce! Using characters, numbers, and hyphens will make it complicated. Imagine asking people to visit your business website, which has a hyphen in the middle.
Numbers may be easy to pronounce, but they do not look professional. For instance, you could not get cleanhome.com. So, you added cleanhome123.com or cleanhome1990.com. These domain names look unprofessional and unauthentic. Besides, people may not remember the number in the domain name.
Your website will not reach people with numbers and hyphens in the name. Hence, it will affect your business no matter how good your service or products are. This is how disastrous your domain name with numbers and hyphens can get!
Therefore, you should avoid using numbers and hyphens in your domain name. The domain name must have simple spelling which people can remember easily.
7. Consider Using Focus Keyword in Domain Name
Using the focus keyword of your service is necessary for SEO ranking. It will tell the visitors about your business and what they can expect from your service.
There are various kinds of home services available today. It can be about plumbing, cleaning, interior designing, gardening, or even electric servicing. So, obviously, you cannot use just homeservice.com as a domain name.
First of all, a broad term cannot represent your specific service. Besides, these terms are often taken. Secondly, in terms of SEO, Google will get confused about categorizing your website name. It ranks the website based on domain name and contents. Your domain name and subject of the contents should be similar.
So, try to keep your focus keyword in your domain name. As I mentioned before, for a home cleaning service, use names like cleanhouse.com. In short, the domain name should represent what you do. The keyword should be at the beginning of your domain name.
Choosing the right keyword is also important. You can use Google Keyword Planner to find keywords that can rank you in search engine results.
8. Try to Make It Brandable
Many people do not like generic domain names. No doubt, a focus keyword in the domain name will rank your business website. But it is often boring and similar to the competitors.
If you feel the same way, try using a brandable name. Branding is essential for the long-term success of a business. You must have noticed that many successful companies have domain names that are not specific to their services, such as Google, Twitter, YouTube, Samsung, and many others.
As you can see, brand names do not have a general meaning. So, you can choose a unique name for your domain. Make it different from the generic domain names of the competitor websites.
Create a word that is easy to memorize and pronounce so that people can easily use it. If you manage to provide exemplary service, eventually your domain name will become a brand name.
9. Use Some Domain Name Generators
Need some inspiration for your domain name? Use domain names generators to get some suggestions. They will not only provide you with domain names but also show which ones are already taken.
These sites are easy to use. You just have to put a keyword in the search bar. Then, the generator will provide hundreds of domain names. These domain names are valid and available for registration. Most of the sites start by showing both available and registered domains with .com names. Eventually, you will also see other domain names with less popular TLDs. After choosing a domain name, you can also register through these sites.
Here are some popular Domain Name Generators for Business Websites:
● WPBeginner – Business Name Generator
● BlogTyrant – Blog Name Generator
● Shopify Business Name Generator
10. Register Some Misspelled Domain Names
People often make some common mistakes when they type website addresses. You can use this to your advantage. Registers one or two most common mistyped domain names related to your original domain name.
For example, if you are going to register a domain name with double letters, register another with a single letter. Or you can replace a ‘C’ with a ‘K’. Once you can buy these domain names, use the misspelled domain name to redirect visitors to your original website.
11. Avoid Trademark Problem
After choosing a few domain names for your website, Google them to see if they are already registered. Check if there are websites with the same name or similar to your domain names. Looking at only the first page of Google is not enough; you should also check the second page.
Having similar domain names is harmful to your business. Websites of the same names may not have the same business as yours, but people searching for your website will still get confused. You may even have to face legal issues for using domain names that have trademarks.
12. Get Your Domain Name Registered Fast!
Finally, when you get a domain name, act fast. Do not wait to register your domain name. People are always looking for unique names for their websites on the internet. Someone might take your domain name and register before you.
Some domain names are not even that costly. These are the ones that are taken over quickly. So, register your favorite domain name as fast as you can.
How To Buy A Domain Name?
Want to know where or how to buy a domain name? It is quite a simple process. You will find many domain name registrars and web hosting companies for that.
Typically, domain names cost between $9 to $15. So, shop around a bit to have a domain name on your preferable budget. Keep in mind a domain name is different than web hosting. Owning the domain name allows you to use the URL, however if you want to get a website set up you’ll still need to purchase web hosting.
You can register multiple domain names to secure them for future use. For that, it is better to use a good domain registrar. But if you want to open a website with a domain name, you should register it with a hosting company. This way, you can have everything in one place.
Here are the top domain registrars for registering your home service domain name:
● Bluehost
● GoDaddy
All of these domain registrars will give you options to renew your domain name every year. You can change the hosting and register with the new hosting site.
Conclusion
By now, you must have learned how to choose a domain name for your home service business. These tips will definitely help you find a good domain name for your new website. Your domain name can have a huge impact on your business.
So, take your time to choose a domain name that is perfect for your business.