As a business, your website is a key component of your digital brand and identity. It’s not just the design and usability of your website that is important but your domain name also plays a vital part in how search engines rank and consumers recognise your business.
A domain name crucially identifies your brand’s authority and space within the internet and is signified by your website address. It’s vital that you get this right before you even start developing a fantastic website because without a clear, memorable and brand-appropriate web address, you’re unlikely to attract your desired audience effectively. Your domain name is not just a technical shortcut, it should help you carefully define your presence in cyber space and manage your online visibility.
If your business is growing a local audience within Wales or you want to express your identity as part of an online Welsh community, a regional domain name could be a great method of generating more traffic, improving your search engine rankings and developing a distinct online brand.
According to research from Nominet, 34% of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in Wales are yet to get online. As a result, 1 in 3 small businesses in Wales risk missing out on thousands in revenue. For construction businesses this equates to 16 business leads per annum which could be worth as much as £40,950. Tourism businesses that are yet to set up a website could be missing out on 16 business leads a year compared to those who are online. The survey also found that 35% of retail businesses, 25% of financial businesses and 33% of food and catering businesses are yet to set up a website. These businesses are not only missing out on potential leads but potentially thousands of pounds each year.
Why go regional with your domain name?
A local domain extension such as .wales or .cymru could help to give your business more weight on search engine rankings over .co.uk or .com results. By including important contact information about your business such as a local address and contact phone numbers, you can help search engines to better position your business and give you more credibility with your local target audience.
Businesses across Wales are already making a success of their own regional domain names including the Welsh Rugby Union, Arriva Trains Wales, S4C and Theatr Genedlaethol. In fact, the .cymru and .wales domains are now among the top ten most popular European geographic domains for online businesses, alongside domains for London, Berlin and Paris.
So how can you get started with an effective domain name?
Secure the best domain name for your website
Register a domain name that is representative of your brand. It should be memorable for existing customers and easy to locate for potential customers. Come up with a few options (and check they are available to register!) and get a second opinion. Can you say it and spell it easily? Will it make sense to a potential customer? It’s important you ask these questions of your domain name before you start developing your online presence around it.
Protect your brand
You could consider registering several domain names including .wales, .cymru and .co.uk to ensure your brand name is protected and no one can use your name at a later date to capitalise on your success.
Watch your spelling
Make sure you’re not using words that are difficult to spell or hard to remember. You could even consider registering a domain name with a common misspelling of your brand name and linking this back to your actual website to ensure you’re not missing out on traffic.
Keep it short!
It’s important that you do not overcomplicate your website address. The shorter you can keep it the better. Try to stick to two or three words maximum. This will ensure your business is more likely to be searched for correctly and will help when sharing your website address verbally.