Keeping your brand safe and secure is essential to protecting your assets, reputation and online presence.
When launching a new website or social media account, it’s important to first consider the implications of a domain name.
Though it may seem like a trivial detail worthy of less attention, even the smallest details can be exploited by nefarious actors with bad intentions.
If you’re thinking about creating your own website or social media profile, then you need to know about best practices for picking a domain name that will protect your brand from cyber-spammers and other online threats.
Even if you already have an established brand with registered trademarks, these tips will help keep your new domains safe while also protecting your existing brands in the future.
Let's get started with the 5 Best Domain Name Best Practices of 2022.
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Domain Name Best Practices
1. Brand Reputation Is Everything
Your domain name has the potential to either uphold or damage your brand reputation. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know for sure until after a domain has been launched, but you can at least make an effort to prevent poor domain choices in the future.
Keep in mind that your domain name is the first thing a consumer sees when visiting your website or social media page.
There’s also a good chance that your business partners, vendors, and suppliers will use your website to find out more about your brand.
Poorly chosen domain names are often responsible for ruining reputations before a business is even able to get off the ground.
2. Check for Trademark Conflicts
Visualizing your business name and domain side-by-side can be beneficial in determining if there are any trademark conflicts.
It’s important to check to see if your domain name is available, but it’s also important to make sure that it hasn’t already been registered by someone else.
If the name of your business is federally trademarked, then you’ll need to check for conflicting domains using the Trademark Electronic Search (TES) database.
Make a note of any domains that conflict with your business name. If it’s a legitimate concern, then you’ll want to steer clear of using that domain.
If your domain name isn’t trademarked, then you’ll need to use a domain name availability checker to see if the name is already registered. You can also check at other government agencies to find out if someone has trademarked the name.
3. Short is Sweet, But Only if it’s Also Simple
There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing a domain name on a website only to discover that it’s a jumbled mess of letters and numbers with no meaning.
You’re better off with a short and sweet domain that does its job than one that’s overly complicated for absolutely no reason.
If your business name is 100 characters long, then your domain name should be no more than 20 characters.
If you need to get creative to meet that requirement, then you’re better off dropping the creativity and keeping it simple.
4. Lock It Up, Don’t Forget It
The best way to keep your domain secure is to lock it down with a domain name registrar. A domain registrar is a company that handles domain name registrations, transfers, and renewals.
Domain registrars also offer a wide range of protection options. By using a reputable registrar, you can lock your domain name down behind two-factor authentication.
You can also set up alerts that will notify you if anyone attempts to transfer or change your domain name settings.
If you forget to renew your domain name, then you run the risk of losing it. It’s not uncommon for domain squatters to swoop in and register expired domains.
You can try to get the domain back, but it’s often a long and difficult process. The best way to prevent this from happening is to never forget to renew your domains.
5. Don’t Repurpose Old or Discontinued Brand Names
If you’re looking for a domain name that’s been used in the past, you may be able to find it on a domain registrar’s expired domain list.
However, you should never repurpose an expired domain name unless you have a valid reason for doing so.
Most expired domains have been expired for a reason, and it’s rare to find a name that hasn’t been squatted on by a cyber-squatter.
If you’re unable to find an available domain name that matches your business name, then you may want to consider completely differentiating yourself from the previous owner of the domain.
Wrapping Up
There’s no doubt that domain names are extremely important when building a brand online. Unfortunately, picking the right domain name isn’t always easy.
With so many factors and details to consider, it can be difficult to know where to even begin.
As long as you keep the tips in this article in mind, you should be able to find the right domain name for your brand.
With the right domain name, you can increase brand awareness, drive more traffic to your website, and attract new customers.
