Most domain regret has little to do with which extension you pick. It comes from a name nobody can spell, say aloud, protect legally or grow into. Check these seven things before you pay, because a domain is cheap to buy and expensive to change once it is on your cards, invoices and links.
1. A name nobody can spell
Dropped vowels, numbers instead of words and silent letters look clever in a slide deck and fail on the phone. Test: tell the name to three people and ask them to type it. If two of them get it wrong, change it.
2. A name that fails the spoken test
If someone has to ask “how do you write that?”, you pay for that question forever, in lost visits and support time. Say it in a short sentence, as you would in a radio ad or a phone call, and listen for the question.
3. Ignoring trademarks
A free name in the registry is not legal clearance. If another company holds a trademark in your market, you can lose the domain after you have printed the brochures. Test: search the name in the trademark database of the countries you sell in, and in the EU register if you target Europe.
4. Hyphens and digits
A hyphen is easy to forget when someone types from memory, and a digit raises the “two or 2” problem. A single hyphen in a long phrase can work. A name that only works with punctuation rarely survives a business card.
5. A name too long for its job
A long descriptive string is a sentence, not a brand. Aim for something you can type on a phone without autocorrect fighting you, and put the description on the page.
6. Tying the brand to this year’s keyword
If a trendy word sits in the name and the product changes, you need a new name. Use a durable brand word as the domain and keep keywords in the content and the ads. Exact-match keyword domains no longer give a ranking advantage that makes up for a weak brand.
7. Buying before checking for collisions
Before you pay, check:
- the same name on the extensions your customers might try first;
- social handles and app-store names;
- a one-letter-different domain that could capture mistyped visits;
- the history of the name, if it was registered before. An old domain with a spam past can carry that reputation into your mail.
A five-minute check
- Write the name down and read it aloud to someone else.
- Search the trademark register for it.
- Search the web for the exact string and look for angry previous owners.
- Look at the domain’s public registration record with a WHOIS lookup. It shows whether the name is free, when it expires if taken and who the registrar is.
- Register it for more than one year if you are sure, and turn on auto-renew.
Questions
Is a .com always the best choice?
No. The best extension is the one your customers type first and the one you are allowed to register. See our guide to choosing the right domain extension.
Should I buy the misspellings as well?
Only if you see real mistyped traffic or fear fraud. Otherwise, spend the money on the main name and on renewal.
Can I change the name later?
Yes, but every link, email address and printed item changes with it. That is why the check belongs before the purchase.
