How to Choose and Use Branded Domain Names for Your Online Business

Published: 13 Jun, 2023

If you are looking for a way to stand out from the crowd and create a memorable online presence, you might want to consider using branded domain names for your website and links or original domain names for your startup. 

 

Branded domain names are web addresses that are unique, catchy, and creative, without any specific descriptive meaning or keywords. They are made-up terms that can be used to identify a particular company or brand. For example, Google, Spotify, and Netflix are all branded domain names.

 

In this article, we will explain what branded domain names are and why they are important for online businesses. We will also show you how to choose, register, and use branded domain names for your online presence. By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of how to leverage branded domain names to boost your online visibility, credibility, and performance.

 

How to Choose a Branded Domain Name?

Choosing a branded domain name is not an easy task. You have to consider several factors, such as:

 

• Relevance: Your branded domain name should be relevant to your business idea, niche, or industry. It should reflect your brand personality, values, and vision.
• Availability: Your branded domain name should be available to register with a domain registrar. You should also check if there are any trademark issues or conflicts with existing brands or websites.
• Length: Your branded domain name should be short and easy to remember. Ideally, it should be no more than 10 characters long.
• Pronunciation: Your branded domain name should be easy to pronounce and spell. It should not cause any confusion or ambiguity for your potential customers.

 

 

To help you generate and check brandable domain names, you can use some tools and resources, such as:

 

• Namelix: A brand name generator that uses artificial intelligence to create short, catchy names based on your keywords and preferences.
• GoDaddy: A domain registrar that offers a domain search tool and a domain appraisal service to help you find and value available domains.
• BrandBucket: A marketplace that sells premium branded domain names with logos and descriptions.
• Fudomains: Our site has a unique domain generator that helps you choose brand names with ease, just enter the keyword of the brand you dream of, and the tool will suggest you a variety of distinctive domain names available for purchase with the cheapest domain registrar.

 

Some tips and best practices for choosing a branded domain name are:

 

• Avoid hyphens, numbers, and special characters that can make your domain name look spammy or unprofessional.
• Avoid using words that are too generic, common, or overused that can make your domain name look boring or forgettable.
• Avoid using words that are too specific, niche, or limiting which can make your domain name look irrelevant or outdated in the future.
• Try to use words that are catchy, creative, and unique that can make your domain name look memorable and distinctive.

 

 

How to Register a Branded Domain Name?

Once you have chosen a branded domain name that you like and that is available, you need to register it with a domain registrar. A domain registrar is a company that sells and manages domain names. You have to pay a fee to register your domain name for a certain period of time, usually one year.

The process of registering a brandable domain name with a domain registrar is usually simple and straightforward. You just have to follow these steps:

 

1. Visit the website of the domain registrar of your choice.
2. Enter your desired branded domain name in the search box and click on the search button.
3. If your branded domain name is available, you will see a list of options with different domain extensions, such as .com, .co, .io, etc. You can choose the one that suits your needs and budget.
4. Add your chosen brandable domain name to your cart and proceed to checkout.
5. Fill in your personal and payment details and complete your purchase.

 

 

You should compare the pros and cons of different domain extensions before choosing one for your brandable domain name. Some factors to consider are:

 

• Popularity: Some domain extensions are more popular and widely recognized than others. For example, .com is the most common and trusted domain extension in the world. However, it is also the most competitive and expensive one.
• Relevance: Some domain extensions are more relevant and suitable for certain types of businesses or industries than others. For example, .io is often used by tech startups and software companies. However, it may not be appropriate for other niches or markets.
• Availability: Some domain extensions are more available and affordable than others. For example, .co is often used as an alternative to .com when the latter is not available. However, it may not be as recognizable or memorable as .com.

 

Some reliable and affordable domain registrars that we recommend are:

 

• Namecheap: A popular domain registrar that offers low prices, free privacy protection, and 24/7 customer support.
• Bluehost: A web hosting company that offers a free domain name for one year when you sign up for their hosting plans.
• Google Domains: A domain registrar that offers simple and transparent pricing, free privacy protection, and integration with Google services.

 

Some advice on how to protect and renew your brandable domain name is:

 

• Use domain privacy protection to hide your personal information from the public WHOIS directory and prevent spam, scams, and identity theft.
• Use auto-renewal to avoid losing your branded domain name due to expiration or forgetting to renew it manually.
• Use domain locking to prevent unauthorized transfers or changes to your branded domain name.

 

 

How to Use a Branded Domain Name?

After registering your branded domain name, you can use it for your online presence, such as creating a website, email address, social media profiles, etc. For example, you can use your brandable domain name to:

 

• Create a website: You can use your brandable domain name as the address of your website, where you can showcase your products, services, portfolio, blog, etc. You will need a web hosting service to host your website files and a website builder or a content management system (CMS) to create and manage your website content.
• Create an email address: You can use your branded domain name as the basis of your email address, such as [email protected]. You will need an email hosting service or a webmail provider to send and receive emails with your branded domain name.
• Create social media profiles: You can use your branded domain name as the username or handle of your social media profiles, such as @yourbrand on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. You will need to check the availability and guidelines of each social media platform before creating your profiles.

 

Another way to use your branded domain name for your online presence is to create and use branded links (customized short links) with your branded domain name. Brandable links are shortened versions of long URLs that include your branded domain name and a keyword rich domain. For example, you can create a branded link like yourbrand.com/content-marketing to redirect to a long URL like https://www.yourwebsite.com/blog/how-to-create-a-content-marketing-strategy-for-your-online-business.

To create and use branded links with your branded domain name, you can use some tools and services, such as:

 

1. Rebrandly: A link management platform that allows you to create, manage, and track brandable links with your custom domain name. You can also integrate Rebrandly with other tools and apps, such as Google Analytics, Zapier, Buffer, etc.
2. Linkye: A link shortening and branding service that allows you to create, customize, and track branded links with your custom domain name. You can also access Linkye’s analytics and insights to measure the performance of your brandable links.

 

Using branded links with your premium domain names have several advantages, such as:

 

• Increasing click-through rates: Branded links are more likely to be clicked than generic short links because they look more trustworthy, relevant, and appealing.
• Tracking performance: Branded links allow you to track and analyze the metrics of your links, such as clicks, referrals, conversions, etc. You can use this data to optimize your marketing campaigns and strategies.
• Building trust: Branded links help you build trust and credibility with your audience by showing them that you are consistent and professional with your online branding.

 

 

How to Connect Your Brand Domain to Your Website?

Once you have chosen and registered your brand domain, the next step is to connect it to your website. Connecting your brand domain to your website means that when someone types in your brand domain into their browser, they will be directed to your website.

 

1. Connecting your brand domain to your website involves updating some settings on both your domain registrar and your web hosting provider. The exact steps may vary depending on the services you use, but the general process is as follows:
2. Change the DNS settings: DNS is short for Domain Name System, which is a way of converting domain names into IP addresses that computers can use. To connect your brand domain to your website, you need to update the DNS records on your domain registrar’s site. You need to point your brand domain to the IP address of your web hosting provider’s server where your website files are stored.
3. Verify ownership: To confirm that you own both your brand domain and your website, you need to verify your ownership with both services. You can do this by adding a verification code or file to your website or by adding a verification record to your DNS settings.

 

Set up redirects: To ensure that all versions of your brand domain lead to the same website, you need to set up redirects on both services. You need to redirect any subdomains (such as www or blog) or variations (such as http or https) of your brand domain to the preferred version (such as https://yourbrand.com).

To illustrate the process of connecting your brand domain to your website, let’s use an example of a brand domain that we registered with GoDaddy and a website that we hosted with Shopify. Here are the steps we would follow:

 

1. Update DNS records: On GoDaddy’s site, we would go to the DNS management page of our brand domain and change the nameservers to Shopify’s nameservers. This would point our brand domain to Shopify’s server where our website files are stored.
2. Verify ownership: On Shopify’s site, we would go to the Online Store > Domains section and click on Connect existing domain. We would enter our brand domain and click on Next. We would then see a verification code that we need to copy and paste into the TXT record of our DNS settings on GoDaddy’s site. This would confirm that we own both our brand domain and our website.
3. Set up redirects: On Shopify’s site, we would go to the Online Store > Domains section and click on Manage next to our brand domain. We would then check the box that says Redirect all traffic to this domain. This would ensure that any subdomains or variations of our brand domain would redirect to the preferred version (https://yourbrand.com).

 

 

 

How to Optimize Your Brand Domain for SEO and User Experience?

Connecting your brand domain to your website is not enough to ensure your online success. You also need to optimize your brand domain for search engines and users. Optimizing your brand domain means improving its performance, relevance, and trustworthiness.

Optimizing your brand domain can help you achieve several benefits, such as:

 

• Boost your natural visits and positions on search engines
• Enhance your brand awareness and recognition
• Boost your conversion rates and sales
• Improve your customer loyalty and retention
• Lower your exit rates and loading speeds

 

 

To optimize your brand domain, you need to implement some tips and strategies, such as:

 

• Use HTTPS: HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, which is a protocol that encrypts the data exchanged between your website and your visitors. Using HTTPS can protect your website from hackers, phishing, and malware. It can also improve your SEO and user experience, as search engines and browsers favor secure websites over insecure ones.
• Add keywords: Keywords are words or phrases that describe your business and domain, industry, niche, or offer. Adding keywords to your brand domain can help search engines and users understand what your website is about and match it with relevant queries. You can use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner or Moz Keyword Explorer to find keywords related to your brand domain.
• Create subdomains: Subdomains are extensions of your brand domain that allow you to create separate sections or categories for your website. For example, you can create a subdomain for your blog (blog.yourbrand.com) or for your online store (shop.yourbrand.com). Creating subdomains can help you organize your website content, target different audiences, and boost your SEO.
• Use canonical tags: Canonical tags are HTML elements that tell search engines which version of a web page is the original or preferred one. Using canonical tags can help you avoid duplicate content issues, which can harm your SEO and user experience. You can use canonical tags to specify which version of your brand domain (such as https://yourbrand.com or https://www.yourbrand.com) is the canonical one.

 

To measure and monitor your brand domain’s optimization, you need to use some tools and metrics, such as:

 

• Google Search Console: Google Search Console is a free tool that helps you analyze and improve your website’s performance on Google search results. You can use Google Search Console to check your brand domain’s coverage, impressions, clicks, rankings, errors, and more.
• Google PageSpeed Insights: Google PageSpeed Insights is a free tool that helps you measure and improve your website’s speed and performance on both mobile and desktop devices. You can use Google PageSpeed Insights to check your brand domain’s loading time, optimization score, opportunities, diagnostics, and more.
• Moz Domain Authority: Moz Domain Authority is a measure that estimates how high a website will appear on search engine results pages. It ranges from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating higher authority. You can use Moz Domain Authority to check your brand domain’s authority and compare it with your competitors.

 

Optimizing your brand domain is an ongoing process that requires constant testing and improvement. You should always keep an eye on your brand domain’s performance and make adjustments as needed.

 

Branded Domains FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about branded domain names:

What is the difference between a branded domain name and a descriptive domain name?

A branded domain name is a web address that is unique perfect domain, catchy, and creative, without any specific descriptive meaning or keywords. A descriptive domain name is a web address that includes keywords or phrases that describe what a business does or offers. For example, Spotify is a branded domain name, while MusicStreaming.com is a descriptive domain name.

 

How much does it cost to buy a branded domain name?

The cost of buying a branded domain name depends on several factors, such as the availability, popularity, length, and extension of the domain name. Generally speaking, the more unique and desirable the domain name is, the more expensive it is. The average cost of buying a .com branded domain name is around $10-$15 per year. However, some premium branded domain names can cost thousands or even millions of dollars.

 

How long can a branded domain name be?

The maximum length of a branded domain name is 63 characters. However, it is recommended to keep your branded domain name as short as possible for better memorability and usability. Ideally, it should be no more than 10 characters long.

 

How can I sell my branded domain name?

 If you want to sell your branded domain name, you need to follow some steps to find a potential buyer and close the deal safely. According to, some of the steps are:

 

• Park the domain name. This means registering the domain name without linking it to any online services. This way, you can reserve it for future use and prevent others from taking it. Some domain parking services also let you earn money by showing ads on your domain name’s landing page.
• Appraise the value of your domain name. This means estimating how much your domain name is worth based on factors such as traffic, keywords, length, extension, and market demand. You can use online tools or consult experts to help you with this process.
• Decide on a pricing strategy. This means choosing whether you want to set a fixed price, a minimum price, or accept offers for your domain name. You should consider your domain name’s value, the market situation, and your negotiation skills when deciding on a pricing strategy.
• Decide where to sell the domain name. This means choosing a platform or a method to list your domain name for sale. You can sell it privately by contacting potential buyers directly, or you can use a domain name marketplace, an auction site, or a domain name broker to reach a wider audience.
• Optimize the domain listing. This means creating an attractive and informative description of your domain name that highlights its benefits and features. You should also include relevant keywords, contact details, and payment options in your listing.
• Use an escrow service to protect your domain name. This means using a third-party service that holds the funds and the domain name until both parties confirm the transaction. This way, you can avoid scams and disputes and ensure a smooth transfer of ownership.
• Transfer the domain name. This means completing the technical steps to move the domain name from your account to the buyer’s account. You should follow the instructions of your registrar and the escrow service to do this correctly.

 

 

Conclusion

In this article, we have explained what branded domain names are and why they are important for online businesses. We have also shown you how to choose, register, and use branded domain names for your online presence. By following these steps, you can leverage branded domain names to boost your online visibility, credibility, and performance.

Choosing and using a branded domain name is one of the best ways to create a memorable and distinctive online brand. It can help you stand out from the crowd and attract more customers and followers. It can also help you track and optimize your marketing campaigns and strategies.

If you are ready to take your online business to the next level, don’t hesitate to start using branded domain names today. You can use the tools and resources we have recommended in this article to help you find and register your perfect branded domain name. You can also use them to create and use branded links with your branded domain name.

We hope you have found this article helpful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you. Thank you for reading!