There is no doubt that a domain name is an online real estate. It’s where your brand lives and conducts business. It is where you drive potential customers to buy and it’s where you build your expertise and authority. Thus, picking a domain name is an important decision and having one is asset to your business.

Primarily, your domain name is your internet address and it is where your business resides within the World Wide Web. Generally, it should be related to your business and preferably be short as most people may forget a long or complex name. Below are reasons why a domain name is important in business:

1. For business credibility

Having your own domain name makes your company look professional. In fact, using a high-value domain for your website and your company’s email address helps establish authority, credibility and professionalism, both online and offline. It ensures your customers will notice that you are an established, legitimate business and as a result trust you more easily.

Generally, free hosting sites do not inspire confidence in a customer. Again, since many people do not fully trust the Internet and e-commerce, you will want to do what you can to prove that your small business deserves their money. If you are not willing to pay the money to register an appropriate domain name, why would consumers think you would put any effort into creating valuable products or services?

2. It enhances your brand identity

In business, a brand is as reputation is for a person. Ultimately, a domain name plays a pivotal role in branding as it is a unique identifier that represents you and your business on the internet.  It is essential that your business secures an online presence and a domain name does this by giving you an exclusive address on the internet. Prospective customers will more readily transact with businesses with a professional, established online presence, made possible with a personalized domain.

3. Increases your web traffic

A lot of registered domains receive traffic. This traffic principally comes from direct type-in or referral traffic. Type-in traffic basically means that someone who is searching for a product decides to bypass the search engine by typing the keyword of the product they want directly into their browser. This is the best kind of traffic as it is highly targeted and costs no effort to obtain.

Contrarily, referral traffic normally comes from links from other websites. Plenty domains come with a high amount of backlinks resulting in a higher amount of quality traffic.

4. Increases search engine rankings

The more keyword-rich your domain name is, the more likely it is that you will rank high in the search results. Good domains are often stuffed with high-quality keywords. So while a domain name may not contribute to your rankings, it can also provide higher click-through rates, more trust, more attention in the search results pages and more brand potential.

5. It adds mobility to your internet presence

Owning your own domain name allows you take that name with you if you transfer Web hosts or switch to your own in-house server. On the other hand, if you do not own your domain name, you will have to take a new URL, which will destroy the branding that you built up with your first address. Hence, the importance of domain names in business.

6. It is a marketing strategy

A high-value domain name is generally short, descriptive and easy to remember. It gives customers and search engines an easy and intuitive way to remember and find you. Having a great domain results in high visibility, reputation and natural traffic but without the recurrent cost.

7. To personalize your business

Nowadays, customization and personalization are at the core of every business. Looking to gain a competitive advantage and encourage brand loyalty is not always easy. On the Internet, your domain name is your unique identity. Therefore, any individual, business or organization planning to have an Internet presence should invest in a domain name. A domain name directly appeals to your customers by creating a call to action out of the name of your business. Also, your business domain name can help you capture the essence of your brand and make it memorable.

8. It allows you to acquire multiple domains with different suffixes

As mentioned earlier, owning your own domain name lets you take that name with you if you transfer Web hosts or switch to your own in-house server. If you do not own your domain name, you will have to take a new URL, which will destroy the branding that you built up with your first address. As a result, your own domain gives you the opportunity to acquire multiple domains with different suffixes related to your business. Hence the importance of a domain name in business.

9. To protect copyrights and trademarks

Having your own domain name, website and email addresses not only gives you and your business a more professional look but also protects your business copyrights and trademarks.

For instance, if you were to register McDonalds.com as a place to sell your own frozen hamburgers, you would be infringing McDonald’s trademark and they could take legal action against you to confiscate that domain from you. Even if you had a very good reason, they could still take it from you under the theory of trademark dilution. Therefore, registering your domain name gives you the same set of rights.

10. For competitive advantage

Having a domain name for your business is a great way of gaining competitive advantage. In truth, a domain name creates a unique online identity for your business. You wouldn’t want your prospects to confuse you with your competitors to the extent of purchasing from them. Thus, the importance of a domain name in business.

In conclusion, a good domain will not only protect your brand and make you look more professional, it also improves search engine rankings, generates traffic and it is a virtual asset which tends to increase in value over time. Therefore, a great domain name makes great business.

Choosing a domain name is not a small task. A carefully picked domain name can be a great asset for your business. When deciding to get a new website for your business, one of the most important steps is choosing a domain name. Choosing the perfect domain name isn’t easy though. There are many factors to take into account, and once you settle on a domain, it’s very difficult to change it.

Here are 8 tips to help you pick the perfect domain name:

1. Choose a domain that reflects your website’s purpose, not your business name.

The majority of domains registered in Zimbabwe are for company/ brand names. This is not mandatory. One business can own several websites. So it’s very much possible and encouraged to choose a domain name that targets the product or service that you want to advertise. For example, if you run a lawn maintenance business, choose lawncare.co.zw instead of JJ & Sons Investments, because search engines and potential customers alike will give more credence to a domain name that says your business is relevant to what they’re looking for. That said, domains are pretty affordable, so it’s a good idea to secure your business name too for future use.

2. Keep your domain name short.

A short domain name is memorable and less at risk of being mistyped or misspelled. Keep it short and simple. If the name is easy to remember it’s also easy for your customers to share it with their friends and contacts.

3. Avoid hyphens and numbers whenever possible.

There have been misunderstandings about whether to use hyphens in a domain name. The reason that some people say that you should have a domain name with hyphens is to force the search engines to see keywords in your domain name so that your web site does better in search engine results. The bigger search engines can now see individual words without hyphens, however, smaller search engines may not and even the bigger ones may see a word differently than you want. Numbers also cause confusion because when someone recommends your website as ‘flowers for you.com’ but your actual domain name is flowers4u.com the probability of you not being found is high.

4. Include keywords in the name.

When people search online they use a word or combination of words. These words are called keywords. Keywords can be the products or services they want (and you offer). If your domain name includes the service or product you are selling you increase your chances of being found in search results for that keyword. This means more traffic to your website and potentially more customers for your business.

5. Target your geographical area in your domain name.

If your business is location specific then it’s a good idea to target that area in your domain name. Let’s say you a located in Harare and you offer plumbing services. You can choose a domain name like harareplumber.co.zw.

6. Decide on a domain name extension (TLD).

Domain names are available with various extensions, such as .com, .net, .org and many other new domain extensions. If it’s really important to you, you can register domain names in several extensions, however, for most firms only the .com extension is important. For local companies it’s also recommended to also register the local ccTLD e.g. .co.zw  domain for Zimbabwean companies.

The .com extension is the most popular domain extension of all time. If the .com version of your name is available make sure you register it even though you plan on using the local domain. You can simply re-direct the .com domain to the local domain.

7. Avoid complicated names.

When you have decided on a domain name make sure you double or triple check to see if there are no hidden words or meanings in the name. You don’t want to end up with a name like penisland.net

8. Avoid branded or trademarked names in your domain name

When choosing a domain name, make sure to never include a trademarked name, such as iPhonesForSale.com. Trademarks and copyrights are a legal traphole, you only waste both your time and a lot of money in legal expenses if you go down this route.