Behind every business website there’s a domain name. Because your domain name serves as your website address, it is the first impression many people will have of your business. By choosing .in domain name rather than .com or .net, you show your pride of being an Indian to the entire world.
In addition to using the domain name to set up your website, you can also use it to get a professional email address. So, your domain name also provides a branding opportunity.
Before exploring how to choose a suitable .in domain name to represent your business, let’s discuss first the advantages of having such a domain.
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Advantages of .in domain name
A .in domain name has some distinct advantages over other popular options like .com or .net. Some of those pluses are as follows:
1- Shows your Indian pride
A .in website domain says you’re from India.
It creates a gentle Indian identity for the business and the people behind it.
You can subtly show your business’s geographic location to your audience at a glance, with pride. Also, with a patriotic aura, .in domain can instill more confidence in the local website visitors to take your services.
2- Gets higher ranking in local search results
When a website has .in at the end of its web address, search engines like Google assume it’s catering to Indian users. Thus, when an Indian user searches for, say handicrafts, Google ranks Indian handicraft websites bearing the .in domain name higher in the results.
So, you can reach your local customers a little more efficiently with a .in domain name.
The .in domain name is not as competitive as the .com domain name. So, you might get a short website name like AcharyaSarees.in easily.
[blockquote]With shorter and simpler domain names you can make your website URL easier to remember for people.
But, in the case of .com, it can be troublesome to pick a domain name of your choice. You might find that your favorite choices are already registered, and you’ll have to settle for a long domain name, like AcharyaSareesIndiaOnline.com instead.
Or, you can try to contact the owner of the domain and make an offer for it (use a WHOIS domain lookup tool like the one from GoDaddy to get domain information details).
Seven tips to choose a domain name
Your domain name is your identity on the internet. It’s the address of your business on the internet. So, you should make sure the name is appropriate for your services.
Here are seven tips to choose a domain name ideal for you:
1- Do your research
You would want to stay away from conflicts or legal issues with the domain name you choose. For example:
You can’t use a name that is already registered.
And you shouldn’t try to use a trademarked name.
Therefore, the first step is to research well.
A basic Google search can help you find if someone is already using the business or product name you want to use, or its variants. Then, you can search for the trademarked names on ipindiaonline.gov.in.
Along with those, you should also check social media platforms to find if your preferred domain name is available as a username. It’s a good practice to have a same domain name and social media usernames.
2- Choose brandable words
Your domain name is the online image for you and your business. So, it must be memorable and stand out from the crowd.
You can play with existing words to create some new and catchy words for your domain.
The other option is to check the thesaurus for interesting synonyms and other related words for your domain name ideas.
3- Make it easy to spell
Your domain name should be easy to spell and pronounce. It shouldn’t have any unnatural combination of words or words which are bound to be misspelled. One should be able to write the spelling by hearing the name.
For example, it’s easier to recall and correctly type FoodExpress.in than FoodXpress.in.
Also, avoid combinations with repeated alphabets, e.g., FizzZone.in or BlissStation.in. Your prospects might make a typo and visit some other website without realizing.
You should also avoid words that might change their meaning when combined. The name SongsHits.in, for example, might be interpreted differently than you intend to.
4- Keep it short
Your domain name should be as short and simple as possible. Short domain names (between 6 and 15 characters) are easy to remember, type, and call out.
Also, many people might consider a long domain name, like BestBooksOnlineForFree.in as spam.
The alternative FreeBooks.in would sound a lot more trustworthy.
You can explore the synonyms and related words to come up with an alternative, and maybe even cheaper domain names, in case a name of your choice isn’t available. You can even try shortening the words in your business name (e.g., FedEx and Airbnb) or abbreviating them (e.g., BBC and CNN).
5- Avoid numbers and hyphens
Numbers and dashes or hyphens aren’t user-friendly in a domain name. With them, the spelling is often unclear, and the pronunciation is misunderstood.
Let’s take Restaurant-24Seven.in as an example.
When you ask people to visit it, some customers might mistake the spelt out seven with numeric 7. Many of them might miss putting in the hyphen. At times, you too might miss mentioning that. So, stick to only alphabets in your domain name.
6- Use keywords
You can put keywords in your domain name to describe your business and the services you offer.
For example, ATKrepairs.in will make more sense than the domain ATK.in to someone who’s looking for electronics repairers.
Keywords in the domain name can also provide a slight boost to your search engine rankings.
However, it’s best to avoid stuffing your domain name with multiple keywords. They make the name long and difficult to remember. Also, the name might look and sound generic.
7- Think long-term growth
When you register a domain name, you will likely have it for years to come. It becomes your online identity.
And an established online identity would be troublesome to change.
For example, you shouldn’t choose HiTechWebDev.in as your domain name just because you’re into web development today. If you want to add graphic design services later, you’ll need to register an entirely new domain name. You’ll lose your branding and search ranking, and have to start from scratch.
To hold a solid position in cyberspace as an Indian small or medium business, you must have a website address. And when that web address ends with .in, you can easily tap into the online business potential.
By doing profound research, choosing the right words, including keywords and having long-term growth in mind, you can easily create a perfect .in domain and make your business stand out.
