September 17, 2019

The Beginner’s Guide to Finding the Perfect Online Store Domain Name

So, you have a brilliant idea about selling bespoke women’s fashion products online and you’ve even come up with a striking brand name and logo design options. But when you search for the store domain name of your choice, you get a pop-up message saying, “Sorry! This domain is already taken.”

It’s heartbreaking.

Because now you have to go back to the drawing board and rethink your brand name based on domain name availability and rework your logo and brand image.

The unavailability of memorable and meaningful names on traditional domains such as .com and .net often leads businesses down the path of settling for clunky and complicated domain names that were never their first choice.

Fortunately, though, the introduction of new domain extensions have enabled young ecommerce businesses to find the domain name of their choice on a relevant domain extension.

What is a New Domain Extension?

A domain extension or top-level domain (TLD) is the word or notation or suffix found at the end of a web address (URL) that represents an internet category or a country code.

Simply put, a domain extension is a word that is found to the right of the dot of any domain name. Legacy or traditional domains such as .com, .net, and .biz are the most commonly used domain extensions across the World Wide Web but that’s changing now.

A new domain extension is exactly like a generic domain extension with the only difference being that the former is more descriptive in nature and is crafted to cater to a particular industry or a specific cohort of professionals.

For example, the .store domain makes for a great choice for ecommerce businesses since the word “store” is indicative of a place that sells products. Similarly, the .tech domain is perfect for tech business and startups since it aptly describes the nature of the business and makes it easier for brands to stand out.

How to Pick the Perfect Domain Name for Your Ecommerce Store

When it comes to building a solid ecommerce brand, finding the perfect domain name is only half the battle won.

Why?

Well, there are over a billion websites floating in cyberspace plus millions of ecommerce stores looking to sell online. This means your ecommerce store has its work cut out in terms of competing with these websites and stores to rise above them as a promising brand.

While this may seem like a daunting task, picking a smart domain name that ticks all the boxes will help your ecommerce store to rise above the noise and get noticed.

Here’s how you can pick a perfect domain name for your ecommerce store:

Pick a Domain Name that Matches Your Brand Name

A great ecommerce domain name is one that matches your brand name. So, if you’ve crafted a smart brand name, then you should look for an exact match domain name. Doing this ensures continuity and a sense of consistency in the way your brand operates. You don’t want people to know you by one name and have them search for you on the internet with another name.

If the name of your choice isn’t available on traditional domains, look for options on new domain extensions; just like Threadly, a one-stop online store for t-shirt enthusiasts. They chose threadly.store instead of threadlystore.com.

Pick a Short Name That is Easy to Understand

Ideally, your domain name should be no more than 3 words in length. Additionally, you should try to keep your domain under 18 characters. A great ecommerce domain name is one that is easy to remember, easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and is memorable.

By picking a short domain name such as www.missdreamy.store instead of www.buymissdreamyproducts.com you can get more people to remember your online store.

In order to pick a name that is easy, you need to make sure that the name of your choice is devoid of unnecessary characters that will complicate or add confusion to your brand name.

  • Avoid clubbing numbers with words (www.100shoes.store)
  • Avoid using hyphens (www.smart-shirts.store)
  • Avoid using abbreviations (clothes4sale.store)
  • Avoid using unusual spellings (thejeanzz.store)

Pick a Name that Passes the Radio Test

The radio test is a method of gauging just how easy it is for people to remember, spell, and understand your domain name when they hear it for the first time. For instance, how likely is it that someone understands your domain name when you mention it in conversation?

A name such as www.husk.store will surely pass the radio test. So, when you are picking a domain name for your ecommerce store, you should ensure that the name of your choice passes the radio test.

Pick a Store Domain Name that Helps SEO

The key to picking a great ecommerce domain name is to make it easier for people to search for you on the internet. By choosing a domain name that is rich in keywords you can help your ecommerce store’s SEO rank.

If you opt for theoxfordshirt.store, you can attract backlinks from credible websites with the anchor text “Oxford Shirt” and “Oxford Shirt Store.” This will give search engines a positive indication about the authenticity of your website which, in turn, will help your ecommerce store to rank higher.

Avoid Choosing a Domain Name that Sounds Like Another Brand’s Name

Refrain from picking a domain name that sounds like that of another brand’s name. Not only does this have legal implications, but it’s also a branding and marketing disaster. The last thing you want is for your ecommerce store to get confused with that of another brand vice versa.

It’s best to be innovative and original and building a unique brand name rather than opting for dirty tricks such as imitating the domain name of successful brands.

On the contrary, you should also keep a lookout for cyber attackers and other phony companies looking to piggyback on your brand name for their benefit.

What to Do if Your Store Domain Name is Taken?

Look For Name Options On New Domain Extensions

If the name of your choice isn’t available on domains like .com or .net, then you can consider looking for the name of your choice on new domain extensions such as .store.

Exploring options on new domain extensions and searching for desirable names on them will enable you to acquire an exact match domain name for your ecommerce business.

The .store domain extension makes for a relevant choice as it offers a wide array of available names since it’s relatively new. For instance, if you plan to name your online jewelry store “Zizzle,” then you can pick www.zizzle.store instead of www.zizzlestore.com or www.zizzlejewelrystore.com.

Make a Creative Tweak

Although new domain extensions offer a host of available names, there is still a chance of unavailability of names. So, what do you do in such a situation? Simply tweak your name choice by making a creative adjustment.

If your online shoe store is called “Sole” and the domain names www.sole.com and www.sole.store are unavailable, you should consider adjusting your name creatively by making it better.

How? Well, you can opt for www.thesole.store and even change your brand name to “The Sole Store.” A smart variation or a creative tweak like this can transform your brand name to make it far more memorable and striking.

When faced with a situation where the domain name for your choice isn’t available on any relevant domain extension, it is best to experiment with your name choices until you find one that fits the needs of your business.

You never know, a tweaked name might just have a better ring to it than your original choice!

Buy the Domain Name You Want

Just because the domain name of your choice isn’t available, doesn’t mean you can’t buy it.

Confused? Well, there are many individuals and organizations who buy catchy domain names as an investment and park it only to sell it later at higher prices.

If the domain name of your choice is taken, check if it is being used. If it isn’t in use, you might have a chance of reaching out to the owner and buying from them.

You can perform a Whois lookup to find information on the owner of the domain name. You can then use that information to connect with the owner and buy the domain name from them.

Play The Legal Card

If you have trademarked or copyrighted your brand name and the exact match domain name is owned by another business or individual, then you have the right to challenge the owner legally and take what is yours.

According to the trademark law, the first party to trademark their business name is the legal and rightful owner of that name.

So, if you have trademarked your ecommerce brand’s name and if the exact match domain name is currently being owned by another party, you can approach them to hand it over to you or challenge them in a court of law.

ICANN, the international nonprofit organization globally in charge of all domain name registrations, has a dispute settling process, called the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), to address such issues and to take necessary action to settle the dispute.

Conclusion

If you’re on the hunt for a smart domain name for your ecommerce store, then you should explore your options on relevant new domain extensions such as .store instead of settling for names that are hard to build an ecommerce brand around.

Remember, your ecommerce store isn’t just competing with other ecommerce stores; it’s competing with over a billion websites. This means you can’t be callous and pick a name that doesn’t suit your business’ needs. And if the domain name of your choice isn’t available, simply refer to the four points we’ve mentioned above.

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