An early step when building a new website is choosing a suitable domain name.  A new domain name has to go hand in hand with your branding and sets out the first port of call when people see your online presence.

Infoserve has written a quick guide on choosing a suitable domain name and offers advice should you wish to change it in the future.

Choosing a suitable domain name

1/ Choosing your top level domain

The 'top level domain' (TLD) is the ending of the domain name - you will have seen the most common TLD's in your travels around the web over the years, for example...

• .com,
• co.uk
• .net
• .uk

There are literally thousands of different top level domains available, but to save you time, choose a co.uk or .com domain.

Without going into the technicalities of top level domains, having a .co.uk or .com domain will make visitors (especially from the UK) feel more secure on your website, especially if you sell products / services on your website, as a popular TLD will build trust.

2/ Choosing your domain name

The 'domain name' itself is the main section of the address, before the top level domain and after the www.

Obviously, the best domain name will be your company name, and hopefully your company name will include the keyword of your business focus.

For example, John Smith Accountants or Jane Doe Veterinary Clinic domains could be www.johnsmithaccountants.co.uk and www.janedoeveterinaryclinic.co.uk.

It is important not to ‘keyword stuff’ your domain, as one of the functions of Google's search algorithm is to look for keyword heavy domains, so do not choose domains like thebestaccountantsforbusinesses.co.uk or dogsandcatsveternaryclinicinlondon.co.uk.  Having a keyword in your domain is still good practise, but it can also result in a negative ranking effect on Google if overdone.

Also, it is worth pointing out that people will remember your domain name if it is obvious.

✓ QUICK TIP:  Avoid using too many hyphens, one at maximum, or not at all.

Thinking of changing your domain name?

For various reasons, you may be thinking about changing your domain name - whether you are thinking of rebranding, or lost a business partner from your company name, or you have become a limited company - there are things to consider before changing your domain name.

Domain age

Your domain ages like anything else, sadly!  But in this instance, it is a good thing!

Your domain will build up 'domain weight' as the years go on.  In technical terms, as time passes, your domain will hopefully accrue more ‘backlinks’.  These are links on external websites to your website and the more domain authority they have, the better for you.  If you have been running any kind of on-going paid SEO, you will likely have amassed backlinks, which are important for SEO.

Therefore, moving your website to a new domain is effectively starting again, but the loss can be minimised by making sure you migrate your domain correctly.

Lastly, you can check how old your domain is, or how old any domain is via Whois - www.whois.com

✓ QUICK TIP:  If your domain is only a year or two old, domain age shouldn’t be a factor if you change domains.

Online Presence

If you have spent any time and money investing in directory listings or any kind of paid adverts online, then you will need to update the weblinks on these adverts, or contact the company looking after them to action this.

If you do change your domain…

✓ Remember to update your Google My Business listing

✓ Remember to update any listing products and paid adverts

✓ Install a redirect on your old domain to point to your new domain

✓ Inform your customer base

More information

If you would like further information, please read our previous blog which goes into more detail on the basics of SEO.

If you are interested in a new website, our experienced website design team will advise you on the best course of action when purchasing a domain, or putting a new website live on your current domain.

Also, please contact us and get a FREE SEO audit on your online presence today!