Domains have been an essential part of the world wide web since the ‘90s, serving as the pathways users take to reach various online destinations. Every website is tied to a domain as its address. There are over 1.88 billion sites on the web in 2023.
To put that into perspective, there are hundreds and thousands of domains actively in use on any given day. For a business in the digital age, that’s a lot of potential noise to contend with. Just as physical storefronts use their location to drive foot traffic, so do websites use their domain. To better grasp why domain names are so important for business, let’s see the factors that come into play.
Domain Names Establish Credibility
Consumer behavior has shifted in the 2020s. With fake news, trending topics, and a constant stream of content being the norm, it’s more important than ever to establish your credibility in a fast and meaningful way. Consider the role of a domain in getting online users to your site, the name of your domain will do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of establishing immediate trust and maintaining relevancy.
Consider the entry of Disney+ into the streaming service industry in recent years. Right away, you get the branding of the domain along with its specific service thanks to the popularization of “plus” as a naming convention for subscription services. You can easily emulate this effect without a big brand backing you if you follow proper domain naming principles.
A domain name generator tool can be very helpful if you want a reliable way of creating a relevant name that also takes trends and algorithms into consideration. The trained AI automatically avoids common naming mistakes while taking your input and preferences into the equation.
Domains Are a Big Piece of Digital Marketing
Having a domain in the first place already significantly increases your SEO ranking, and a good name does wonders for brand visibility. This is what makes domain naming so essential in effective digital marketing. Studies show that 85% of consumers conduct research before making a transaction with a business, with the most used channels being websites over social media.
You want a domain name that is easily searchable on Google and other search engines. Potential customers want to see a website that they can use to get to know more about your business and your products or services. Even if they first find you on social media, there’s a high chance that users will then seek out a site and other reviews.
A good example of this is Enchanted Scrunch, which went viral on TikTok in 2022 and established its official domain of the same name in 2023. Now, the small business’ teenage founder Dasha Derkach regularly makes six-figure sales.
Having this unified brand between platforms makes it easier for you to disrupt and cut above the rest as you become highly discoverable. It’s one of the core pillars that drive digital marketing techniques used by web services and SEO agencies.
Domain Names Can Be Vital to Longevity
Having a good domain name isn’t just vital to launching a business. It also matters when considering how sustainable or “future-proof” your business is in terms of consumer appeal and targeting.
Wealth and business expert Michael Siervo has covered the importance of flexibility and being able to pivot as needed in order to remain relevant, noting how adjusting to the tide is important in a time where digitalization in the wake of a pandemic has changed the game. By creating a proper domain name, you can capitalize on reaching your target market and scaling your business in either direction.
A good example of this is the popular keyboard manufacturer GMK. This company has been around since 1992 but has escaped obsoletion as it leans into the custom keyboard enthusiast scene globally with its domain. International attention has kept the company thriving since 2019, in no small part to the very deliberate domain name “gmk-electronic-design” that hits the right keywords.