Your e-commerce domain name is sort of like the sign you’d see out front of a brick-and-mortar building. In many ways, your domain name is a window into your storefront – the first interaction prospective customers will have with your brand. What sort of messages is yours sending?
If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t thought much of that. You should. By tweaking and tailoring your e-commerce domain name just so, you can present visitors to your site with a message that drives them to browse. Let’s discuss how you can achieve this.
1. Your e-commerce domain name Should Hint At What You Sell
Imagine you’re talking to someone on the floor at a trade show, and the topic of your store comes up. Would your conversation partner be able to venture a guess as to what sort of products your store sells based on brand name alone? More importantly, assuming they’re your target audience, would they find your e-commerce domain name intriguing enough to click through?
There are multiple ways you can achieve this. You don’t necessarily need to include such obvious details as product names or industry. For example:
- You could think about words commonly associated with your product (ie. a nail art store could have words like ‘polish,’ ‘shine,’ ‘color,’ etc.)
- You could think about the market/region of the world you serve.
- You could create a portmanteau of one or more words (ie. YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram)
- You could intentionally misspell a word to create a unique brand (ie. Flickr, Tumblr, Digg)
2. Your e-commerce domain name should Paint A Positive Mental Picture
More than giving prospective visitors a notion of your brand, your domain name should also inspire a positive emotional response. Generally, this is accomplished by using words with positive connotations – words we unconsciously associate with good things. That said, you can also use words with negative connotations, if it fits your brand’s personality (which we’ll talk about momentarily).
“There are sounds in every language that spark our brains to associate either positive or negative emotions, these are called word connotations and they can be positive, negative or neutral. When choosing a domain name, this is your opportunity to be mindful of how people will both consciously and unconsciously associate your brand. This doesn’t mean that you have to choose words with positive connotations.”
3. Your e-commerce domain name Should reflect Your Brand’s Personality
Last but certainly not least, your e-commerce domain name should give some indication of who you are as a person – and what sort of attitude you want your brand to convey. Do you sell a ton of merchandise that appeals to a countercultural millennial crowd, or are you more focused on an older, more professional demographic? The personality that resonates with each of those demographics is going to be very distinct.
Your e-commerce domain name needs to reflect that in your choice of words.
Whether you’re using Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, or another platform altogether, your choice of domain name is extremely important. It says a lot more about your brand than you’d expect. Be conscientious with your word choices and style, and you’ll ensure it says everything you want – and nothing you don’t. What are your best tips to optimize your domain name?